EK (Ivory Coast) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE BRIGGS
- LORD JUSTICE FLOYD
- LORD JUSTICE SALES
Areas of Law
- Administrative Law
- Immigration Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involves an appeal by a student whose application for leave to remain was refused after her CAS letter was withdrawn by the college due to an administrative error. The Appellant argued that the Secretary of State should have informed her and allowed time to rectify the issue. Both the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal dismissed her appeals. The Court of Appeal upheld these decisions, stating that the Secretary of State did not breach the duty of fairness. Dissenting, Lord Justice Floyd argued that such a duty required notification of the CAS withdrawal.
Judgment
Lord Justice Sales :
Introduction
This appeal concerns the application of the general public law duty of fairness in the context of the points based system for applying for leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom set out in Appendix A to the Immigration Rules HC 395 (“the PBS”).
The Appellant is a student from the Ivory Coast. On 8 September 2012 she made an application for leave to remain in the United Kingdom as a Tier 4 (General) Student Migrant, which was supported by a letter setting out a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (“CAS”) issued by St Stephen’s College (UK) Limited (“St Stephen’s”). At the time, St Stephen’s was authorised by the Secretary of State for the Home Department to issue such CAS letters.
However, between 8 September 2012 and the date of the Secretary of State’s decision on the application, by letter dated 5 January 2013, St Stephen’s withdrew the CAS letter. There is evidence that St Stephen’s withdrew the CAS letter as a result of an administrative error. This meant that, by the time of the Secretary of State’s decision, the Appellant did not have the requisite number of points to be granted leave to remain. Her application was therefore refused.
The issue which arises is whether, pursuant to the general public law duty of fairness, the Secretary of State should have given notice of the withdrawal of the CAS letter to the Appellant and postponed making any decision on her application in order to allow the Appellant an opportunity to correct any error which might have been made by St Stephen’s or to find another college which would issue her with a CAS letter.
The Facts
The Appellant arrived in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2011, aged 20, with the intention of studying for a diploma in business management. However, she was unable to complete her course because in March 2012 the college at which she was enrolled, Bliss College, lost its status as a sponsor for students and its authorisation from the Secretary of State to issue CAS letters which would be recognised under the PBS.
The Secretary of State then granted the Appellant leave to remain for a period to give her an opportunity to find a new college. The Appellant enrolled with St Stephen’s, which issued her with a CAS letter in standard form and assigned her a unique CAS reference number. Her arrangement with St Stephen’s was that she would not attend the course until the Secretary of State had made her decision whether to grant her leave to re