OA242302012

The Appellant is a Bangladeshi born on 5 February 1988. On or about 3 July 2012 she applied to the Respondent for entry clearance under paragraph 281 of the Immigration Rules for settlement as the wife of Rumman Ahmad, a person settled and resident in the United Kingdom.

On 21 October 2012 the Respondent refused the application under paragraph 281(iii) of the Immigration Rules because he did not consider the Appellant and her husband who is her Sponsor intended permanently to live together as a married couple. The Respondent also considered the evidence of the Sponsor�s employment and was not satisfied that he and the Appellant would be able to maintain themselves and any dependants adequately without recourse to public funds as required by paragraph 281(v).

On 6 January 2014 the Respondent reviewed the decision and accepted the relationship was genuine. However, he noted the absence of additional documentation and was satisfied the Appellant had not adequately discharged the burden of proof to show she and the Sponsor would be able adequately to maintain themselves.

The Respondent also raised a new issue, namely whether the Appellant had shown she satisfied the English Language requirements of the Immigration Rules. The validity of the certificates she had produced was not doubted but it was considered those who had been involved in the examining of candidates for the certificates had operated a system with procedures which the Respondent and the examining authority had found disclosed irregularities in the conduct of English Language examinations in Bangladesh.

The Respondent in both the original decision and the review affirmed the view that the decision did not place the United Kingdom in breach of its obligations to respect the private and family life of the Appellant and the Sponsor protected by Article 8 of the European Convention.