The High Court has quashed a decision to revoke a Pakistani man’s Irish residence permission after finding that the Minister’s review process did not properly assess the evidence or explain a separate finding that he had relied on false or misleading information.
Mr Justice Cian Ferriter ruled on 21 June 2022 that the matter must return to the Minister for a fresh determination by a new decision-maker. The court did not decide the merits of the allegation that the man’s marriage was one of convenience.
The man had received a residence card in 2013 as the spouse of a Swedish EU citizen, identified in the judgment as MD. The marriage ended in divorce in 2017. The Minister’s review decision, issued in July 2021, upheld an earlier decision to revoke the permission and treated it as invalid from the outset. It found both that the man had submitted false or misleading information to obtain residence rights and that the marriage was one of convenience.
The man sought judicial review, arguing that the process was unfair and that the decisions failed to identify the allegedly false material or properly consider evidence supporting the relationship. The Minister argued that concerns had been put to him and that he had an opportunity to respond.
The judge rejected the argument that the relevant regulations impermissibly shifted the burden of proof. He said the Minister must first set out cogent grounds for suspecting a marriage of convenience, after which the parties can respond. He found that the man had received appropriate notice in this case.
However, the court found the separate finding of fraud was circular: it appeared to treat documents referring to the marriage as fraudulent because the marriage was found to be one of convenience. The judgment said no material had been identified as false in itself, such as a forged marriage certificate or a deliberate misstatement of a material fact.
The judge also found that the review decision had not properly engaged with evidence of joint rent and utility liabilities, the couple’s cohabitation in Ireland for about two and a half years, and information about their relationship before and after the wedding. It did not address the man’s statement that they had sought fertility treatment. The court said the decision-maker should at least have explained why that factor was rejected.
The ruling was limited to the lawfulness of the decision-making process. The Minister may consider the man’s past immigration breaches, including working beyond the permitted hours on a student visa and failing to notify the authorities promptly when MD left Ireland, in a fresh determination. The High Court quashed the July 2021 review decision and remitted the matter to the Minister.