Thousands of married couples have been issued with notices of intention to deport non-EU spouses, The Irish Timeshas learned. Kitty Hollandreports.
The situation has emerged following a High Court ruling in June which said the Department of Justice was within its rights to insist non-EU spouses of EU citizens must live in another member state before residing here.
The European Commission has confirmed it is investigating the stance taken by the Department of Justice and said that it has received "numerous" complaints from couples affected by the court ruling.
Couples are being issued with "Section 3" letters informing the non-EU spouse that "the Minister proposes to make a deportation order in respect of you" on the grounds of being "unlawfully present in the State".
The letter gives the recipient three options - to leave the State voluntarily, to consent to being deported or to make representations to "remain temporarily in the State" within 15 days.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) says it has "about 750 cases" of couples in this situation.
"And that is just those that have come to our offices," says Catherine Cosgrave, legal officer with the ICI. "There will be others going to Citizens Advice Centres, the Migrant Rights Centre and solicitors."
In an unpublished ruling, seen by The Irish Timesin June, Mr Justice Michael Hanna said the Department of Justice was intra vires in demanding that non-EU spouses of EU citizens reside legally in another member state before being eligible for residency here.
The case is being appealed to the Supreme Court. The solicitor taking the case, Derek Stewart, said his office was receiving "about 15 cases a day" from couples with "Section 3" letters.
The Department of Justice insists it is correctly implementing the terms of SI 656/2006, introduced in April last year, which lays down that non-EU family members of an EU citizen must reside lawfully in another EU state before being permitted to work and live here. This was introduced despite a directive from the EU introduced three years ago, 2004/38/EC, which says non-EU family members of EU citizens should be automatically permitted to work and live in the EU.
Ms Cosgrave said that the notices were being issued against couples who had married in Ireland.
She believes the measures are being taken to stamp out so-called "marriages of convenience".
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said all non-EU spouses who failed to satisfy SI 656 would get "Section 3" letters.
Those who had been in the country legally at the time of their wedding could "contact their local immigration office with a view to regularising their status in the State by renewing their original permission to remain".
Those who were here illegally when they married, however, "are unlawfully present here". They could make representations to the Minister to be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds.