EU Archives - Berkeley Solicitors

There are very substantial delays in the processing of visas and preclearance for family members of Irish, UK and Non-EEA nationals in the State.

This is causing undue hardship and is causing long term separation of families, often including minor children being separated from their parents.

The Minister for Justice’s own business target is to process visa applications for immediate family members of Category A sponsors, including Irish citizens and Critical Skills Employment Permit holders within 6 months and for other sponsors within 12 months.

For visas processed in the Dublin visa office at present these targets are not being met and processing times are well in excess of these business targets.

The Department of Justice has a specific policy on their visa decisions page which states that in very narrow circumstances a request for expedited visa processing may be facilitated, such as where a family member has been hospitalised, there is a life-threatening medical emergency, or in the circumstances of bereavement of an immediate family member.

We say substantial efforts should be made by the Minister to ensure that the business targets of 6 – 12 months are being met and to reduce the backlogs in the processing of join family visa applications in the Dublin visa office.

The Department of Justice has established a Visa Desk in South Africa to manage visa applications from residents of South Africa. The desk does not process preclearance applications or applications submitted pursuant to Directive 2004/.38/EC and the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015- those applications are transferred to Dublin visa office for processing.

Processing times in the South Africa Visa Desk are stated to be approximately 6 months for immediate family members of Irish Citizens or Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and 12 months for category B sponsors, such as a General Employment Permit holders of other Stamp 4 or Stamp 1 holders.

The South Africa visa desk outlines that expedited processing will only be considered in the case of serious travel emergencies.

For applications processed by the South Africa Visa Desk the published guidelines in respect of submitting a visa appeal is to submit the appeal via a VAC or VFS Centre. This differs from visas not processed by the South Africa Visa Desk, where the standard procedure is to submit the appeal directly to the visa office or Embassy that issued the decision, with the address to submit the appeal being stated on the visa decision letter itself.

Berkeley Solicitors is highly experienced in making join family visa applications and appeals, please feel free to contact our office if you wish to make such an application or you and your family are experiencing a delay in the processing of your visa application.

This blog article has been prepared on the basis of current immigration law and policy, which is subject to change. Please keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page where articles relating to updates and changes in immigration law and policy are regularly posted.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has released an opinion by the Advocate General in relation to Case C-488/21, Voican v Chief Appeals Officer.

The case concerns GV, a Romanian national, and her daughter AC, a dual Romanian Irish citizen. GV joined her daughter in Ireland in 2017, on the basis that under EU law, some family members, including dependent parents, may join a mobile EU worker in the Member States in which they live and work. The applicant has been financially dependent on her daughter and has also suffered from degenerative changes in her arthritis.

In 2017, GV made an application for Disability Allowance under the Irish Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. This was refused, and the appeal of the decision was also refused. Both decisions stated that the reason for the refusal was that GV did not have a right of residence in Ireland.

On review, it was found that GV, as a dependent direct relative of an EU citizen working in Ireland, had a right of residence, but was not entitled to social assistance payment. It was argued that under Irish law, GV must not become an unreasonable burden on the national social assistance system.

In the Advocate General’s opinion, she stated that the CJEU should embrace a broad concept of family dependency, which should extend to the material, financial, physical and/or emotional support of a family member. Therefore, even if GV would no longer need the financial support of her daughter, she might still fulfil the requirement of dependency which allowed her to join her daughter in the State. Thus, a Member State awarding financial support by way of a social assistance allowance does not terminate the dependency of the supported person.

The opinion highlighted that at the EU level, there is a legislative consensus about the acceptable balance between the interests of free movement of workers between Member States, and the concerns for the welfare systems of each Member State. The result of that consensus is that neither mobile EU workers nor their dependent direct relatives who are residing legally with them can be regarded as an unreasonable burden by that State. In accordance with the principle of equal treatment, such family members can only be regarded as a reasonable or unreasonable burden in the same way that nationals of that State could be regarded as so.

Therefore, a Member State cannot refuse access to special social assistance payments to a dependent direct relative of a mobile EU worker, on the ground that they represent an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of that State.

Please note that the Advocate General’s opinion is not binding on the CJEU. The full judgement on this case will be given at a later date.

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ONGOING DELAYS IN VISA PROCESSING FOR JOIN FAMILY VISA APPLICATIONS