[2025] UKUT 00091 (IAC)

In my judgment, bearing in mind the high threshold to establish a rationality claim, the Secretary of State was entitled to conclude that Serena Euro was not a genuine business, and that it had been established in order to facilitate entry clearance.

The second applicant was the owner of Serena UAE at all relevant times (nothing turns on the changing requirements of UAE law relating to foreign ownership for present purposes). The second applicant was the addressee of the majority of invoices to and agreements with Serena Euro. He was a director of the company initially, an arrangement which only changed shortly before the first applicant’s application under Appendix ROB. In addition, despite reportedly being the 100% shareholder in Serena UAE, the second applicant appeared to be employed by Serena Euro in the United Kingdom and was a recipient of wage slips issued by the company in his name. Those factors also combine to support the Secretary of State’s conclusion that the first applicant was not the sole representative of the overseas business, in addition to her conclusion that the criteria in ROB paras 5.1 and 5.2 were engaged.