Case No. UKUT-00299-(IAC)

1.By this application for judicial review, the applicant seeks to challenge a decision dated 2 July 2021 to refuse his application for permission to work, submitted as the dependent to his wife’s claim for asylum. The basis for the challenge, which the applicant pursues on a single ground with the permission of Bourne J (sitting as a Judge of the Upper Tribunal), is that the Secretary of State’s policy of treating asylum seekers and their dependents differently for the purposes of granting permission to work is contrary to Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“the ECHR”).2.The Secretary of State’s policy is contained in guidance issued to her officials. The version in force at the time of the decision under challenge was entitled Permission to work and volunteering for asylum seekers, version 10.0, published for Home Office staff on 4 May 2021. I shall refer to it in this judgment as “the PTW guidance”.3.In this judgment, “dependents’ access to the labour market” (and variations of it) means the access of dependents of asylum seekers to the labour market, and the term “dependents” means dependents of asylum seekers, unless otherwise stated.4.Bourne J granted the applicant anonymity. I consider that it is appropriate to maintain that order, primarily on account of the applicant’s wife’s status as a refugee.