OA022452013 & Ors.

The appellants, who are mother and daughters, have been granted permission to appeal the decision of First-tier Tribunal Judge Lever, who for reasons given in his determination dated 1 October 2013 dismissed their appeals against the Entry Clearance Officer�s decisions dated 26 November 2012 refusing their applications to settle in the United Kingdom with the first appellant�s husband Tony Murinzi (the sponsor) and three of their five children, the second, third and fourth appellants. The appellants are nationals of Rwanda where they live.

The sponsor and first appellant have two sons living in the United Kingdom. As with their father, they were born in Rwanda and joined him here in December 2002. The eldest was born in March 1996 and the younger in October 1998. The sponsor had fled the country in April 2001. He was granted exceptional leave to remain that year. He and his sons were granted indefinite leave to remain in October 2008 and were naturalised as British citizens in October 2011.

The first, second and third appellants were previously in the United Kingdom between 2003 and 2005 when they were administratively removed to Rwanda. The sisters were born in November 1994 and October 1998. Their mother was born in August 1971. The fourth appellant was born in the UK in January 2004. The sponsor visited his family in Rwanda in March 2012 for just over two weeks.

The first appellant�s application was refused under paragraph 320(11) of the Rules on the basis of deception practised previously when she applied for leave to remain in December 2003. The validity of the marriage was not accepted based on concerns about the marriage certificate and furthermore it was not accepted that the relationship was genuine and subsisting or that the parties intended to live together permanently in the United Kingdom.

The application was additionally refused with reference to the financial requirements in Appendix FM based on a failure to submit the required documentation to demonstrate the threshold of �24,800. The Entry Clearance Officer was also concerned that there would not be adequate accommodation without recourse to public funds.