Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber

[2024] UKUT 00144 (IAC)

Fecha: 08-Ago-2023

Proceedings at the continuation hearing

Proceedings at the continuation hearing

The appellant was unrepresented. He provided a document headed “Submission on resumed hearing”, which he explained at the continuation hearing before me, where he was unrepresented, was intended to represent the totality of his case. Those submissions essentially contend that

(a)

The relevant date for assessing good character was as stated at 55.7.1 of Chapter 55: “If the relevant facts, had they been known at the time the application for citizenship was considered, would have affected the decision to grant citizenship via naturalisation or registration the caseworker should consider deprivation.”

(b)

His case should be assessed against the “real world” backdrop, which here was an administrative error leading to ILR.

(c)

The rationale for the grant of ILR had been “the delays and mistakes already made on this case” which led the relevant caseworker to propose “on balance that the appellant should be granted ILR”. In the light of this rationale, it was unnecessary for the Upper Tribunal to consider “whether it was open to the respondent to find that the exercise of discretion to grant ILR might have been different had the full facts been known”.

(d)

Shyti [2023] EWCA Civ 770 was distinguishable from the present appeal because it turned on the old Immigration Rule 395 which expressly identified “good character” as part of the discretionary exercise.

10.

Additionally, via cross-reference to the skeleton argument before the First-tier Tribunal, it was submitted vis-á-vis ECHR Art 8 that the withdrawal of British citizenship was not proportionate to the private and family life in play given the impact it would have on the Appellant's partner and their three British citizen children. The circumstances of his grant of indefinite leave to remain, plus the Appellant's long UK residence and lengthy possession of British citizenship together rendered the deprivation disproportionate.