OA093162012

The appellant is a citizen of Bangladesh who was born on 19 February 1981. On 1 April 2012, the Entry Clearance Officer refused his application for entry clearance as a spouse under para 281 of Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 395 as amended).

The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal and in a determination promulgated on 7 February 2013 Judge Whiting dismissed the appellant�s appeal. On 15 April 2013, the First-tier Tribunal (Judge Cruthers) granted the appellant permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.

The appellant�s case was that he had married a British citizen, Alibon Nessa who was born on 29 January 1991. They underwent an Islamic marriage ceremony on 5 July 2009 and subsequently obtained a Nikah Nama as evidence of the registration of their marriage in Bangladesh on 29 January 2012.

In his decision, the Entry Clearance Officer did not accept that the appellant and sponsor�s marriage was a genuine one. In addition, the ECO did not accept that the appellant would be able to maintain himself and the sponsor without recourse to public funds. He did not accept that the sponsor was employed as she claimed by a restaurant, the Bombay Blue in Nantgarw, Cardiff as a secretary earning �185.59 per week.

On 1 July 2013, the appeal was initially listed before me. In a decision dated 5 July 2013, I concluded that Judge Whiting had materially erred in law in finding that the appellant had not met the maintenance requirement in para 281(v) of the Rules. I set aside the decision and the appeal was relisted before me on 31 July 2013 in order to remake the decision under the Immigration Rules.