Courts / Ireland / Report

Case of man found to have entered marriage of convenience only after citizenship granted referred to CJEU

Summary

The Court of Appeal has referred a case to the CJEU concerning a man who obtained Irish citizenship after entering a marriage of convenience with a non‑Irish EU national in 2010. He was granted a residence card in October 2010 and naturalised in 2016. In 2018 he divorced his wife, and a year later a third‑party non‑EEA national applied for residence on the basis of being the mother of his Irish‑citizen child. This triggered an investigation into the 2010 marriage. The Minister concluded that the marriage was a convenience, that the man had submitted false or misleading information to obtain residency, and that the status conferred under the EU directive was withdrawn from the outset. The man challenged the Minister's decisions in the High Court, which dismissed his appeal. He then appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the 2015 Regulations did not give the Minister power to make such a determination.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Case of man found to have entered marriage of convenience only after citizenship granted referred to CJEU. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

• October 2010 Other
• 2010 and 2015 Other
• 2024-06-21 Publication

Why: Ultimately, the Minister held that the man had entered a marriage of convenience and had submitted false or misleading information in respect of a residence card, which had since expired because at the time of that determination, he was a naturalised Irish citizen. CNI source report

Case subjects

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Stage Appeal

Read the original CNI report