Migrant 'allowed to stay in UK because he does not want to be made to shave off his beard'

The man, who has not been named, won an appeal after arguing he would have his facial hair forcibly removed if he was sent home to Tajikistan.

In Tajikistan, beards are unofficially banned and hundreds of thousands of men have been arrested and forcibly shaved and had their fingerprints taken by police as part of a government campaign to try and prevent men from joining extremist Islamist terror groups.

The man appealed his deportation and was granted another hearing of his case after it was ruled that forcibly removing his beard amounted to persecution, the Telegraph reports.

Read more: Albanian criminal’s deportation halted because son doesn't like foreign chicken nuggets

Parminder Saini, the Deputy Judge of the Upper Tribunal, said: “The [First-tier Tribunal] judge has failed to assess whether the [Tajik man] is shaving off his beard because of “social pressures” or due to a “fear of being persecuted”.

“We find that this represents inadequate and incomplete reasoning in relation to the key issue of why the [Tajik man] is willing to shave his beard on return to Tajikistan.

“If he wears a beard out of religious conviction but will conform for reasons of securing his safety, he may be entitled to international protection.”

His case was granted a second hearing at the First-tier Tribunal.

Earlier this year it emerged an Albanian criminal’s deportation was halted partly because his son doesn't like foreign chicken nuggets.

An immigration tribunal ruled it would be "unduly harsh" for his 10-year-old son, known as 'C' in court documents, to return to Albania with his father owing to food sensitivities, sensory issues and difficulties communicating emotions.