Blockbuster victory in 322(5) tax cases

Balajigari and Ors v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 673
In what has been called a “blockbuster” judgment the Court of Appeal allowed 4 appeals concerning decisions to refuse applications for indefinite leave to remain using the controversial paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules on the basis of tax discrepancies. It gave new and important guidance on the legal principles applicable in these case.
The Court also accepted that many refusals of leave would engage article 8 ECHR and that, where this is so, the refusal decision could, in principle, be challenged on a full fact finding basis in proceedings for judicial review under the Human Rights Act 1998. The implications of the judgment are likely to be profound and far reaching.
Michael Biggs, who appeared for Mr. Balajigari, advanced the successful arguments on the points of principle considered by the Court. Shahadoth Karim and Parminder Saini also won their appeals.
The oral arguments were televised and can be found on YouTube, here.