Minister wins Supreme Court appeal over residency refusals

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Supreme Court upheld the Minister for Justice’s refusal of residency under a special student scheme to Sangeeta Rana and Lehrasib Ali on 18 October 2024. The Minister brought the appeal after both applicants had succeeded in the Court of Appeal.

Delivering the unanimous judgment, Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley said the Minister had properly reviewed the materials submitted by both applicants, including character references and work history documents.

The Minister had found that Rana, an Indian national, entered a marriage of convenience to remain in Ireland under EU law. The court also upheld the refusal of Pakistani national Ali’s application after he was found to have submitted false documents. There was no finding that Ali’s marriage was one of convenience.

The Court of Appeal had held that the Minister did not properly assess good character or engage sufficiently with the applicants’ submissions at the review stage. The Minister appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court noted that both applicants had been granted permission to remain in Ireland under the separate Regularisation of Long Term Undocumented Migrants Scheme. Ms Justice O’Malley said an individual could fail a good conduct requirement for one purpose but pass it for another.