Chen v The Minister for Justice and Equality

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr Justice Max Barrett
• Judgment Date: 13 May 2019
• Neutral Citation: [2019] IEHC 310
• Docket Number: 2014 No. 735 JR
• Court: High Court
• Date: 13 May 2019

IN THE MATTER OF SECTION 5 OF THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS (TRAFFICKING) ACT 2000

BETWEEN

HUI ZHU CHEN

APPLICANT

– AND –

THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY

RESPONDENT

AND

THE IRISH HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY COMMISSION

AND

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

NOTICE PARTIES

[2019] IEHC 310

2014 No. 735 JR

THE HIGH COURT

Immigration – Visas – Long-term residence – Applicant seeking to stay in Ireland on a long-term basis – Whether through s. 4(7) of the Immigration Act 2004 the Oireachtas ended the understanding of short-term visas as facilitating brief visits to Ireland and transformed such visas into a first step (at a visitor’s election) towards long-term residence

Facts: The applicant, Ms Chen, a national of China, came to Ireland on 14.11.2013 on a 90-day ‘C’ visa and remained in Ireland. On 19.02.2014, she applied, by reference to s. 4(7) of the Immigration Act 2004, to stay in Ireland on a long-term basis. That application failed. Ms Chen then commenced these proceedings.

Held by the High Court (Barrett J) that ‘C’-type visas facilitate short term visits to Ireland; they are not a route to long-term residence. Barrett J noted that there is a separate ‘D’ visa for visa-required persons seeking long-term residence and that Ms Chen did not apply for same. Under s. 4(7) of the 2004 Act, “A permission under this section may be renewed or varied…on application”; Barrett J noted that this wording contemplates renewal/variation of a granted visa, not the substitution/granting of some other class of visa. Barrett J held that the respondent, the Minister for Justice and Equality, under s. 4(7), could not properly acquiesce to Ms Chen’s application. Barrett J held that to conclude otherwise would involve the court accepting that, through s. 4(7), the Oireachtas ended the decades-long understanding of short-term visas as facilitating brief visits to Ireland and transformed such visas into a first step (at a visitor’s election) towards long-term residence. Barrett J held that nothing in the 2004 Act suggests that s. 4(7) seeks/attains this transformative end.

Barrett J held that the court would decline to grant the reliefs that Ms Chen sought.

Reliefs refused.

JUDGMENT of Mr Justice Max Barrett delivered on 13th May, 2019.

1 Ms Chen is a national of China. She came to Ireland on 14.11.2013 on a 90-day “C” visa and remains here today. On 19.02.2014, she applied, by reference to s.4(7) of the Immigration Act 2004, to stay in...