Upper Tribunal (Immigration and asylum chamber), 2022-11-15, DC/00024/2019
| Appeal Number | DC/00024/2019 |
| Hearing Date | 02 August 2022 |
| Published date | 30 November 2022 |
| Date | 15 November 2022 |
| Status | Unreported |
| Court | Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) |
Appeal Numbers: UI-2021-000795
DC/00024/2019
Upper Tribunal
(Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Appeal Numbers: ui-2021-000795
dc/00024/2019
THE IMMIGRATION ACTS
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Heard at Field House |
Decision & Reasons Promulgated |
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On 2 August 2022 |
On 15 November 2022 |
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Before
UPPER TRIBUNAL JUDGE O’CALLAGHAN
DEPUTY UPPER TRIBUNAL JUDGE WILDING
Between
mahmood rushite mohammed
aka
(1) mohammed mahmood rushite
(2) Mohammad Mahmood Rasheed
(3) Pushu Mahmood Rasheed
(4) PUSHU MAHMOOD RASHID
(ANONYMITY DIRECTION not made)
Appellant
and
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT
Respondent
Representation:
For the Appellant: Mr A Badar, Counsel, instructed by Gulbenkian Andonian
For the Respondent: Mr T Melvin, Senior Presenting Officer
DECISION AND REASONS
Introduction
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The appellant appeals under section 40A(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 (‘the 1981 Act’) against the decision of the respondent dated 15 March 2019 to deprive him of his British citizenship pursuant to section 40(3) of that Act.
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This appeal was initially considered by the First-tier Tribunal and allowed by a decision dated 13 August 2021. The respondent was granted permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal and by a decision dated 28 June 2022 a panel (Mrs Justice Collins Rice and Upper Tribunal Judge O’Callaghan) set aside the decision of the First-tier Tribunal and directed that the resumed hearing would be undertaken in this Tribunal.
Brief Facts
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The appellant is a national of Iraq who was born on 21 October 1983 and is aged 38.
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He entered the United Kingdom illegally on 19 September 2001 and claimed asylum four days later. He identified himself to the United Kingdom authorities as ‘Mahmood Rushite Mohammad’, and as having been born in Mosul, Iraq. At the time of his claim Mosul was situated within the Government Controlled Area of Iraq (‘GCI’).
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The respondent refused the appellant’s application for asylum by a decision dated 30 October 2001, issued just after the appellant turned 18. On the same day the respondent granted the appellant exceptional leave to remain (‘ELR’), valid until 30 October 2005, consequent to a then existing policy concerned with Iraqi nationals. At the material time it was the respondent’s policy to grant ELR to those persons arriving from Iraq who were not refugees, but who originated in the GCI. Another area of Iraq, known as the Kurdish Autonomous Zone (‘KAZ’) was not controlled by the Iraqi government and was considered by the respondent to be safe. It was not the respondent’s policy to grant ELR to those arriving from the KAZ.
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On 16 April 2002 the appellant signed a form in the name of ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rushite’, giving his place of birth as Mosul. Section 7 of the form requested details of “your last passport, travel document or any other document which you still have”. In response, the appellant stated, “None”. His explanation for not enclosing such documents was that he did not have any, being an illegal entrant, and the Iraqi authorities having not issued him with any documents.
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On 12 February 2006, again in the name of ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rushite’, the appellant applied for and was granted indefinite leave to remain in this country.
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On 10 March 2006 he applied in the same name for a Home Office Travel Document. The application form asked. “Have you ever held a national passport for your country of origin?” The appellant crossed the box for “No”. The appellant left blank the section which asked for full details of any other travel documents that had been “lost, stolen, submitted to the Home Office or are otherwise unavailable”.
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The appellant applied for naturalisation as a British citizen in the name of ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rushite’ on 23 November 2006. He again confirmed that he was born in Mosul. On 8 May 2007 he was issued with a certificate of naturalisation in the name of ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rushite’.
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In 2008 the appellant married his wife, Hero, in Iraq. Their marriage certificate is dated 24 January 2008 and identifies the appellant as ‘Pusho Mahmood Rasheed’, residing in Kendrawa. The appellant’s wife was identified as being from Erbil, a city in the north of Iraq.
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On 18 November 2008 the appellant’s wife applied for entry clearance as the spouse of a British citizen settled in the United Kingdom. The appellant was her sponsor. His wife presented a passport accompanied by several documents, including a marriage certificate. She stated that she had met the appellant in Iraq for the first time on 2 January 2008, married him on 1 April 2008, and lived with him for four weeks after their marriage.
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In refusing the wife’s application an Entry Clearance Officer detailed concerns as to the genuineness of documents submitted.
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On 21 January 2009 the appellant’s wife made a further application for entry clearance, and on this occasion presented additional documentation including what was described as a Lebanese marriage document recording a Sharia marriage taking place between the appellant and his wife on 16 December 2008 following the issue of a marriage permit on 15 December 2008. No explanation was provided for the document being issued on 12 December 2008. The appellant’s wife was identified as not having previously been married. The appellant was identified as ‘Mohammed Mahmood’ and his father’s name as Rushite. His date of birth was recorded as 21 October 1983 and his place of birth as Mosul.
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An Entry Clearance Officer refused the second application for an entry clearance, detailing that an ID document presented was considered to be counterfeit.
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On 22 May 2009 the appellant’s son Anas was born in Erbil, Iraq. The birth certificate records the appellant’s name as ‘Pusho’ and the family address as being in Erbil.
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On 6 September 2010 the appellant attended the offices of solicitors in England and signed a Deed of Change of Name, recording a change of name from ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rushite’ to ‘Pusho Rasheed’.
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The appellant’s daughter Aya was born on 19 May 2012 in Erbil. The appellant’s name is recorded as ‘Pusho Mahmood Rasheed’ and the family address was detailed as Erbil.
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An identification card dated 9 July 2012 was issued to the appellant by the Iraqi Directorate General of Nationality and Civil Status, identifying him as ‘Pusho’ with a date of birth of 21 October 1983 and giving his place of birth as Makhmour, Erbil.
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An Iraqi nationality certificate dated 3 September 2012 was issued to the appellant in the name of ‘Pusho’ detailing his place and date of birth as Erbil, 1983.
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On 5 November 2012 the appellant lodged at the British Embassy in Amman, Jordan, first time travel passport applications for his two children. With the applications he presented documents in the name of ‘Pusho’: the Iraqi marriage certificate dated 24 January 2008 and the ID card and nationality certificate dated 9 July 2012 and 3 September 2012 respectively.
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The appellant was called for an interview on 16 April 2013 where he identified himself as ‘Pusho’. He stated that this was the name he had given when he was naturalised. When it was put to him that his naturalisation certificate stated another name and place of birth he replied, “Yes, I changed my name”.
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On 14 June 2013 the appellant applied for a British passport in the name of ‘Pusho’.
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On 22 July 2013 an Iraqi Civil/Identification Card was issued to the appellant in the name of ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rasheed’. Both his place of birth and the place of issue were recorded as Mosul. His marital status was given as bachelor.
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On 24 July 2013 an Iraqi Certificate of Citizenship was issued to the appellant in the name of ‘Mohammad Mahmood Rushite’, giving the same year and place of birth as he had previously asserted.
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On 2 October 2013 the respondent wrote to the appellant detailing his personal history as known to the respondent and declaring that his British citizenship was null and void. The decision was addressed to the appellant as ‘Mr Mohammad aka Pusho Mahmood Rashid’ and detailed, inter alia:
“However, the Secretary of State subsequently received information that indicated that your genuine identity is Pusho Mahmood Rashid born 21 October 1983 in Erbil, Iraq.
... If your genuine place of birth had been known at the time you claimed asylum on 23 September 2001, you would not have benefited from the Country Policy that was in place at the time.
... The Country Policy on Iraq at the time you claimed asylum in the United Kingdom stated that any person who originated from former Government controlled Iraq, i.e Mosul, would be granted ELR, if they were not recognised as a refugee, if it had been known that you were from an area of Iraq that was not under the control of the former Government you would not have benefited from the Country Policy and been granted a period of ELR. Erbil was in an area of Iraq previously known as the Kurdish Autonomous Zone and considered a safe area of the country. Therefore you were not the person who the Secretary of State believed you to be.
British citizenship was...
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