OA182332012

This case comes before the Upper Tribunal following the grant of permission to appeal by First-tier Tribunal Judge on 16 July 2013 in respect of the determination of First-tier Tribunal Judge Blake promulgated on 7 June 2013 dismissing the appeal for entry clearance.

The appellant is a citizen of Bangladesh who claims to have been born on 8 May 1996 making him 16 years old at the date of the decision on 29 August 2012. He seeks to join his parents for settlement. The Entry Clearance Officer was not satisfied the appellant was related as claimed to his sponsors and also expressed dissatisfaction with the recently issued birth certificate. He also considered the appellant�s domestic circumstances and concluded that he could not be satisfied that all the requirements of paragraph 297(i)(a)-(f) were met.

The appeal came before me on 28 August 2013. I heard submissions from the parties as to whether or not the First-tier Tribunal had made an error of law and at the conclusion of the hearing reserved my determination.

The appellant was represented by Mr Karim who submitted that the most glaring error of law was that the judge had mistakenly considered the appeal under paragraph 297(i)(f). He submitted that where the appellant was under 18 and had both parents present and settled in the UK, there was no necessity to consider whether there were serious and compelling family or other considerations which made exclusion undesirable. He argued that the appellant was not leading an independent life as he still lived with family members. There was also no need for a judge to address every point raised by the ECO.

Having carefully considered the submissions, the determination and the evidence I take the view that this appeal needs to be re-heard on all issues.