OA061222013 & ors

This appeal is subject to an anonymity order made by the First-tier Tribunal pursuant to rule 45(4)(i) of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 2005 (SI 2005/230). Neither party invited us to rescind the order and we continue it pursuant to rule 14 of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008 (SI 2008/2698).

This appeal raises the issue of whether under the �refugee family reunion� rule in para 352D of the Immigration Rules (HC 395 as amended) the second appellant can properly be described as having been �part of the family unit� of the sponsor, her father at the time that he left Cuba to claim asylum in the UK.

Although this is an appeal by the Entry Clearance Officer, for convenience we will refer to the parties in this determination as they appeared before the First-tier Tribunal.

The background to this appeal is as follows. The first appellant is the partner of the sponsor. The third and fourth appellants are their children. They are all citizens of Cuba. The second appellant is the child of the sponsor but not of the first appellant. She was born on 21 September 1999 as a result of a casual relationship between the sponsor and her mother. She is also a citizen of Cuba.

The sponsor, who is also a citizen of Cuba, arrived in the UK on 21 February 2007 in transit to Russia. He remained in the UK and in 2010 he was arrested by immigration officers whilst working in a restaurant. He successfully made an asylum claim and was granted refugee status on 20 May 2012.