Secretary of State for the Home Department v Betim Onuzi
[2024] UKUT 144 (IAC)
Reine Chimi v The Secretary of State for the Home Department
19 April 2023
[2023] UKUT 115 (IAC)
Upper Tribunal
Reine Chimi lost her British citizenship because the government said she got it unfairly by cheating on her French citizenship application. Even though this is hard on her and her family, the court said it was a fair decision because it's important to stop people from getting citizenship this way.
Key Facts
- •Reine Chimi, born in Cameroon, naturalized as a British citizen in 2016.
- •In 2020, the Secretary of State deprived her of British citizenship under section 40(3) of the British Nationality Act 1981, alleging fraudulent acquisition of French citizenship.
- •Chimi's French passport was obtained using a fraudulent birth certificate.
- •Chimi argued she was unaware of the fraud and had been misled by her former partner.
- •The Upper Tribunal (UT) reviewed the First-Tier Tribunal's decision and remade the decision.
Legal Principles
In deprivation appeals under sections 40(2) or 40(3) of the British Nationality Act 1981, the Tribunal should review the Secretary of State's decision using conventional public law tools, not a full merits reconsideration.
Begum v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 7
The Tribunal must only consider evidence before the Secretary of State or relevant to establishing a pleaded error of law.
This decision (Chimi)
When considering Article 8 ECHR rights, the Tribunal may consider evidence not before the Secretary of State, but it cannot revisit conclusions on the condition precedent or the Secretary of State's discretion.
This decision (Chimi)
The Tribunal must determine if the deprivation decision is proportionate to the appellant's Article 8 rights, considering the reasonably foreseeable consequences and the importance of maintaining the integrity of British nationality law.
Ciceri [2021] UKUT 00238 (IAC)
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The UT found no error of law in the Secretary of State's decision that Chimi obtained British citizenship fraudulently. The UT also found that the deprivation was proportionate to Chimi's Article 8 rights, weighing the importance of maintaining the integrity of nationality law against the reasonably foreseeable consequences for Chimi and her family.
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