Case

HI (Uganda) v SSHD [2007] All ER (D) 419 (Oct)

Tim Buley appeared for the successful respondent child, who sought entry clearance to join his mother in the UK after many years separation. The Court of Appeal rejected the appeal by the Entry Clearance Officer. One point of importance relates to the jurisdiction of an immigration judge hearing a “reconsideration” to rehear the appeal in the absence of a determination that the first instance judge erred in law. The court held that the absence of a determination was not fatal provided that an error of law could indeed be identified, thereby introducing a welcome element of flexibility into AIT procedure. The decision also overturns AIT authority that benefits received by a sponsor for one purpose (in this case, disability) cannot be used to support dependants for the purposes of the public funding provisions in the immigration rules. The approach simply makes this a question of fact in each case, and has the potential to affect hundreds of applications for entry clearance each year. From the point of view of the Claimant, a child who had been abandoned in Uganda by his father, the case brought to an end a 5 year dispute with the immigration authorities as to whether he should be able to enter the UK to rejoin his mother.

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