Case No. UKUT-00175-(IAC)

Deception Cases A person whose leave was obtained by deception will have this revoked under Section 76(2) and will, unless any other leave is granted, be liable to removal under Section 10(1). In such cases a person should normally be removed from the UK. Examples where removal may not be appropriate, but revocation should still be pursued include – but are not limited to – where a person has: i. been granted leave as a refugee and it is subsequently established that they are not the nationality they claimed to be; ii. been granted leave on the basis of marriage and it is subsequently established that the marriage was a sham or that the letter of support was forged or the spouse is not a British citizen/settled in the UK or the person had not disclosed that the marriage had already ended in divorce; iii. used different or multiple identities; iv. submitted forged documents such as bank statements, employment references; v. failed to declare that they have criminal convictions, including those outside of the UK particularly where these would have arguably led to a different outcome on the application; vi. failed to declare that they have been involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide; or vii. failed to declare that they are a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation.’ 44. Soon after the first revocation decision the applicant made further representations in response to a section 120 notice. By this time, he had a partner and a child who was a British citizen. On 05 February 2019 the respondent granted 30 months leave to remain on the 10-year route to settlement. Dissatisfied with this response, the applicant sought to challenge the decision to revoke ILR by way of an application for judicial review filed on 06 February 2018. The claim settled by consent on 24 June 2019. The respondent undertook to make a further decision. 45. The respondent maintained the decision to revoke ILR in a further decision dated 15 August 2019 (‘the second revocation decision’). The decision set out what was now known about the applicant’s immigration history including the details of his prolonged and repeated deception regarding his identity. She considered the further representations made on behalf of the applicant in a letter dated 19 July 2019. The applicant argued that the main reason why he was granted ILR was because he had lived in the UK for 10 years at the date of the decision and because no absconder action was taken. 46. The decision letter noted the submissions, but considered that the deception outweighed the accrual of 10 years’ residence. He was granted ILR on the assumption that he was a Kosovan national who had entered the UK as a minor. If the facts of the deception about his identity had been known ‘the decision maker’s consideration would not have been so lenient in your favour’. Further enquiries revealed that absconder action was taken against him on 26 October 2001 following a failed attempt by the Eaton House Starring Team to locate him at his last known address. In light of this information, it was considered that the applicant only accrued the 10 years’ residence which underpinned the decision to grant ILR because of his failure to report and his decision to abscond. Even if he had been located at the time, the fact that he had given a false nationality and date of birth would have frustrated efforts to remove him. 47. The respondent considered the submissions made about the revocation policy. Although she accepted that the deception occurred more than five years before the decision to revoke ILR, it was considered that the ‘deception exercised was sufficient enough for revocation to be appropriate, your deception outweighed this policy’. Having considered the case six years after the deception came to light it was considered that the nature of the deception still weighed in favour of revocation. Despite the prolonged and repeated nature of the deception she noted that there was little evidence of regret. She concluded that the applicant’s conducted was ‘so serious that it warrants the revocation of your status’. 48. The respondent went on to consider the representations made about the impact that it would have on the applicant and his family. The respondent noted that the applicant was only able to obtain status for his partner and child because of the initial deception. It was not necessary to give further consideration to this issue because he had been granted limited leave to remain because of his personal circumstances in the UK. 49. Permission to bring judicial review proceedings was granted by Upper Tribunal Judge Pitt at a hearing on 22 October 2020 except in relation to a technical point relating to the status of the first revocation decision.