In Chowdhury (Extended family members: dependency) [2020] UKUT 00188 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) interpreted the words “and continues to be dependent” in regulation 8(2)(c) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 (“the 2006 Regulations”) to mean that there should be no break in the continuity of the claimant’s dependency on the EEA national sponsor.
In January 2016, the Appellant, a Bangladeshi national, applied for a Residence Card as the Extended Family Member of an EEA national under regulation 8(2)(c) of the 2006 Regulations. The latter provided, inter alia, that an Extended Family Member was someone who: “has joined the EEA national in the United Kingdom and continues to be dependent upon him or to be a member of his household”.
The Home Office refused the Appellant’s application because there had been a break in the Appellant’s claimed dependency on the EEA national from 2011 to 2014. The First-tier Tribunal dismissed the Appellant’s subsequent appeal. On appeal to the Upper Tribunal, the issue was, inter alia, the interpretation of the term “continues to be dependent”.
The Upper Tribunal held that the words “continues to be dependent” excluded the possibility of breaks in residence. This was consistent with Article 3(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC (implemented in the 2006 Regulations), which intended to preserve the the family unit. Past dependency alone, or past and present dependency punctuated by no dependency, were not sufficient. In the Appellant’s case, there was no evidence of dependency between 2011-2014, therefore dependency could not be established.
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