OA056132014

For the Respondent: Mr. M. Azmi, counsel, instructed by Direct Immigration Solutions

The Respondent, who was born on 28th March 1988, is a national of Albania. He entered the United Kingdom illegally on 1st October 2008 and worked here and was removed at public expense on 7th March 2010. He then re-entered illegally on 23rd December 2010 and was once again removed on 23rd December 2011. He lived with Gennifer Yvonne Solomon, who is a British citizen, between September and December 2011 and was arrested on 8th December 2011, when they attempted to marry.

On 13th April 2012 the Appellant applied for entry clearance in order to return to the United Kingdom to marry Gennifer Solomon but this application was refused on 30th July 2012. This decision was reviewed by an Entry Clearance Manager on 31st October 2012. However, this decision was subsequently withdrawn on 18th February 2013.

He made a further application for entry clearance on 14th February 2014 in order to return to the United Kingdom to marry Gennifer Solomon but this application was refused on 4th April 2014 under paragraph 320(11) of the Immigration Rules. The Entry Clearance Office also asserted that he was not satisfied that his relationship with Gennifer Solomon was genuine or that he was genuinely seeking entry in order to marry her and live with her on a permanent basis.

The Respondent sought permission to appeal on 14th January 2015 and permission to appeal was granted by Upper Tribunal Judge Martin, sitting as a judge of the First-tier Tribunal on 16th February 2015. She found that it was arguable that the Judge erred in finding the decision unlawful without evidence that the decision to refuse the spouse settlement application under paragraph 320(11) had not been referred to an Entry Clearance Manager.