IA223862015

The claimant appealed and in a decision sent on 7 March 2016 First-tier Tribunal (FtT) Judge Lodge allowed his appeal on Article 8 grounds. The appellant (hereafter the Secretary of State or SSHD) appealed and on 20 October 2016 I issued a decision setting aside FtT Judge Lodge's decision for error of law.

"6. ... I find it particularly striking that the judge appeared not to weigh in the balance at all the fact he recorded at [10] as follows:

'10. He was asked what he would do if the child's mother decided to return to Ghana. He said that if she went back he would stay here in the UK. He was pressed again on this point. He said he just wanted to stay here in the UK and would not return to Ghana even if the child went back with his mother'.

By stating that it was more important for him to stay in the UK than maintain a relationship in the same country with his child, the claimant demonstrated that his relationship with his child was secondary to his own immigration concerns. His is not a case, I note, where there is no (sic) issue of him facing risk on return to Ghana."

Having observed that there was no particular factual dispute about the extent of the claimant's contact with his child, I decided to retain the case in the Upper Tribunal with a direction that the claimant produce a report from an independent child professional relating to the circumstances of the child (to include the child's relationship with his half-sibling).