A family from Uzbekistan, which includes two children born in the Netherlands and two who grew up here, have been given temporary leave to stay while their last-ditch appeal is considered.

The Babayants family had been due to be deported on Monday but a court in Arnhem said that they can remain in the Netherlands while waiting for a final ruling. The family came here some 10 years ago.

Children’s rights campaign group Defence for Children argues that the rights of the three youngest, aged 3, 10 and 13, have not been sufficiently taken into account by the immigration service in deciding to deport them.

They are, the agency says, rooted in the Netherlands and know nothing about Uzbekistan.

“The interests of the children are central,” said Mirjam Blaak, director of Defence for Children. “They need confirmation as soon as possible that their lives can continue in the Netherlands, with their loved ones. And that they can contribute to Dutch society, as they are currently doing.”

The family was removed from the asylum seekers centre where they live in the early morning last week and taken to a detention centre in Zeist to await deportation.

The Netherlands used to have a mechanism to deal with young refugees who had grown up in the Netherlands but it was abolished in 2020 after some 1,300 children had benefited. The justice minister also had discretionary powers to give them residency rights.

Since 2020, the head of the IND has the discretionary right to enable people to stay. Last year, eight people in total were given leave to remain in the Netherlands by the IND chief, and in 2022, six.

By contrast, in 2018, the minister approved 90 last-ditch applications.