Entries by berkeleysolicitors

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.

A QUESTION OF THE LEGALITY OF THE USE OF DOMESTIC DEPORTATION LAW FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF EU CITIZENS – CHENCHOOLIAH

The Regulations direct that the Minister may make a removal order against a Union citizen or their family member where the person is no longer entitled to be in the State in accordance with the 2015 Regulations. However, in practice, the Minister has been invoking the domestic deportation procedure under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 as amended in the circumstances of family members who fall outside the remit of the 2015 Regulations.

IRELAND SEEKS TO INCREASE CHINESE TOURISM WITH 5-YEAR MULTI-ENTRY VISA OPTION

To celebrate 40 years of dipomatic relations with China, Ireland has implemented a a 5-year multi-entry visa option for Chinese applicants. With a large population and strong economy, China plays a significant role in the tourist market in Ireland. With this new visa option, Ireland hopes to increase Chinese tourism.

US RELEASES 2019 HUMAN TRAFFICKING REPORT; IRELAND FAILS TO MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS

According to recent US report, Ireland fails to meet the minimum standards in eliminating human trafficking but is making efforts to do so. Ireland is trying to develop new identification and referral mechanisms for human trafficking victims. However, it still fails to fully comply with the TVPA. The US report claims that Ireland’s efforts in prosecution and victim protection are ‘insufficient’. Since the law was amended in 2013, Ireland has failed to make a conviction in human trafficking. Also, in 2018, authorities failed to initiate any prosecutions in human trafficking, The US report states that Ireland needs to ‘Vigorously investigate, prosecute, and convict suspected offenders of both sex and labor trafficking using the trafficking law.’ Furthermore, Ireland lacks specialized services for human trafficking victims and has no allocated shelters specifically for human trafficking victims.

PERVAIS V MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY [2019] IEHC 403 AND THE DEFINITION OF A ‘DURABLE RELATIONSHIP’

In this case the Court asked the question: What is a “durable relationship”? The Court notes: “The phrase is not defined in the Citizens’ Rights Directive, most likely so as to allow the various member states to proceed by reference to concepts of relationships/durability that suit their respective mores and traditions.” The Court was critical that the Minister has not tried to define or elaborate on this definition by way of Ministerial guidance. The Court found that an untenable situation has arisen whereby no-one (applicants, officials or indeed the court) quite knows what a “durable relationship” is.

SUPREME COURT DELIVER JUDGEMENT IN P -v- MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY [2019] IESC 47

The applicant in this case, Mr P had applied numerous times for naturalisation as an Irish citizen. His applications where refused on multiple occasions for reasons of “state security”. The decision under challenge in these proceeding refused Mr P’s application for naturalisation on the basis that there were “national security/international relations considerations in this case”. This finding was reached on the basis of a confidential report, which was of “concern to the State”. This report was not, nor ever has been released to the applicant in full.

RE-ENTRY VISAS NOW ABOLISHED FOR ADULT HOLDERS OF IRP/GNIB CARDS

As of 13th May 2019, visa required nationals who hold a valid IRP/GNIB card will no longer need a re-entry visa to travel back to Ireland. An individual will only need to be able to show their IRP/GNIB card and their passport or travel document to airline staff and immigration authorities as evidence of their right to travel to the State. With this change Ireland has come into line with other EU Member States who rely similarly on residence permits rather than requiring re-entry visas from those holding immigration permission in the State.

UPDATE ON CHANGES TO IMMIGRATION RULES FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF CRITICAL SKILLS EMPLOYMENT PERMIT HOLDERS

The new Pre -Clearance Procedure for family members of CSEP (critical skills employment permit) holders has commenced.The recently welcomed policy change for the spouses and de facto partners of CSEP holders has been followed by another very encouraging update of a new Pre-clearance Scheme which was officially launched on April 1st 2019.This Pre-clearance Scheme essentially allows for the spouses and de facto partners of CSEP holders to confirm their permission to enter the State in advance of arrival.

WELCOME CHANGES TO IMMIGRATION PERMISSION FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF CRITICAL SKILLS EMPLOYMENT PERMIT HOLDERS

The purpose of the Critical Skills Employment Permit Scheme is to attract highly skilled people to Ireland in key areas where skills shortages have been identified, mainly in the IT Sector. The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) have recently announced an update on revised immigration arrangements for family members, spouses and partners of the holders of Critical Skills Employment Permits (CSEP).