Case No. UKUT-00090-(IAC)

1. The appellant is a citizen of Sierra Leone , who was born in July 1986. She was granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2003. 2. On 21 June 2004, the appellant left the United Kingdom , returning to Sierra Leone . In June 2015, the appellant applied for entry clearance as a returning resident, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Immigration Rules. 3. On 26 June 2015, an e ntry clearance officer refused the appellant ’s application. The notice of decision stated that the appellant had arrived in the United Kingdom in February 200 1 and left in 2004. T hat was , accordingly, a period of absence of more than 2 years (indeed, over eleven years at the date of refusal). 4. Paragraph 19 of the immigration r ules provides that a person who doe s not benefit from paragraph 18 ( which enables a person to obtain entry clearance provided that, inter alia, they have not been away from the United Kingdom for more than two years) may nevertheless be admitted as a returning resident “if, for example, he has lived here most of his life”. There is, thus, a discretion that may be exercised in favour of the person. 5. Accordingly, the e ntry clearance officer considered the matter and concluded as follows:- “ . . . • Given that you have not been in the UK since 2004 and the amount of time you have spent there since obtaining your indefinite leave to remain, I am not satisfie d that you have demonstrated a strong connection with the UK. To be considered as a returning resident you need to show that you are habitually resident in the UK and that any absences have been of a temporary or occasional nature, however I do not consider an absence of over eleven years to be temporary and it appears that you are settled in Sierra Leone . • I have considered the compassionate circumstances of your application. You have stated in your visa application form that you lef t the UK in 2004 because your grandmother in Sierra Leone was seriously ill. However, you have stated that you live d with her until 21 September 2013. In his letter of support submitted with your application your father confirms that you were li ving with your grandmother un t il 2013 and that since returning to Sierra Leone you have completed a coll ege course. He states that you cannot find employment in Sierra Leone and that you have no close relatives in Sierra Leone to support. I have considered tha t you are 28 years old and that you have submitted evidence that you have received an education. It is not clear why you are unable to find employment. You have submitted a limited amount of money transfer slips as evidence that you are financially dependent on your father. However, these have been submitted in isolation and I am not satisfied that alone they demonstrate a dependence. I am… satisfied my decision to refuse your application is proportionate under the Immigration Rules. Given all of the above, I am not satisfied that you qualify for entry as a return ing resident because you do meet (sic) [ presumably , do not meet ] the requirements of paragraph 18” 6. Underneath these passages, the notice of decision stat ed: “Y ou are entitled to appeal against this decision unde r section 82(1) of the National ity , Immigration and Asylum Act 2002”. An appeal form was p rovided for this purpose. It was also stated: “I f you decide to appeal against a refusal of this application, the decision will be reviewed, with your grounds of appeal and the supporting documents you provide”.