The Supreme Court dismissed Tracy Cirpaci and Aurel Cirpaci’s appeal and affirmed the High Court order refusing to quash the Minister’s decision not to revoke Aurel Cirpaci’s deportation order.
The appeal concerned a decision communicated on 1 April 2003. Its stated reason was that the couple had not lived together as a family unit for an appreciable period since their marriage. A later letter of 29 May repeated that position and said the Minister would reconsider if they could establish such a period of cohabitation. The Supreme Court treated the later letter as an explanation of the original decision, not a separate decision.
Aurel Cirpaci, a Romanian citizen, had been deported to Romania on 16 September 2002 after failing to attend a required appointment. He and Tracy Cirpaci, an Irish citizen, married in Romania on 30 January 2003. The next day they applied at the Irish Embassy in Bucharest for a visa for him to travel to Ireland as her spouse. Their solicitors later sought revocation of the deportation order, submitting documents about the marriage, accommodation, employment and their relationship.
A Department memorandum had also recommended refusal on the basis of concerns about the marriage’s purpose. The Court noted that this concern was not communicated to the couple. The Minister did not rely on it in the appeal, and the Court declined to consider a new challenge based on it because it had not been raised before the High Court. The appeal therefore proceeded on the stated reason concerning cohabitation.
The Court rejected the arguments that the Minister had applied a fixed policy, acted irrationally or interfered disproportionately with family rights. It held that the length of time a couple had lived together as a family unit could be relevant when deciding whether to revoke a deportation order. It also considered the State’s immigration interests alongside the couple’s family interests. The decision left open the possibility of reconsideration if the couple submitted evidence of an appreciable period of cohabitation.
The Court did not revoke the deportation order or direct that Aurel Cirpaci be admitted to Ireland. It dismissed the appeal and affirmed the High Court’s order.