Case No. UKUT-00293-(IAC)

3. The Appellant is the father figure in a family unit completed by his spouse, and two children who were aged 18 and 12 years respectively at the time of the first instance hearing. Notably, all four family members were Appellants before the FtT. The appeal to this Tribunal has been brought by the father only. All are citizens of Sri Lanka. The decision of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (the “Secretary of State”) underlying this appeal was a refusal of the Appellant’s claim for asylum, advanced in circumstances where his initial presence in the United Kingdom pursuant to a student visa was lawful for a period of approximately one year and was followed by a period of overstaying of comparable dimensions. 4. The essence of the Appellant’s asylum claim was as follows. He asserted that the cousin of his spouse was a senior member of the LTTE (denoting the violent rebel force which was ultimately overcome by government forces in Sri Lanka). Upon visits to Colombo the cousin stayed at the Appellant’s house, to the knowledge of the authorities. The cousin went missing and, in the aftermath, the authorities were “ pursuing ” the Appellant and continue to do so. When interviewed he described episodes of arbitrary arrests, protracted detention and beatings perpetrated by State agents. Eventually he was prompted to leave lucrative employment in Sri Lanka and, in July 2010, entered the United Kingdom lawfully, in accordance with his student visa, followed by his wife and two children some months later. 5. The Secretary of State’s refusal of the Appellant’s asylum claim was based largely on a negative assessment of the Appellant’s credibility. 6. The ensuing appeal to the FtT was based on asylum and Article 8 ECHR grounds. In dismissing the appeal the FtT essentially endorsed the reasoning of and grounds invoked in the Secretary of State’s refusal decision.