Immigration is where Irish judicial review lives: a large share of all applications in the High Court concern international protection, deportation, visas and permissions. It is also where the stakes are most personal — family unity, safety, the right to remain — and where the time limits are shortest. Mary Molloy Solicitors practises immigration law daily, which means constant working familiarity with exactly these challenges.
Judicial review time limits are strict, are sometimes much shorter than three months, and can run from an earlier date than you expect. The courts can refuse late applications even within the stated period if you have not acted promptly. Nothing on this page calculates your deadline. If you believe a decision affecting you may be unlawful, contact a solicitor immediately.
Decisions We Challenge
- International protection refusals: decisions of the IPO and the International Protection Appeals Tribunal — credibility findings made unfairly, country-of-origin information ignored, reasons that do not engage with the claim. See challenging a protection refusal.
- Deportation orders: the order itself, the process behind it, and injunctions restraining removal while the challenge runs. See deportation order challenges.
- Visa and permission refusals: join-family and employment visas, Stamp 4 and long-term residency refusals, student permission issues — particularly refusals with boilerplate or absent reasons. See visa refusal challenges.
- Citizenship and naturalisation: refusals and — very commonly — open-ended delay, where mandamus can compel a decision.
- Family reunification: refusals under the International Protection Act and policy schemes.
The 28-Day Reality
Section 5 of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 gives many immigration and protection decisions a 28-day judicial review window, extendable only for good and sufficient reason. In practice that means: the papers, the grounds and counsel’s input must come together in under a month, often while the applicant is distressed and documents are scattered. The system rewards one behaviour above all — contacting a solicitor the day the decision arrives.
The Grounds That Recur
Immigration challenges succeed on the classic public-law grounds applied to this context: credibility findings reached without putting concerns to the applicant (fair procedures); decisions that fail to give intelligible reasons (the reasons ground); relevant evidence ignored or the wrong legal test applied; and disproportionate interference with family and private life rights. We assess which grounds are genuinely arguable — and tell you honestly when none is.
Received an Immigration Decision?
The 28-day clock may already be running. Call today - urgent immigration time limits are prioritised.
Call 01 5827148