Tribunal lets Kosovan woman with 13 convictions stay in UK on human rights grounds

Right · 2An immigration tribunal has ruled that Barbara Osmanovic, 40, a Kosovan national with 13 convictions for 29 offences, cannot be deported from the UK on human rights grounds. 1 2 Right · 2The judge found that deporting her would be "unduly harsh" under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees respect for private and family life, because she is culturally and socially integrated in the UK and would struggle in Kosovo. 2 1 Right · 1The Home Office tried to remove her in 2023 because of her persistent offending; the tribunal ruled she should stay and a Home Office appeal was rejected. 1

Right · 2Osmanovic, who is of Roma heritage and addicted to heroin and cocaine, arrived in the UK as a child in 2000 with her family and was granted leave to remain in 2006; the tribunal heard her offending began "almost immediately". 1 2 Right · 2In April 2023 she was jailed for two and a half years in Manchester for theft, fraud, attempted burglary and possession of a knife. Offences described in the coverage include approaching a woman in a wheelchair, taking her purse and spending £1,640 on her card, stealing a purse from an elderly shopper at Marks and Spencer, attempting to break into a woman's home, and being found with a knife in a Premier Inn car park. 1 2 Right · 2The tribunal heard she does not speak Albanian, lacks a support network in Kosovo, and would probably be homeless; the judge said that as a Roma woman with deformed feet and mental health problems she would likely face significant difficulties obtaining the documentation needed to live lawfully and access healthcare. 1 2

Right · 2The tribunal also heard there was no evidence she had made a "positive contribution" to UK life, and it was said she had held short cleaning jobs in Birmingham and Manchester. The Daily Mail reports the judge said it was "too soon" to determine whether she was no longer a persistent offender. 1 2 Right · 2She did not attend her appeal because she had no working phone and her solicitors could not contact her. Her lawyer said in 2023 that she had a "sorry history of offending" and that the "meanest" offences were linked to her reliance on class A drugs. 2 1