HS v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant, HS, is a forty-year-old Albanian citizen who entered the United Kingdom illegally in 2019. In February 2021 he was arrested for being concerned in the production of cannabis between December 2020 and February 2021, and on 11 December 2025 he was sentenced to twenty-five months' imprisonment. In 2023 he began a relationship with Q, a British citizen; they married on 9 December 2024 and their son L was born on 7 October 2025. On 13 January 2025 the appellant applied for leave to remain on the basis of his marriage to Q. The Secretary of State refused the application by a decision dated 31 March 2026, finding that he failed the suitability criteria because of his conviction, that there were no insurmountable obstacles to family life continuing outside the UK, that he would face no very significant obstacles to integration in Albania, and that removal would not be unjustifiably harsh; the respondent did not appear to know of L's birth at that date. On a review dated 7 July 2026 the respondent disputed a genuine and subsisting relationship with Q's older children and any undue harshness to Q or L. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, appearing unrepresented with his wife; the respondent indicated she would await the outcome before considering a Stage 2 deportation decision.