IA102922015

Although this is an appeal by the Secretary of State, I shall refer to the parties as in the First-tier Tribunal. The Appellant is a citizen of Nigeria born on 5 August 1960. Her appeal against the Respondent's decision to remove her from the UK, pursuant to Section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, was allowed under the Immigration Rules by First-tier Tribunal Judge Owens in a decision promulgated on 29 th September 2015.

The Respondent appealed on the grounds that the judge had failed to provide adequate reasons for concluding that there were significant obstacles to the Appellant's integration in Nigeria and allowing the appeal under paragraph 276ADE.

Secondly, very significant obstacles to integration was a very high threshold test entailing something which would prevent or seriously inhibit the Appellant from integrating and establishing a private life, or those obstacles which would cause very serious hardship. The fact that the Appellant may find it difficult or challenging on return to her country of nationality is not the relevant test.

The question was whether the Appellant had the ability to form an adequate private life by the standards of the country of return, not UK standards. The Appellant was very familiar with Nigerian society and culture, spending most of her adulthood resident there. The judge had failed to apply the appropriate test and had misdirected herself in law. The delay on the part of the Respondent was not a factor which weighed in the Appellant's favour given that her appeal was dismissed in 2009 and a fresh application was not raised until 2015.

Permission was granted by First-tier Tribunal Judge McDade on 12 th April 2016 on the basis that it was arguable that the judge failed to properly justify the Appellant's situation was such that reintegration would be highly problematic.