Deportation From Ireland
Under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, the Minister for Justice and Equality has the power to issue a deportation order against any non EEA national who is in the State without lawful permission. The first step in the process involves the issuing of a letter notifying you of the Minister’s intention to make a deportation order against you. You will generally have a deadline of 15 days to respond and make representations to the Minister concerning this notification. The options are as follows;
- Consent to a Deportation Order
- Leave the State voluntarily within a certain period
- Submit a Leave to Remain application
Where you consent to a deportation order, such an order will be issued to you and where you choose to voluntarily leave the state, you will be put in contact with the Voluntary Returns Unit to facilitate leaving the State and once confirmation is received that the notified person has left the State, the Section 3 case will be closed and no Deportation Order will issue. The advantage of this is that you will be able to apply to return to Ireland more easily than if a deportation order were made against you.
SMD Solicitors can advise you in relation to the first two options or can submit a leave to remain application on your behalf. A Humanitarian Leave to Remain Application involves making submissions to the Minister as to why a Deportation Order should not be issued against them. The Minister is obliged to consider all representations made and assess the rights of the applicant under the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Such applications can take a long time to be determined and generally applicants will not be provided with temporary leave to remain during this time. Provided the application for humanitarian leave to remain has been fully and lawfully considered the deportation order against the notified person will be lawful and can then be effected to deport the applicant from the State.
A person issued with a deportation order may be directed by an immigration officer to attend their local immigration office at specified times. It is a criminal offence to contravene the provisions of a Deportation Order, and in this circumstance a person may become liable for arrest and detention for the purposes of deportation.
A person against whom a deportation order has issued can apply to the Minister under Section 3 (11) of the Immigration Act 1999. In practice, it is generally required that new information is submitted that was not available or considered at the time of issuing the initial deportation order.
For further information on the deportation process, contact us today.
See also: How many deportations are carried out from Ireland each year
