Sir, – Further to the report on Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton’s pledge to crack down on “sham marriages” (Home News, July 23rd), marrying a legal resident does not impart any “automatic right of residency”. In fact, even marriage to a full Irish citizen does not automatically give the lucky new spouse a right to enter the State, much less permission to reside here. Rather, applications must be made to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service on a case-by-case basis, and each application for residency is then assessed entirely on its own merits, with regard to a whole host of factors, and with no guarantee of success. – Yours, etc,
CATHAL MALONE,
Hillcrest,
Carrigaline, Co Cork.