Over the last eighteen months Sinnott Solicitors have had to take a significant number of cases to the High Court to compel the visa office to issue decisions on outstanding visa applications for family members of EU nationals.

The High Court directed that two of our cases be heard as test cases on the point to determine how long the visa office may take to issue a decision on an application.

A judgment was delivered in the first test case on the 14th of October 2016 (Atif & Ors v Minister for Justice and Equality – or see embedded court decision below) with the judge ordering that a decision be issued on the application within six weeks of the court order.

A judgment was delivered in the second test case (Ahsan & Ors v Minister for Justice and Equality – or see embedded court decision below) on the 28th of October 2016 with the court again ordering that a decision should issue within six weeks of the date of the perfection of the court order.

The decisions of the High Court have since been appealed to the Court of Appeal. A priority hearing date was recently fixed by the Court of Appeal to hear the appeals on the 15th of December 2017 (please keep an eye on our website and facebook page for updates on further developments).

What does this mean for you?

Whilst the rulings above re six weeks’ processing time applied to these specific cases, the situation for other cases presently may vary according to individual circumstances.

It is important to therefore to ensure that your application is made correctly. Using a Law Society of Ireland registered immigration law solicitor to make your application can help ensure that that you optimize for best outcomes and can prevent unnecessary delays.

You can contact us here to get a preliminary consultation with our firm – there is a nominal fee of just €100 plus Vat and if you wish to progress your application any further fees can be advised to you at the time of consultation.

Further information

CASE JUDGMENTS

Ahsan-V-Minister-for-Justice-and-Equality (2016) IEHC 691

Atif-and-Ors-V-Minister-for-Justice-and-Equality (2015) No. 627 J.R.