A RUSSIAN national from Moldova who flew to Heathrow with her daughter and then came directly to Ireland and sought refugee status should make her application for asylum in Britain, the High Court has ruled.
Ms Olga Anisimova had sought orders directing the Minister for Justice to consider her application for refugee status and restraining the Minister from making a deportation order.
Mr Justice Morris, in refusing Ms Anisimova's judicial review challenge, granted a stay on his ruling on the application of her counsel. The judge said the stay would continue if an appeal was lodged in the Supreme Court.
In his judgment, he said Ms Anisimova was a Russian national from Moldova. She arrived in Ireland from the UK on February 22nd, 1996. When she left Moldova, it was her intention at all times to come straight to Ireland but she was only able to obtain an entry visa for the UK.
On arrival at Heathrow airport, London, she immediately went on public transport to Holyhead from where she took a ferry to Dublin. She spent less than 24 hours on UK soil while she was in transit to Ireland.
On arrival in Dublin she made contact with the Irish Refugee Council and she and her daughter were placed in a B and B in Dublin until March 1996, when she was transferred to other accommodation.
In February 1996, she attended the offices of the Department of Justice and made an application for political asylum. A Department civil servant contacted the UK immigration authorities and received an undertaking from them to accept her back and deal with an asylum application should one be made.
Ms Anisimova has been granted a single entry student visa which gave her leave to enter the UK for six months provided she did not enter employment.
The State indicated that her application would not be processed here. The decision was based on the fact that the UK was considered to be her first country of safe haven.
Mr Justice Morris said he was satisfied that in this case there was a host third country, namely the UK, and in these circumstances, in view of the United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees, the Minister was precluded from examining Ms Anisimova's application for asylum irrespective of he wishes.
It had been established that the UK was prepared to consider her application and contact was made with them. He was satisfied there was no obligation on the Minister to embark upon an examination of the asylum claim. He refused the reliefs.