IMMIGRANT COUNCIL TAKE ACTION AGAINST IRISH GOVERNMENT FOR REFUSING ENTRY OF NON-EU SPOUSE OF ROMANIAN AT DUBLIN AIRPORT. Visa facilities still lacking two years after issue highlighted by High Court Friday, 28 June 2013 Government failure to introduce visa facilities at Irish Airports referred to Europe Statement by the Immigrant Council of Ireland The Government’s failure to introduce entry visa facilities at Irish Airports and other borders in the two years since a High Court judgment highlighted the shortfall has been referred to the European Commission for possible intervention. In his judgment in the Raducan case delivered in June 2011, Mr Justice Hogan ruled that failure to provide such facilities for third-country national family members of EU nationals is a breach of European Treaty Rights. The Immigrant Council of Ireland has now written to the Commission pointing out that since the judgment no action has been taken and the visa regime remains unchanged. Hilkka Becker, Senior Solicitor with the Immigrant Council said: “It is a matter of deep concern that two years after the High Court highlighted the failure to meet obligations under EU law that people can still be turned away at Dublin Airport even where they have a legal entitlement to enter and live here with their EU national family members. In his judgment Mr Justice Hogan determined that the fact a visa could not be obtained at Dublin Airport is ‘clearly a manifest breach’ of the EU Directive on Free Movement which requires the State to offer every facility to provide a visa to family members of EU nationals and that it should be issued as soon as possible. The Judge was ruling on the unlawful refusal of an immigration officer to grant the spouse of a Romanian citizen permission to enter Ireland, despite being in possession of a family residence card from another EU State. In raising the issue with the European Commission the Immigrant Council has also highlighted that unlike UK borders and those of the Schengen Common Travel Area, people refused entry to Ireland cannot make an appeal at the airport. The only option is to resort to the High Court from outside the country. We are now asking the Commission to provide its views on the matter and to consider infringement proceedings against Ireland for failing to meet its international commitments under the EU Directive.”
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 20:14:42 +0000
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