DAG v Secretary of State for the Home Department: AS/12/02/28098
Asylum Support Tribunal decision of Judge Verity Smith on 27 April 2012.
Appeal against removal of the appellant’s award of Section 4 support as his mother’s dependent following the attainment of his majority. Mother’s eligibility for support was found under Regulation 3(2)(b). Appeal dismissed: held (i) Regulation 2(4) of the Asylum Support Regulations 2000 applies: dependency continues past an 18th birthday as long as the dependent was under 18 at the time the application for asylum support was made: if an applicant was to lose status as a dependent when reaching 18, Regulation 2(4)(b), (c), (d) and (e) would refer to “is 18” and not “is, or was at the relevant time, under 18” (ii) the definition of “relevant time” refers to the date of the appellant’s application for Section 4 support (not an earlier application for Section 95 support) due to the specific, entirely separate eligibility criteria for Section 95 and Section 4 support (iii) the appellant could not be considered as his mother’s dependent by way of his dependency on her claim for asylum as that claim had been finally determined over a year before and had not be repeated (iv) he had been incorrectly included in his mother’s award as her dependent when he was over the age of 18. His eligibility for support should have been considered on an individual basis from the age of 18.
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