A Taliban commander's nephew has been granted refugee status in the UK alongside his seven family members currently living in Turkey, despite warnings of bringing a "burden upon the public purse".
An immigration judge granted the request despite none of the family speaking English, but it was deemed they had "no options" and were unable to return to Afghanistan.
The ruling comes despite ministers promising to restrict the rights of refugees to be joined by relatives.
The nephew, referred to only as "S" in the ruling, arrived in the UK in 2016 claiming to be 15, but was later age-assessed as 18.
His uncle was said to be a Taliban commander who had been pressuring his father to allow "S join the Jihad".
The nephew was sent to Kabul by his father to get away from his uncle.
However, "S" was stabbed by two cousins because of the family dispute, leading to him fleeing Afghanistan, the tribunal heard.
"S" was given indefinite leave to remain in the UK after a psychotherapist in 2018 said he had post-traumatic stress.
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The Taliban commander's nephew was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK
|GETTY
Meanwhile, "S's" parents and sisters had all fled through Iran to Turkey, where they feared being arrested and sent back to Afghanistan.
In 2023, his relatives applied to enter the UK, citing the "right to private and family life" under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, but this was refused.
However, Upper Tribunal judge Gaenor Bruce deemed their refusal "unjustifiably harsh" and allowed the appeals on human rights grounds.
A lawyer for the family argued that the sisters were all being threatened with forced marriage if they stayed in Afghanistan.
One sister had married an Afghan man in Turkey, but split up after he beat her with an iron bar, and he was eventually deported.
She and another sister have been working illegally in Turkey to support their diabetic parents, who are both housebound.
An expert argued "S" was constantly "re-triggered" by his worry for his family, although he'd been able to visit Turkey twice to see them.
"S" wanted to train as an electrician but was unable to do so due to his mental distress.
One of the sisters of the family was beaten by her Afghan ex-husband
| GETTYBacking their appeal to stay in the UK, the judge said: "The relationship between S's mental health and his contact with his family is at the heart of this claim.
"Only by being reunited with them will he be able to recover and live a meaningful existence."
The judge said it would be unlikely that, as asylum seekers, "the family would be able to look to any other European country to facilitate family reunion".
She accepted that allowing the family to settle in Britain "would place a significant burden upon the public purse", but concluded that "S's" desire to be reunited with his family outweighs any concerns.