The Court held that an Independent Expert's opinion under reg 1.23 of the Migration Regulations was properly made and binding on the Tribunal where the IE expressly considered threats of deportation as part of its assessment of verbal abuse and visa-related threats, explored those claims with the applicant, and concluded on the evidence that the threats did not cause reasonable fear or apprehension within reg 1.21. The Court further held that the IE's characterisation of the applicant's fear as 'likely fleeting' did not impose an impermissible durational requirement on fear, but rather formed part of a permissible evaluative assessment of whether the fear was objectively reasonable in the circumstances, having regard to contextual matters including the applicant's decision not to pursue an ADVO and his voluntary return to reside with the sponsor after incidents.
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