At IMD Solicitors LLP, our immigration team, Jarmila Entezari and Dora Toderas, is pleased to have secured a positive outcome for a client who was granted leave to remain under Appendix FM following a lengthy and challenging immigration journey.
The client may have qualified under the EU Settlement Scheme from the outset. However, before instructing our team, she had submitted several applications herself, without the assistance of an immigration adviser or legal representative. These applications were refused because the evidence provided did not adequately address the relevant requirements.
As a result of those refusals, the client became an overstayer, significantly increasing the risks associated with any future immigration application.
When we were instructed, our team carefully assessed the client’s immigration history and personal circumstances, identified the issues arising from her previous applications and prepared a fresh application addressing both the relevant Immigration Rules and her established family life in the UK.
The application was submitted under the partner route as the spouse of a settled person under Appendix FM. As the sponsor was self-employed, the application required a substantial amount of specified financial evidence, together with careful consideration of the Immigration Rules and the applicable evidential requirements.
An unusual issue arose when the Home Office requested documents that had already been uploaded and confirmed as received through the TSL portal. Our team was able to address the request promptly. However, the situation demonstrated some of the practical difficulties applicants can face when dealing with the immigration process, particularly where extensive supporting evidence is required.
Despite the complexities of the case, we successfully demonstrated that refusing the application would result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for a family with established ties to the UK.
Although the application had been made under the partner route, the Home Office ultimately placed significant weight on the family’s wider circumstances. In particular, consideration was given to the client’s genuine and subsisting parental relationship with her British child and the fact that it would not be reasonable to expect the child to leave the United Kingdom.
For our team, the most important aspect of the outcome is that the family can remain together in the UK.
Cases of this nature demonstrate how difficult and uncertain immigration matters can become for families with established connections to the UK, particularly where previous applications have not properly addressed the relevant legal and evidential requirements.
They also demonstrate that a successful immigration application is not simply about whether an applicant may satisfy the underlying requirements. The way in which the circumstances of the case are analysed, and the supporting evidence is prepared and presented, can make a significant difference to the outcome.
Immigration cases often depend heavily on the quality of the evidence submitted. If you require legal advice regarding an immigration application, refusal, appeal or family-based immigration matter, our immigration team at IMD Solicitors is available to assist.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
