IA013672020

              This is an appeal against a decision of the Secretary of State dated 30 June 2020 to refuse a human rights claim made by the appellant on 7 March 2020 in respect of his relationship with his partner, Jessica Cabralda ("the sponsor"), a British citizen of Philippine descent.

              Judge Parkes' decision may be found in the Annex to this decision. I will refer to it as "the error of law decision".

              The appellant is a citizen of the Philippines. He entered the United Kingdom in January 2012 with leave as a dependent upon his spouse, Ana, which was renewed until 30 September 2016. The appellant's relationship with Ana broke down. On 20 December 2016, he was sentenced to a 12 month community order for common assault in respect of an incident of domestic violence against her.

              The appellant's human rights claim of 7 March 2020 was made on the basis of his new relationship with the sponsor. Although he had not divorced Ana, he claimed to be in a genuine and subsisting relationship with the sponsor. Their relationship had commenced in tentative terms around the time of the collapse of his marriage and become serious in around June 2019, when the appellant moved in with her.

              By the time the matter reached the First-tier Tribunal, the "Respondent's Review" ("the review") stated at [3] that the conviction for common assault "is now spent". The review was silent in relation to the 20 December 2018 conviction. It accepted that the appellant was not in a polygamous relationship, as there was no suggestion that he had married the sponsor while still married to his wife.