VA173162013

The appellant is a citizen of Bangladesh born on 21 January 1954. She applied for entry clearance as a visitor, online, on 22 June 2013. The hardcopy of her application and her fee were received by the respondent on 10 July 2013. The specific dates are important because as of 25 June 2013 appeals against refusal of family visit visas may be brought only on human rights grounds.

The appellant's husband and five children live and are settled in the UK and the evidence of her son at the hearing before the First-tier Tribunal ("FtT") was that the appellant wished to come to the UK for a period of six months to visit them.

The respondent refused the appellant's application for entry clearance on the basis that the requirements of Paragraph 41 of the Immigration Rules were not met. It was not accepted that she genuinely intended to leave the UK on completion of the proposed visit. The refusal of entry clearance, dated 28 July 2013, stated that her right of appeal was limited to the grounds in section 84(1)(c) of the Nationality and Asylum Act 2002.

The appellant appealed and her appeal was heard by FtT Judge Lobo. The FtT found that the application for entry clearance was not received by the respondent in a manner which allowed it to be processed until 10 July 2013 and therefore there was no right of appeal under the Immigration Rules.

The judge then considered the appeal, in the alternative, on the basis that the appellant did have a right of appeal. The FtT concluded that the appellant could not satisfy the Rules. The reasons for so finding are set out only briefly, in paragraphs [16]- [18], where it is stated: