The Secretary of State for the Home Department v Darius Hirtie

Facts

Mr Hirtie, a Romanian national born in 1998, entered the UK in 2016/17 and was later granted leave to remain until April 2026 under the EU Settlement Scheme. He lives with his partner, also Romanian, and their two children, born in Romania in 2019 and in the UK in 2022. He was convicted in September 2021 of driving with excess alcohol, using a vehicle while uninsured and possession of a knife, and in August 2022 at Lewes Crown Court of wounding with intent, for which he received 39 months' imprisonment, making him a foreign criminal within section 32(1) of the UK Borders Act 2007. The Secretary of State refused his human rights claim and decided on 28 September 2023 to deport him, concluding that neither the private life nor the family life exceptions in the Immigration Rules applied and that there were no very compelling circumstances. Her decision letter proceeded throughout on the footing that his partner and children would remain in the UK. The First-tier Tribunal allowed his appeal on 29 December 2024, finding very compelling circumstances in the impact of separation on his partner. Before the Upper Tribunal the Secretary of State withdrew her ground concerning relocation to Romania, and the Upper Tribunal upheld the decision on 1 May 2025. She appealed again.