Entries by berkeleysolicitors

NEW PRE-CLEARANCE PROCESS FOR NON-EEA DE FACTO PARTNERS OF IRISH CITIZENS

Launched on the 19th of August 2019, this new process enables De Facto Partners of Irish nationals to apply for their permission to reside in Ireland prior to travelling, providing heightened certainty for those planning on moving home to Ireland with their De Facto Partners.

NEW ONLINE IMMIGRATION RENEWAL SYSTEM FOR DUBLIN-BASED STUDENTS

In order to support the increasing number of non-EEA students, a new online renewal immigration registration system has been established.
Starting 26th August 2019, Dublin-based students from outside of Europe will be able to renew their immigration registration online without any additional fees. Nearly 8,000 students are expected to use the new online renewal system in the coming months.

IMPORTANT JUDGMENT ON DEPENDENCY EU TREATY RIGHTS CASES – THE KUHN AND KHAN CASES

The Court of Appeal has issued a highly important and long-awaited decision on the matter of dependency in favour of the Applicants in the cases of Khan and ors. v the Minister for Justice and Equality and K and ors. V the Minister for Justice and Law Reform and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The decision is very significant for family members of EU citizens who have applications, or who have previously been refused applications, for visas or residence cards based on the fact that they are dependent on an EU citizen family member.

UPDATE ON VISA DELAYS – ATIF AND MAHMOOD CASE

In Atif and Mahmood, the High Court in Ireland ruled in favour of the applicants indicating that any delay over six months in processing visa applications was too long. However, the Minister appealed this decision to the Court of Appeals in Ireland. In order to make a decision in this matter, the Court of Appeals referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for guidance.

MINISTER RULED TO HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY APPLYING EU LAW RELATING TO MEMBERSHIP OF THE SAME HOUSEHOLD

The High Court has issued a very important ruling in Shishu & anor -v- The Minister for Justice and Equality [2019] IEHC 566, which provides that the Minister for Justice has incorrectly applied EU law as it relates to the issue of residence cards to dependant family members and members of the same household of an EU citizen who is exercising his or her right to free movement in the State.

UPDATE ON CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS FOLLOWING THE JONES RULING

Further to our recent blog on the High Court’s findings in the case of Jones v The Minister for Justice and Equality, which can be read in full here, the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service of the Department of Justice have published a notice addressing the judgment and the concerns it has raised.

IMPORTANT HIGH COURT RULING DEEMS REFUSAL OF FAMILY REUNIFICATION TO SPOUSES/CIVIL PARTNERS OF REFUGEES/SUBSIDIARY PROTECTION HOLDERS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The recent High Court judgment of Mr Justice Barrett in the joined cases of A. vs The Minister for Justice and Equality and S. and S. vs. The Minister for Justice and Equality has held as unconstitutional the statutory provision excluding family reunification rights to the spouses and civil partners of refugees whose marriage took place after the granting of refugee status.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE JONES CASE FOR ‘RECKONABLE RESIDENCE’ FOR NATURALIZATION APPLICATIONS

The Court finds in Jones that the law requires continuous residence in the year prior to application and that continuous residence is defined as per the generally accepted understanding and dictionary definition of continuous. Therefore even one days absence from Ireland in the year prior to application will break the continuous residence requirement and leave a person ineligible to apply for naturalization as an Irish citizen.