OA034352014

This is an appeal by the Secretary of State against the determination of First-tier Tribunal Judge A E Walker in which she allowed the appeal of AKD, a citizen of Ethiopia, against the Entry Clearance Officer's decision to refuse leave to enter and settle in the United Kingdom as the adult dependent relative of the Sponsor. I shall refer to AKD as the Applicant, although she was the Appellant in the proceedings below.

At the hearing before me Mr Richards appeared to represent the Secretary of State and the Sponsor appeared on behalf of the Applicant. As the Sponsor did not have legal representation I explained to her the nature of the hearing and the procedure to be followed.

In dismissing the appeal by reference to the Immigration Rules the Judge found that the evidence from the Applicant's doctor did not corroborate the Applicant's account of being disabled or to suffer from depression (paragraph 33) and that the Sponsor's concern for her mother had caused her to exaggerate the Applicant's needs (paragraph 34). The Judge also noted that the Sponsor was reliant on public funds (paragraph 36). These factors caused the Judge to conclude that the Applicant could not meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

The Judge went on to allow the appeal by reference to Article 8 ECHR finding that the Applicant had strong emotional ties to and an emotional dependence upon the Sponsor and her family and that the family life that the Applicant enjoyed with the Sponsor could not be enjoyed other than in the United Kingdom.

I reserved my decision and said that if I found an error of law I would go on to remake the decision. The Sponsor submitted various documents including telephone cards showing her continuing contact with the Applicant and a letter written in Amharic that the Sponsor said was from a neighbour who said that she could not help and support the Applicant any longer.