OA181162013

On 7 June 2013 she applied for entry clearance as the child of a parent granted refugee status. The application was considered with reference to paragraph 352D of HC 395 (as amended). In a decision dated 12 July 2013 the application was refused. The sole basis for the refusal was with reference to paragraph 352D(iv), namely that the Entry Clearance Officer ("ECO") was not satisfied that the appellant was part of the family unit of the sponsor at the time that he left Eritrea in order to seek asylum.

The appellant's appeal against that decision came before First-tier Tribunal Judge Boyd on 2 February 2015. He dismissed the appeal, finding that the appellant did not meet the requirements of that aspect of the Rules. He also dismissed the appeal with reference to Article 8 of the ECHR.

Again from his witness statement, the judge noted that the sponsor divorced the appellant's mother in 2001. He records that the sponsor stated that he last saw the appellant in 2009. This was before he was sentenced to imprisonment in Eritrea which was on 10 February 2010. He found therefore, that it was reasonable to assume that the sponsor had not seen the appellant between early 2009 and his arrest on 10 February 2010.

He then went on to conclude that it would appear that the family unit he had with his second wife (the appellant's mother) and the appellant, ended around the year 2000/2001 and from then on "the appellant then became simply his daughter to a former relationship."

He concluded that at around that time she ceased to be part of the family unit "by any reasonable definition" of that phrase. He further concluded that the family unit was therefore, in effect his wife and three children with whom he came to the United Kingdom.