Immigration

The High Court has rejected a claim that the treatment of a woman with refugee status was contrary to constitutional and European human rights law. The claim related to her request to reunify with her three children, which was denied for one child due to a harsh cut-off time limit. Delivering the ju

The suspension of visa-free travel to Ireland for refugees has been extended by ministers for a further 12 months. The government last year suspended the operation of a Council of Europe agreement on the abolition of visas for refugees on a "temporary" basis — a decision described as "shameful

Senior Northern Ireland lawyers have shared concerns over the impact on the rule of law of the UK's proposed Illegal Migration Bill. The bill, which is currently before the House of Lords, was the focus of the inaugural event hosted by The Bar of Northern Ireland's new rule of law committee, which t

Refugee and migration law expert Professor Cathryn Costello has been appointed as full professor of law at UCD Sutherland School of Law. Professor Costello is currently professor of fundamental rights and co-director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School in Berlin, and Andrew W.

The immigration rules relating to the UK's EU Settlement Scheme are so poorly drafted that they may "lack the clarity of law", a judge in the Upper Tribunal has said. The comments were made in a case in which the Home Secretary appealed a decision of the First-tier Tribunal, which had found in favou

Ireland's Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), popularly dubbed the "golden visa" scheme, is to close to new applications. Introduced in 2012, the IIP was a pathway for non-EEA nationals to secure an immigration permission in Ireland on the basis of long-term investment in a range of options approved

The Supreme Court has held that the Minister for Justice and Equality was entitled to refuse a visa extension for a Canadian woman whose husband was studying in university in Ireland. The husband’s degree course lasted four years but the woman only had permission to remain in the State for two

A single application procedure for employment permits and immigration permissions is set to be introduced. At present, a person from outside the European Economic Area who is seeking to work in Ireland has to first make an application to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for a work

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has joined calls on the government to provide clarity to those who applied for the Afghan admissions programme and have not yet received a decision. Only a small number of approvals have been issued under the Afghan admission programme despite 528 applications being

Family reunification, residency issues, citizenship, EU Treaty rights and employment were the top five issues raised by callers to the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s (ICI) Immigration Helpline in 2021. That’s according to data included in the ICI’s annual Impact Report.

Judges must verify on their own initiative that migrants and asylum seekers are being detained lawfully, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. The court today handed down its judgment in a case referred by the Netherlands Council of State and the District Court of The Hague, w

Russia and Belarus have been removed from the list of countries whose nationals can avail of the short-stay visa waiver programme to travel to Ireland. The programme allows nationals of certain countries who have entered the UK on foot of certain UK short-stay visas to travel to Ireland without need

The UK's decision to deport a Nigerian man following a criminal conviction, despite him having been granted indefinite leave to remain more than a decade prior, did not violate his human rights, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled. In the case of Otite v the United Kingdom, the ECtH

James McGovern has joined immigration consultancy Fragomen Ireland as a senior immigration consultant. Prior to joining Fragomen, Mr McGovern provided advice and assistance to non-EEA nationals across a broad range of areas including international protection, naturalisation, domestic immigration per

The Court of Appeal in England and Wales has concluded that a judicial review petition by a man who was refused indefinite leave to remain (ILR) based on 10 years of continuous lawful residence in UK was permissible but fell to be refused. Appellant Victormills Iyieke argued that he had “book-