IA196272014

The appellant appealed against the decision and the appeal was dismissed by First-tier Tribunal Judge Balloch in a decision that was promulgated on 6 October 2014. The appeal was determined on the papers at the request of the appellant. Permission to appeal was granted by First-tier Tribunal Judge P J M Hollingworth in a decision of 26 November 2014. Thus the matter came before me.

The Judge had before him an appellant�s bundle which contained the witness statements of both the appellant and her partner. Their evidence was that they live in London with their child. They met in December 2012 and started living together in January 2013 and their daughter was born on 13 November 2013. The Judge made material findings at paragraphs 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the determination:

�16. The copy documentation demonstrates the appellant and the sponsor living at the same address in London. The dates on it cover the period between November 2013 and July 2014. The birth certificate shows the same address and that the child was born in London on 13 November 2013 and the appellant and the sponsor are named as parents. The copy documentation provided indicates that the appellant and the sponsor had been living together at the same address since about at least November 2013 and the birth of their child demonstrates their relationship.

The relationship between the appellant and the sponsor clearly has not been one of very long duration notwithstanding the birth of a child, given that the appellant and the sponsor only met in December 2012. The evidence from the witness statements is that they started living together in about January 2013. The application form (a copy of which is contained within the respondent�s bundle) is dated 13 January 2014. The appellant and the sponsor had therefore only been in a relationship for about a year at the date of the application.

The UKBA Guidance dated 1 January 2014 in respect of applications for a Residence Card clearly states: