The High Court has quashed the Minister for Justice’s decision refusing visa appeals by two Indian applicants who said they depended on their British father, an EU citizen living in Ireland. The court found that relevant documents and money transfers were not considered in the 2021 decision.
In a judgment delivered on 24 April 2023, Ms Justice Bolger ruled that the decision was not reasonable or rational. The applicants had sought certiorari to quash the refusal, which concerned Join Family (EEA national) visa applications under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2015 and/or the EU free movement directive.
The applicants said their father had supported them with living expenses, including rent. The Minister’s refusal cited insufficient evidence that the transfers met essential needs, questioned whether the applicants had another source of income, and excluded a transfer of 952,998 rupees made in May 2015 from the pattern of support being assessed.
The applicants challenged how their appeals were assessed, including the treatment of the large transfer and the Minister’s conclusion about their living costs. They also argued that documents sent in December 2020 had not been considered. Those documents included a deed showing their mother owned the residence and gas bills addressed to their parents there.
Justice Bolger noted that the refusal said no utility bills had been provided, although bills had been submitted. The decision also omitted three transfers made in 2019 and 2020 to the applicants and their mother. The judge said those omissions understated the average support received after May 2019, which the Minister had relied on.
The judge held that the decision-maker should have referred to and assessed the documents and transfers, including resolving the apparent inconsistency between the applicants’ earlier statements that their father paid rent and later evidence that their mother owned the home. She also found the decision irrational in excluding the 2015 transfer on the stated grounds and criticised its failure to assess the application in the round, including from the perspective of the EU citizen’s free movement rights.
The court quashed the decision of 9 September 2021 refusing the two visa applications. It did not grant the visas. Justice Bolger gave an indicative view that costs should follow the cause and listed the matter for mention on 9 May 2023, allowing further submissions on costs and/or final orders.