UI2023003230

              The appellant is a citizen of Iran. With the permission of the First-tier Tribunal, she appeals a decision of the First-tier Tribunal, promulgated on 21 June 2023, to dismiss her appeal on human rights grounds against the decision of the respondent on 15 June 2022 to refuse her application for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the United Kingdom on the basis of her claim to have completed 10 years' lawful residence.

              It is agreed that the appellant has lived in the United Kingdom since September 2011 and that she had "lawful residence" within the meaning of paragraph 276B of HC 395 until 30 January 2021 when her last period of extended leave ran out. It follows that she indisputably had leave to remain in the United Kingdom for a period of nine years and four months which is (obviously) less than the ten years required to be eligible for ILR under the "long residence" route.

              It is the respondent's view that the Exceptional Assurance granted to the appellant was not leave and was not to be treated as leave and so the appellant did not satisfy the requirements of paragraph 276B for ILR based on ten years' lawful residence.

              Given its potential importance to this case we find it surprising that neither party has provided a copy of any of the appellant's applications for Exceptional Assurance. It might have been helpful to know exactly what she sought and to what extent, if any, the application was guided by the terms of any standard form relied upon, but we have to work with the material we have. It is not disputed that the appellant was given Exceptional Assurance on three occasions.

              Some insight into the appellant's reasons for seeking Exceptional Assurance were set out in paragraph 5 of her witness statement. There she explained that she was near to completing her doctoral thesis but was not ready to complete her final chapter because her professor had been unwell. The paragraph continues: