OA081742015

The Specialist Appeals Team appears on behalf of an Entry Clearance Officer (post reference: SHEFO\157468) against the decision of the First-tier Tribunal to allow on human rights grounds the claimant's appeal against the refusal of entry clearance as the spouse of a person present and settled here. The First-tier Tribunal did not make an anonymity direction, and I do not consider that the claimant or her spouse requires anonymity for these proceedings in the Upper Tribunal.

The claimant is a national of Nigeria, whose date of birth is 17 April 1983. On 31 July 2014 she married her sponsor, who is of Nigerian heritage, in Nigeria.

The Entry Clearance Officer was also not satisfied that the appellant's relationship with the sponsor was genuine and subsisting, or that they intended to live together permanently in the UK.

The claimant's appeal came before Judge Wright sitting at Hatton Cross on 3 February 2017. There was no appearance on behalf of the Entry Clearance Officer. The claimant was represented by Counsel. The Judge received oral evidence from the sponsor.

In his subsequent decision, he found that the claimant did not meet the requirements of the Rules, as the specified evidence had not been provided to show that he had a claimed gross annual income of the £20,300 per annum. He also found that the claimed gross annual income was insufficient to cover the actual amount required, which was in fact £18,600 plus an additional £3,800 for the child who had been born in Nigeria before the Entry Clearance Officer made a decision on the application.