The applicant in this case was a Nigerian national married to an Irish national. Her application was rejected on the basis of her previous poor immigration history. Refusing her application, the Minister said there were no insurmountable obstacles to Mr Gory moving to Nigeria to live with his wife. Rejecting the test applied by the Minister, Mr Justice MacEochaidh stated that the test to be applied in such cases was one of reasonableness, i.e. was it reasonable for Mr Gory to leave the State in order to continue his family life with his non EU/EAA spouse?

Relying on Article 41 case law on the rights of the family, Mr Justice MacEochaidh stated: “it is my view that an Irish national married to a non Irish national has a constitutional right to reside in Ireland with that other person, subject to lawful regulation.” Although there had been a previous breach of Irish immigration law, Mr Justice MacEochaidh recognised Mrs Gory’s compliance with the deportation order following that breach and that the couple had demonstrated commitment to their marriage. Ultimately, Mr Justice MacEochaidh found the Minister’s refusal to revoke the deportation order unlawful and instructed him to overturn the decision.

Click here to read a blog entry on this case by Karen Berkeley of Brophy Solicitors.