A Pakistani pensioner has won the right to live in the UK because he is “lonely”, a court heard. A 71-year-old man, Muhammad Ilyas Butt, has been granted asylum in Britain as he has no family in his home country. The immigration court ruled that his medical needs are also not being met in Pakistan, despite the Home Office saying that Mr Butt already has adequate access to hospitals.
The widower said he could not seek mental health support in Pakistan because “it was against his pride and principles”. However, he would go to the UK if he were accompanied by his son. The Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber ruled in Mr Butt’s favour after the pensioner launched an appeal against the Home Office’s decision not to grant him asylum in the UK.
The 71-year-old suffers from heart disease, diabetes, angina, back pain, anxiety and depression, the court heard. Mr Butt has five children, all of whom have emigrated from Pakistan, and his wife passed away in 2016.
The Home Office rejected his asylum claim because, as they found, he could access treatment in Pakistan.
However, Mr Butt appealed the decision, claiming he had evidence that proves he couldn’t access the healthcare required for his conditions.
He said he could not access mental health services as it is “against his pride and principles,” but that he would if his son, who lives in the UK and sends him £19,000 a year, accompanied him.
He also sponsored his father’s application to move to the UK.
Upper Tribunal Judge Elizabeth Ruddick said: “[Mr Butt] has no close family in Pakistan. He was widowed in 2016, and all of the expert reports describe him as lonely and isolated.
“A Senior Clinical Psychologist assessed [Mr Butt] over the course of four home visits.
“She described the [Mr Butt’s] declining mental health as directly linked to the loss of his wife in 2016 followed by the emigration of his children.
“I infer from this that [Mr Butt] had depended on his children for his emotional wellbeing prior to their departure and consider that this makes it more plausible that he continues to depend on them emotionally now.
“The evidence from the [Mr Butt’s] treating psychologist repeatedly refers to the [Mr Butt’s] emotional bond with his children, including the [son].
“It also documents a direct correlation between contact with his family and [Mr Butt’s] mental and physical health.
“[The psychologist] wrote that [Mr Butt] had lived with his children until they emigrated and that he ‘is always happier and confident when he is around his children’.”