FT v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant, referred to as FT and granted anonymity, claims to be a citizen of Eritrea. She says she was born in Eritrea and lived there until she was six years old, when her father took her to Ethiopia, where she remained until 2023, when she began her journey to the United Kingdom. Travelling through Italy and France, she made a protection claim in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2024, asserting that she would be at risk on return to Eritrea because of an imputed political opinion, manifested by a reluctance to undertake national service. The Secretary of State refused the claim on 24 January 2025, not accepting that she was an Eritrean national: the refusal pointed to her stated ability to speak Tigrinya alongside Arabic and Amharic, treated her correct answers about Eritrea as mere general knowledge, and noted matters she could not expand upon. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the claim having been made after 28 June 2022 so that sections 30 to 39 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 applied. Before the Tribunal the only issue in dispute was her nationality; the Secretary of State conceded that if she were found to be Eritrean, the appeal should be allowed. She relied on a birth certificate and a citizenship letter said to have been sent from Asmara by her cousin.