Walsall dad wrongly held in Paris for two weeks misses son's birthday

Abdoulie Jobe, 48, lost his UK residence permit while on holiday in Gambia, resulting in him being held in Paris for two weeks as he desperately tried to get home and to work.

Despite following Home Office procedure and reporting he had lost his biometric resident permit (BRP), Mr Jobe was continually held at the airport where he became extremely distressed.

Having become increasingly concerned about his situation, Mr Jobe contacted UK law firm Richard Nelson LLP. The immigration team at there took on his case and identified the grounds on which they could challenge the Home Office ruling regarding his entry to the UK.

Mr Jobe was eventually allowed to return to the UK after being held in the French capital for 14 days and was reunited with his family.

Unfortunately his delayed return meant he missed his son's 12th birthday.

Throughout the two weeks, Mr Jobe struggled to get basic necessities from the French authorities and was at risk of losing his job.

He said: "I am just glad to get back to Walsall. But I was heartbroken to have missed my son's birthday. I am lucky not to have lost my job. Being in Paris for two weeks was distressing."

Sajib Hosen, consultant immigration solicitor at Richard Nelson LLP, said: "We took on Abdoulie's case after he'd been held in the airport for a number of days and were very concerned for him.

"He should have been allowed to enter the UK earlier. However, due to a lack of cooperation between the internal departments at the Home Office, Abdoulie's return was delayed, causing him severe distress."

He added: "The Home Office failed to follow their own guidelines regarding discretionary powers and made several false promises about his entry to the UK.

"We are learning of similar situations where discretion is not being used and we hope to bring this issue to the attention of the authority.”