OA125592013 & OA125602013

The Judge allowed the appeals under the Immigration Rules. Permission was granted, by First-tier Tribunal Judge Frances on 1 st July 2014, to the ECO to appeal against the Judge�s decision to the Upper Tribunal for the following reasons:

The grounds submit that the Judge failed to give adequate reasons for finding that the appellants satisfied the maintenance requirements of the Rules. The Judge accepted that the Sponsor had repaid the overpayment of his wages, but there was no evidence from his employer that he had done so.

It was accepted by the Sponsor in oral evidence that any overpayment of wages had been reclaimed from his salary. It is arguable that the Judge erred in law in finding that the Sponsor had repaid the overpayment. The grounds are arguable.

Mr Richards submitted that the Judge erred by then accepting that the employer made a mistake and overpaid the sponsor without giving a reason for this finding. It was a simple matter for the Judge to identify the documents on which he was satisfied that the requirements of the Rules were met, but he failed to do so. Mr Richards submitted that the error of law is as set out in the grounds of appeal and the decision should be set aside and remade.

In response Mr Sinfield relied on his skeleton argument as follows. The sole issue on which permission to appeal was granted is whether an accepted overpayment of money to the sponsor has been repaid. However, the repayment of the overpayment is irrelevant to the issue of whether the sponsor met the requirements of the Rules. There is nothing in the Rules or any Home Office policy which makes any reference to overpayment of salary.