OA052692014 & OA052702014

The Appellants are cousins, born respectively on 6 May 2001 and 10 August 1997. They are nationals of Sierra Leone. On 4 February 2014, they applied for entry clearance to join their Sponsor, Ms Katmu Lansana-Woneh, who is the mother of the first Appellant and the aunt of the second Appellant, in the United Kingdom. On 4 March 2014, the applications were refused on the basis that the Entry Clearance Officer was not satisfied that paragraph 297(i)(d), (e) and (f) of the Immigration Rules were met.

The Appellants appealed and their appeals came before First Tier Tribunal Judge Traynor for hearing on 26 February 2015. In a decision promulgated on 12 May 2015, he dismissed the appeal.

An application for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal was made out of time on 8 June 2015 on the basis that the Judge materially erred in law: (i) in his treatment of the documentary evidence; (ii) in his approach to the evidence generally; (iii) in his treatment of the sole responsibility point; (iv) in his treatment of the family or other compelling circumstances requirement; (v) in his approach to Article 8; (vi) in his consideration of Articles 3 and 7 of the UNCRC.

Permission to appeal was granted by First Tier Tribunal Judge White on 10 August 2015, who also extended time, on the basis that the First Tier Tribunal Judge arguably erred in law:

(i) with regard to the reliability of the death certificate the Judge imposed too high a requirement in requiring corroborative evidence;