The High Court has refused an Egyptian man’s bid to overturn two immigration decisions, including a proposal to deport him from Ireland.
AR, who was born in 1990, arrived in Ireland on 3 September 2015 and began working shortly afterwards. He later received Stamp 1 permission from August 2020, which was automatically extended during the Covid period until 31 May 2022.
He applied under the Regularisation of Long-Term Undocumented Migrant Scheme in February 2022. That application was refused because he did not meet the required period of undocumented residence. An appeal was ultimately refused in a decision dated 23 September 2024, which also notified him that the Minister proposed to make a deportation order.
Separately, AR had asked the Minister in April 2023 to exercise executive discretion and grant him permission to remain, arguing that his period of Stamp 1 permission meant he should be treated as a settled migrant. That request was refused on 14 July 2023.
In judicial review proceedings, AR argued that the Minister had failed to properly consider his discretionary application and his rights under the Constitution and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Ms Justice Miriam O’Regan rejected those arguments. She found that the Minister had in fact considered the application and had lawfully decided that no exceptional circumstances justified a freestanding grant of permission.
The judge also held that the Minister was not required to conduct a full private-life assessment at that stage. AR was unlawfully present and working without permission by April 2023, and those rights could instead be considered during the statutory deportation process.
The court further upheld the September 2024 proposal to deport him, finding no pending application that prevented the Minister from taking that step.
Both challenges were dismissed. The judge proposed that there be no order as to costs, subject to any written submissions from the parties.