Russian-Irish couple granted deportation challenge

A High Court judge has found that a Russian woman who married an Irish man last year has established a serious case that she was illegally deported last April.

Pending the determination of legal proceedings, Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan granted an injunction restraining the Minister for Justice from preventing the woman, who remains in Russia, from re-entering the State in reliance on that deportation order.

The woman, who came here in 1998, married her Irish husband in August 2002. The marriage occurred after the deportation order was issued in February 2002.

Yesterday, outlining the background to the proceedings, the judge said the woman came here as a student on a Russian passport in 1998, which was valid to August 2001.

In 2000 she applied for refugee status but was refused. A deportation order was made by the Minister on February 25th, 2002. However, the woman did not present herself for deportation as required.

On August 6th, 2002, she married an Irish man in a register office and then successfully secured a visa to remain here until August 13th, 2003.

On April 6th, 2003, she was arrested for deportation and was deported on April 9th, 2003. High Court proceedings were initiated and leave was sought to challenge the deportation.

Ruling on the application yesterday, Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan granted leave to Mr Richard Humphreys, for the couple, to seek various orders on some of the grounds advanced. She granted leave to seek orders that the deportation effected on April 9th was illegal.

The judge noted that on that date the woman had in her possession a Russian passport and a visa valid to August 13th, 2003, expressly stated to be based on her marriage to an Irish citizen.

The applicants had an arguable case that the Minister, having regard to the rights of the family recognised in Article 41 of the Constitution, should have taken this into account. They had an arguable case that the Minister should, as a minimum, have considered the marital situation of the applicants.

She also granted leave to seek orders directing the Minister to decide on the couple's application of April 9th last to revoke the deportation order.

The judge said she would refuse leave to challenge the validity of the deportation order on grounds that the fact of the marriage of the two applicants gave the man an absolute right to reside here with his spouse, and consequently the deportation order automatically became invalid on the date of the marriage.

There was no authority for such an argument. The most that could be said was there may be an obligation on the Minister to reconsider the situation.