IRISH CITIZENS who marry someone from outside the EU have less rights to bring their spouse into this country than successful asylum seekers or citizens of other EU states, according to the Fine Gael spokesman on immigration and integration, Denis Naughten.
He said Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern was aware of the problem but had so far not availed of the Immigration Bill, currently going through the Oireachtas, to deal with the problem.
“Under current law, any Irish person married to someone from outside the EU does not have a legal entitlement to bring their spouse to live with them in Ireland, including American and Australian nationals,” said Mr Naughten.
He added that people in this category had to apply individually to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service for the right to bring their spouse into this country.
“Large numbers of Irish people who moved abroad in leaner times to America, Australia and other countries want to return home but are running into serious obstacles because of the regulations governing their spouses,” he said.
Mr Naughten said this stringent ruling does not apply to citizens from any other EU country who are married to someone from outside the Union.
“Citizens from any of the other 26 EU countries can bring their non-EU family members into Ireland. This provision is enshrined in Irish law under the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No 2) Regulations 2006.
“Last week, the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern, had an opportunity to address this unfair situation through the Immigration Bill. Instead, he has actually made it harder for Irish citizens to bring their non-EU spouses into the country. Section 123 of the Immigration Bill provides that an Irish person who marries a non-EU citizen is not automatically entitled to have their spouse reside with them in Ireland,” he said.
Mr Naughten said that under the Immigration, Residency and Protection Bill, people granted asylum were entitled to get residency status for their spouse, but Irish citizens were not afforded such a right. “While the new Minister is planning to introduce a procedure for streamlining applications for the spouses of Irish citizens, he has given no commitment as to when this will be introduced.”
A Department of Justice official said yesterday that all aspects of immigration laws remained under constant review.