Appeal win following refusal of spouse visa

Penningtons' immigration team won an appeal for a Nigerian client whose highly complex immigration history over a period of 13 years led to the refusal of his application for a spouse visa by an Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) in Lagos.

Our client's background included an asylum claim, an appeal which was dismissed, marriage to an EEA national and subsequent refusal of leave to remain as a family member, two further applications for leave including long residence grounds and a second appeal, also dismissed. By this time our client's marriage had long since failed and he had for some years been in a serious relationship with his current partner. The couple had a child together. When our client's second appeal was dismissed he had to leave his family and return to Nigeria. He married his long term partner there and applied for a spouse visa. The ECO claimed that our client had deliberately sought to undermine the immigration control process and refused his application under the general grounds of refusal.

Penningtons presented persuasive evidence to the tribunal that our client fulfilled all relevant requirements of the immigration rules for a spouse visa and that he should not have been refused his visa under the general grounds of refusal. Following our appeal win, the family was reunited in the UK in time for them to have a very happy Christmas.

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