Hassan’s story is one of unimaginable resilience and perseverance. His journey to reunite with his family in the UK was an incredibly drawn-out and distressing process. His story illustrates the complexity of asylum and immigration laws, and the strength that’s required to deal with extensive delays and dysfunctional systems.
It also highlights the importance of finding high quality legal support. Hassan’s right to be reunited with his family would have been denied without the support of RLS lawyers. Our presence in Greece and in the UK was crucial to ensure Hassan didn’t fall through the cracks.
Life at home
Hassan grew up in Somalia and lived a rural lifestyle with his extended family. He explains that he misses the sense of community, and longs for the way people depended on each other and “lived and shared together.”
Hassan’s father was tragically killed in Libya, and his mother had to flee Somalia and is currently living in Kenya. Hassan therefore wasn’t safe in Somalia as a child, and he was forced to flee. He hoped to reunite with his aunt and two cousins in the UK, his only relatives in Europe.
His experience on Lesvos
After a very dangerous journey, Hassan made it to the refugee camp on Lesvos, Greece.
Alone, unaccompanied and separated from his family, he faced constant danger. Sadly, this is not an isolated case. In 2023, 35,500 unaccompanied or separated children arrived in Europe, 64% of the total number of children who arrived.
Hassan’s time on Lesvos took an immense toll on him. Conditions in the camp were inhumane, with limited access to sanitary facilities and basic services.
Hassan finds it difficult to express how cold he was there. The camp is located next to the sea so it’s exposed to harsh weather conditions and temperatures drop to freezing point. The accommodations offer little protection, as they don’t have heating.
Hassan also suffered from extreme food insecurity at the camp, which meant he was starving most of the time. The food available was reduced from two extremely small portions of expired rice to just one portion per day.
Seeking asylum is always a distressing process, but even more so when you’re alone in these conditions.
When he arrived, the Greek authorities initially registered Hassan as a minor before deciding to overturn their decision and wrongfully deem him to be an adult. He was moved to the section of the camp for single adult men, with no explanation or warning. This was very traumatic, and yet it’s a common issue for minors seeking asylum.
Our work in Greece
Whilst in the camp, Hassan met RLS lawyer Elèna. He says that Elèna had a “huge impact” on his quality of life, and she was “kind, respectful, caring, and very professional.”
Due to Brexit, Hassan’s application for family reunion relied on him being a minor. However, the window to appeal the wrongful age assessment had already passed. The only way to challenge this decision was to submit the original copy of his birth certificate. Hassan managed to get this from Somalia.
As he was close to turning 18, this was a very urgent and time sensitive issue.
Elèna, supported by RLS colleagues, decided to try a new approach which hadn’t been done before. They filed the family reunion application based only on his birth certificate, not the incorrect age that he’d been registered with in Greece.
Hassan was then referred to our colleague Rhona, who’s based in the UK, to take on his case under our Family Reunion from Europe (FRFE) project. From this point, Rhona and Elèna worked together to reunite Hassan with his family.
To complete his application, Hassan needed to travel to the Visa Application Centre in Athens. However, he wasn’t allowed to leave Lesvos due to a geographic restriction of movement.
Elèna’s first attempt to suspend this restriction was rejected due to a formality. She then tried a new approach, requesting a suspension from the Police Station of Lesvos. They dismissed it as “not their problem.”
After some pressure, in particular from the Legal Centre Lesvos, the police sent over authorisation for Hassan to temporarily leave the island. Elèna and Hassan urgently booked flights and left the following day.
Elèna says that “Hassan’s case is unfortunately not isolated, and shows that even when an unaccompanied minor is looking for safety and protection, the brutality of our system and inhumanity of our policies do not stop.”
The determination to find new solutions, and the perseverance from Elèna to overcome never-ending obstacles is the key reason why Hassan was able to submit his family reunion application.
For the first time since his arrival in Lesvos, Hassan felt some sense of hope.
Disappearance
Once he returned to Lesvos, Hassan’s case faced more delays and constant obstacles.
His mental health deteriorated and he was suffering from severe psychological distress. He missed his family, and he was upset about the time he had missed out on with them.
Unable to cope with these circumstances and the horrific living conditions he was subjected to, he went missing. As this period of time was traumatic and dangerous for Hassan, we’ve chosen to omit the details.
It took a while for Elèna to track Hassan down, but eventually she found him.
Further delays
Once Hassan had been located, Rhona could continue working on his application. Hassan says Rhona was able to articulate his needs clearly in writing, and he’s extremely grateful for her help.
His application for indefinite leave was submitted on an expedited basis in April 2022. Waiting for a decision was extremely stressful for Hassan and his whole family.
The Home Office refused his initial application in January 2023, which is typical for cases of this nature. Rhona appealed this, and after further delays, the decision finally came in March 2024, almost two years after his application was submitted.
Ultimately, we won the case and Hassan was granted indefinite leave to enter the UK.
Rhona recalls meeting Hassan after winning, and states: “he looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders” and he was “laughing and joking which I’d never seen before. […] I’m very excited for him to begin his life here.”
However, Rhona explains that even with “excitement and happiness of the grant,” she is still “saddened by the waiting time which Hassan faced.” His case should have been straightforward as he was an unaccompanied minor who had experienced significant trauma in Somalia, and throughout his journey to the UK.
Hassan’s plans for the future
After two long and incredibly difficult years, Hassan is now in the UK with his family. He feels “extremely positive” to be with them.
“I am surrounded by people who love and care for me.”
Hassan can finally start building his life in the UK, safe and surrounded by his loved ones. He is looking forward to the future, and has big ambitions. He says his first priority is to learn English, as he knows this will open doors and opportunities for him. He also wants to do a vocational course and find work.
After all her hard work and determination to help, he wants to visit Elèna and thank her in person. When he finally arrived in the UK, he messaged Elèna: “I really don’t know how much I can reward you. You are the one who brought my case here [to the UK].”
Hassan showed extraordinary resilience and strength throughout his journey to reunite with his family despite constant setbacks.
