UI2022004730

            Although the appellant in the appeal before the Upper Tribunal is the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for ease of reference I continue to refer to the parties as they were before the First-tier Tribunal ("FtT"). Hereafter I refer to Mr Bacha as the appellant and the Secretary of State as the respondent.

            The appellant is a national of Algeria. His appeal against the respondent's decision of 22 February 2022 to refuse his application for leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme under the Immigration (Citizens' Rights Appeals) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 was allowed by First-tier Tribunal Judge Shakespeare ("the judge") for reasons set out in a decision promulgated on 29 July 2022.

            Having already concluded, at paragraph [21] that the appellant cannot meet the definition of 'spouse' in Appendix EU, the judge said at paragraph [26] that the definition of durable partner in Appendix EU also requires that applicants hold a 'relevant document', being a permit or residence card issued under the EEA Regulations 2016. She went on to say:

"...The Appellant accepts that he does not hold a relevant document for the purposes of Appendix EU. On that basis, I find that he does not meet the definition of a 'durable partner' in Annex 1 to Appendix EU and therefore does not meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules."

            The judge was not persuaded that the respondent's decision breaches Article 12 of the Withdrawal Agreement but concluded that looking at the evidence in the round, the refusal of the appellant's application is disproportionate, under Article 18(1)(r) of the Withdrawal Agreement.