IA266862014

For the Respondent: Ms F Connolly, Counsel instructed by Madden & Finucane Solicitors

This is an appeal by the Secretary of State against a decision by First-tier Tribunal Judge M. M. Hutchinson who heard the appeal of Dr Stuart Ross on 9 December 2014. The appellant in these proceedings therefore, is the Secretary of State but I refer to the parties as they were before the First-tier Tribunal.

The appellant is a citizen of the USA. He appealed to the First-tier Tribunal against a decision by the respondent to refuse a residence card. The application for a residence card was on the basis that he is the spouse of an EEA national exercising Treaty rights, his spouse said to be a self-employed person. The respondent's decision identified what could be said to be deficiencies in the documentary evidence provided by the appellant in relation to the self-employment of his wife.

The appellant's wife, Maria Cristina Tuero-O'Donnell, is a citizen of Spain. The basis of her self-employment is as a language teacher, as set out in the First-tier Judge's decision.

First-tier Judge Hutchinson heard evidence from the appellant, his wife and from another witness, Mr Thomas Logue. She identified at [15] what the issue in the case was namely "one of adequacy of evidence." Having heard evidence from the witnesses and considered what documentary evidence there was, she allowed the appeal under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 ("the EEA Regulations"). It may be, although it is not clear, that the judge also allowed the appeal under Article 8 of the ECHR, although that is not expressly said to be the case under the subheading "Decision".