A convicted Lithuanian national was permitted to remain in the UK after an immigration tribunal ruled that it was in the best interests of his teenage daughter for him to stay and attempt to rebuild their relationship, despite his violent criminal record.
Arturas Pielikys, who has lived in Britain for 15 years, had faced deportation after being jailed for almost two years for a series of assault offences. The Home Office ordered his removal under rules requiring foreign nationals sentenced to more than 12 months’ imprisonment to be deported.
However, the decision was overturned by the First-tier Tribunal, which found that it was “paramount” for Pielikys to remain in the UK to continue developing a relationship with his daughter, who was born in Britain in 2010 and lives with her mother.
Pielikys has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for violent offences. His most recent sentence, handed down in July 2024, saw him jailed for 20 months for three counts of common assault and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Read the related story from New Daily Prime:
UK orders Abramovich to release £2.5bn for Ukraine or face court
UK launches probe into foreign political interference
Sowore granted bail for calling Tinubu criminal
Despite the ruling in his favour, the case will now be reheard after the Home Office successfully challenged the tribunal’s decision at the Upper Tribunal. Judges found that the earlier ruling contained legal errors and relied on insufficient evidence.
The case comes as the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, prepares to tighten immigration laws limiting the ability of migrants to rely on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights — the right to family life — to resist deportation. Under proposed reforms, the right would be more narrowly applied to immediate family members, in an effort to prevent what ministers describe as “dubious” or weak family connections being used to block removals.
Pielikys arrived in the UK in 2009. His daughter’s mother separated from him after he was abusive, and in 2021 the girl cut off contact, blocking him and stating she did not wish to communicate with him. Despite this, the tribunal was told that Pielikys continued to send financial support to his daughter, which was cited as evidence of a “genuine and subsisting” parental relationship.
The Home Office rejected this argument, maintaining that deportation would not breach his human rights. While the First-tier Tribunal disagreed, the Upper Tribunal later ruled that the judge had been wrong to conclude, without sufficient evidence, that it was of paramount importance for the child that her father remain in the UK.
Upper Tribunal Judge Daniel Sheridan said the earlier decision amounted to an error of law. He noted that the finding of “paramountcy” was central to the ruling but lacked adequate evidential support.
“The error is material,” Judge Sheridan said, “because the ‘paramountcy’ finding appears to be a central reason why the judge found there to be very compelling circumstances.”
He added that a brief letter from the child’s mother confirming financial support and communication was insufficient to justify the conclusion that the father’s presence in the UK was essential to the child’s welfare.
The case will now return to the First-tier Tribunal to be reheard by a different judge, who will hear fresh evidence from the child and her mother before making a new determination on whether Pielikys should be deported.
For more details, visit New Daily Prime at www.newdailyprime.news.
