OA153532013

For the Appellant: Mr V Onipede, Counsel, instructed by Fountain Gate Solicitors

The Appellant is a national of Nigeria whose appeal to be allowed to enter the United Kingdom as the spouse of a person with limited leave to remain here was allowed by the First-tier Tribunal Judge Devittie in a determination promulgated on 9 th May 2014. The judge found that the Appellant was in a genuine and subsisting marriage relationship with the sponsor.

There is no challenge to that finding but grounds of application were lodged on the basis that the Appellant made her application more than 30 days after the Sponsor's Tier 4 residence permit was issued, a point which had been raised by the Respondent in the refusal notice. It was said that the judge had not considered this issue within the determination and it was submitted that he had erred in law by omitting to do so. Permission to appeal was granted on the basis that this point was arguable.

I explained to the parties that I had not been able to find any such time limit contained within the Immigration Rules. As it transpired both parties said to me that despite their own research into the matter they could not point to any provision in the Immigration Rules either.

As the judge put it, the respondent had said that the Appellant was required to apply for a visa within 30 days of the Sponsor's residence permit being issued. It did not seem to me to be very logical to think that there would be a time limit of this nature in such an application.