The Upper Tribunal has held that a person who was on immigration bail is unable to rely on the exemption from needing to hold a relevant document (showing that the Home Office had already recognised residence as a durable partner) where a person otherwise had a lawful basis of stay in the UK. The case is Hani v Secretary of State for the Home Department Hani (EUSS durable partners: para. (aaa)) [2024] UKUT 68 (IAC) and the headnote summarises the decision as follows:

(1)    The effect of paragraph (b)(ii)(bb)(aaa) of the definition of “durable partner” in Annex 1 of Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules, as inserted by Statement of Changes HC 813 (from 31 December 2020 to 11 April 2023), is that a person who was in a durable partnership but did not have a “relevant document”, and who did not otherwise have a lawful basis of stay in the United Kingdom at the “specified date” of 31 December 2020 at 11.00PM, is incapable of meeting the definition of “durable partner”.

(2)    Nothing in the amendment to paragraph (aaa) made by HC 1160 with effect from 12 April 2023 calls for a different approach.

(3)    Secretary of State for the Home Department v Kabir UI-2022-002538 did not seek to give guidance about para. (aaa) and does not establish any proposition to be followed.

(4)    A “lawful basis of stay” under para. (aaa) does not include residence in the United Kingdom on immigration bail