Vargova (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Linked cases
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2026/0053

Parties

Appellant(s)

Katarina Vargova

Respondent(s)

Secretary of State for the Home Department

Issue

Must the Secretary of State when deciding to deport an EU citizen based on crimes committed in the United Kingdom post-Brexit consider whether or not deportation is proportionate?

Facts

Ms Vargova and Mr Molnar are both EU citizens. They have indefinite leave to remain (“ILR”) in the United Kingdom. They both committed offences after 31 December 2020 (when the Brexit transition period ended) and received sentences of more than 12 months’ imprisonment. Ms Vargova was born in Slovakia and arrived in the United Kingdom in 2007, when she was 21. She was given ILR on 5 January 2021. By the time of her deportation decision, she had been living in the United Kingdom for 15 years. In January 2022 she had a serious car accident and lost her job. After the car accident, she started taking drugs and had money troubles. She was convicted of possessing, on 20 July 2022, cocaine and heroin with intent to supply. Mr Molnar was born in the Czech Republic in 2002. He came to the United Kingdom with his mother in 2012, when he was 10. Mr Molnar was given ILR on 15 October 2019. Mr Molnar was convicted of possessing, on 14 January 2022, cocaine with intent to supply, criminal property and a knuckleduster. The Secretary of State for the Home Department made separate decisions to deport Ms Vargova and Mr Molnar. They each appealed against those decisions to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). In each case, the First-tier Tribunal allowed the appeal on the ground that the Secretary of State had not considered whether their removal was proportionate. The Secretary of State appealed to the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) which allowed the appeal in each case. The Upper Tribunal held that there was no proportionality test. Ms Vargova and Mr Molnar then appealed to the Court of Appeal which dismissed their appeals. They now seek permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.