Jailed illegal immigrant wins right to stay in Britain as deportation would be 'harsh' on son

George Bunn
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:14:07 +0000

An illegal immigrant from Portugal who was jailed for drug dealing can stay in the UK after a court ruled deportation would be harsh on her son, who does not live with her.

Joana Calcada first arrived in the UK in 2003 and applied for leave to remain in January 2023.

However, she was slapped with a string of criminal convictions, mostly for drug-related offences.

While a court accepted she was a "persistent offender", it ruled she does not present a "threat to society".

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Calcada, formerly of Chapel Street, Boston, was one of six people jailed by Lincolnshire Police after she admitted two charges of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs

She was jailed for two years and seven months.

A month later, she made a human rights claim based on her long residence in the UK and the fact that her son had grown up in the country.

She said it would be "unduly harsh" to expect her son to move to Portugal with her if she were deported, something the Home Office had appealed for.

Upper Tribunal Judge Therese Kamara has now concluded that Calcada's criminal history had not been taken into account and said that allowing her appeal did not refer to the "interests of society", reports MailOnline.

The ruling said: "The judge did not make any findings in respect of whether Calcada was a relevant EU national in terms of length and nature of her residence, nor did he engage with the prospect of her criminality and periods of imprisonment interrupting that residence.

"The judge did not identify the level of protection to which she was entitled and made no reference to the fundamental interests of society before allowing the appeal under the Regulations.

"The judge did not mention the unduly harsh stay or go scenarios and did not engage with the fact that the Calcada's son was residing with the grandparents who had been looking after him."

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The ruling continued: "She relied upon a relationship with a fiancé but the judge made no findings as to whether the undue harsh test was met in this respect.

"The entirety of the judge's findings were legally unsound and insufficiently reasoned and are set aside with none preserved."

As a result of errors made, Calcada's appeal would be remitted to the First-tier Tribunal to be re-heard, according to the ruling.

The Home Office appealed against the decision at the Upper Tribunal, claiming that there was an error in law.

According to Home Office figures, some 39 per cent of the 100,000 who claimed asylum in 2025 did so after arriving in the UK through a legal migration route, like a study visa.

Asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan represent the most significant part of a spike between 2021 and September 2025, the Home Office added.

Under the widely trailed plans, asylum seekers in the UK will have their refugee status reviewed every 30 months in an effort to make the UK less attractive for illegal immigrants.

Refugees whose countries are deemed safe will be expected to return home.