How to ascertain "first time deception was used"?

[elliothammer]

This one is a little technical so please bear with me!

Under s.320 the applicant must be refused UK visa automatically for 10 years if he used deception in support of his application. The letter of refusal of this gentelman specifically states that the visa may be refused automatically for 10 years from the first time he used deception.

The facts are: -a 63 year old gentleman got his first visa to come to the UK in 2003 invited by his son who had obtained citizenship by falsely claiming to be Albanian from Kosovo. He obtained the visa again in 2005 and 2006 then in 2009 he was refused visa because of the deception used. As mentioned above, according to him the documents were exactly the same since the first time his father obtained his visa in 2003. It seems that with the change in the law in 2007 his father was caught by the change.

The question is, does the 10 period start in 2003(when he first used deception) or does it start in 2009 when he was first refused the visa?


I found the below information on the HO's website but it does not answer the question as I have seen the refusal letter and it specifically states from the first time deception was used.

RFL5.3 How long are applicants automatically refused for?
If an applicant falls to be refused under 320(7B), applications must be refused for the following periods:

1 year if they left the UK voluntarily, whether or not at public expense;
5 years if they left UK voluntarily, at public expense;
10 years if they were removed or deported from the UK;
10 years if they practised deception (which includes using false documentation) in support of a previous visa application.

Thanks in advance for your assisstance.

[wunder]

2009.