Deportation. Our options for future - maybe Ireland?

Hello I would be really grateful for some advice.

I am British and 23 years old. My partner is Albanian with ILR here and I currently in prison in the UK. With the current foreigner witchhunt in the UK he is likely to face deportation upon completing his sentence. As you can imagine it is a very stressful time for me and we are going to try and fight this but at present the odds look pretty dismally stacked against us. I’d truly appreciate any positive advice that someone may have that could help us succeed in our fight.

So here’s how it is.
Best possible outcome: we appeal and they agree he is not a risk to public and can stay in the UK we get married and live happily ever after! I feel this is unlikely. Therefore am preparing myself for….
Worst possible outcome: he is deported back to Albania. In this case we have these options:
Option One - I leave the UK and we live in Albania together: I have no desire to live in Albania I would miss my family and friends, I’d have to sell my beautiful home to live in poverty and I would be unable to work as I don’t speak a word of the language I’d hate it. The pro for him is he'd be back with his mum who he does miss terribly. But I have to rule that out completely, I can't leave my life in the UK for the life I'd have there.
Option two – I leave the UK and we move to another EU country. I’d want somewhere where I could work and not feel too isolated being foreign at first I thought Italy/Spain/Netherlands as they are countries we both like the culture of, then I had a spark of genius - Ireland as were both English speakers so that’s a good start! It’s also not too far or expensive to travel for my family and friends. Plus I am sure I could get work no problem in Ireland with my degree and experience in the UK. So from the research I have done on these boards if we go for Ireland we have two options, (a) I got to Ireland get a job and apply for a tourist visa for him, we then marry in Ireland where he should then be able to legally reside and work too or (b) Marry abroad after he is deported (maybe in Albania) then go to Ireland together with him on a spouse visa. Either way we’d like him to be able to work as quickly as possible.
Option Three – Not a clue! Any suggestions of paths I may not have considered are gratefully received

Could anyone advise me which would be the better option to go for A or B? Or any ideas for C! Also would Ireland count his UK criminal record against him, should we be honest about this when explaining our reasons for moving to Ireland? Or would we have no hope of getting into Ireland, if so any ideas for Westernised countries we could settle in?

It’s really difficult and depressing time, I just want some hope for the future when we can put all this behind us so have got quite excited about the possiibility of Ireland as that to me is the next bet thing to England, I have visited there and loved it so I know we could happily live there plus my mum would not be too devastated either as she could visit me by boat (she has a phobia of flying).

Thank you so much in advance for any advice you can offer I really appreciate it I find immigration mind boggling. Sorry its such a long post I just wanted to make it all as clear as I could (plus I do have very bad habit of rambling on )

Thanks

Deportation is a standard process in many countries for dealing with non-citizens convicted of a serious criminal offence. It's been policy for a long time in Australia, Canada and the United States.

So I don't think talk of an "anti-foreigner witchunt" is appropriate.

Regarding any future options in the UK, you need to discuss with a good immigration lawyer.

And concerning the Republic of Ireland, same applies - a good Irish immigration lawyer might be able to help. Don't assume that under EU/EEA regulations a serious criminal record would be ignored, and even if he's able to live there, it may be a bar to Irish citizenship in due course.

Part 3 of this document explains UK policy on the deportation or exclusion of EEA nationals. The Republic of Ireland has the right to apply similar policies.
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/docume ... iew=Binary (pdf)

Thankyou for your advice JAJ.

Thats very worrying I just hope he will be allowed residency, he's not looking for citizenship anywhere else we just want to make a life together in a place where I am happy, if it wasn't for me he'd not even fight the deportation he'd go straight back to Albania.

Yeah I'm trying to get an immigration lawyer I was given a recommended list by an immigration charity but I tried calling them and by every single one I was told by the receptionists that they all had too many cases to even consider taking on any new ones at present. I don't want to risk a bad one as this is everything, so any recommendations from anybody of a good lawyer would be appreciated.

JAJ re your comments on my term witch-hunt I was referring the media rather than our immigration services, as I feel the media has gleefully brewed up a dangerous xenophobic climate in the UK this past year, not just with the foreign prisoners saga, I feel strongly justified in my opinions on this.

Thanks