Ma (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judge | Lord Justice Aikens |
| Judgment Date | 18 October 2011 |
| Neutral Citation | [2011] EWCA Civ 1786 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Civil Division) |
| Date | 18 October 2011 |
| Docket Number | Case No: C5/2011/0133 |
[2011] EWCA Civ 1786
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM TRIBUNAL
IMMIGRATION JUDGE A J PARKER
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Lord Justice Aikens
Case No: C5/2011/0133
The Appellants appeared in person.
The Respondent did not appear and was not represented.
This is a renewed application for permission to appeal following a refusal on paper by Longmore LJ dated 26 May 2011. The applicant is MA, who is a citizen of Pakistan and who is now 32 years old. On 27 October 2008 the applicant applied for leave to remain in the UK as a tier 1 (post study work) migrant under the system that had been set up by the UK Borders Agency shortly before that time. In support of that application the applicant submitted a post-graduate Qualification in Business Management and an academic reference from the Cambridge College of Learning – "CCL". On 20 January 2009 the UK Borders Agency on behalf of the Secretary of State issued its decision letter refusing the application for leave to remain. There were two grounds of refusal. First, the Secretary of State said that he was satisfied that all the documents submitted from the CCL were false because the CCL had never offered a legitimate post-graduate qualification in business management. Therefore paragraph 322(1A) of the Immigration Rules applied so that leave to remain must be refused. That paragraph of the Immigration Rules stipulates that where false documents or information have been submitted in relation to an application then leave to remain must be refused.
The second ground was that because the documents were the basis upon which the applicant claimed to have obtained 75 points under appendix A of the Immigration Rules for Tier 1 (Post Study Work) it followed that the Secretary of State was not satisfied that the applicant had obtained 75 points or had achieved the requisite standard of English. Therefore leave to remain as a tier 1 (post study work) migrant would not be granted.
The applicant appealed that decision under the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 – "the 2002 Act". The appeal was heard by Immigration Judge Parker. The appeal was heard on 10 March 2009 and the decision was promulgated the same day. Immigration Judge Parker allowed the appeal. The evidence before Immigration Judge Parker consisted of three witness statements submitted on behalf of the Secretary of State. Those witness statements had originally been prepared in connection with criminal proceedings arising out of the Secretary of State's investigation into the activities of the CCL. The first statement set out the circumstances leading to the closure of the CCL at the end of 2008. One of the concerns of the department at the time was that the college was providing certificates without providing the underlying courses. The CCL was removed from the department's register of approved colleges in December 2008, ie before the application of this applicant for leave to remain the UK. The two other witness statements threw doubt on the veracity of the certificates.
The applicant gave oral evidence before Immigration Judge Parker. He was cross-examined, and he said that he could not produce any course work because he had done that on the college computer and he could not now get access to it.
Immigration Judge Parker concluded that he was not satisfied that the certificates produced by the CCL were false, within Immigration Rules paragraph 332(1A). The judge also concluded that it had not been shown that CCL was not authorised to issue the certificate relied upon by the applicant. Accordingly, the applicant should have been credited with the necessary 75 points. Immigration Judge Parker therefore allowed the appeal on that basis.
The Secretary of State obtained permission to appeal that decision on 6 April 2009.
On 11 August 2009 the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal promulgated its determination and reasons in the case of three other appeals which all involved the CCL; that case is known as NA v SSHD [2009] UKAIT 00031. The case had been heard over three days in June 2009 by three Senior Immigration Judges. The determination and reasons are elaborate and run to 189 paragraphs. In essence the AIT...
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