Irish laws restricting residency rights for non-EU nationals who marry EU citizens have been outlawed by European judges.
Under EU rules all EU citizens can work, study and live in any of the EU countries - and their family members can too, even if they are non-EU nationals. The only requirement is that they must have an entry visa or residency card issued by a member state.
But Irish legislation stipulates that a third-country national who is a family member of an Irish-based EU citizen can only live in Ireland if he or she is already legally resident of another EU country.
Today, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said setting such a condition was not acceptable and was a wrong interpretation of the EU rules.
The issue was raised by four separate cases being heard by the High Court. In each case a third-country national arrived in Ireland and applied for asylum and was refused.
And in each case, while still in Ireland, the four individuals married citizens of the EU who did not have Irish nationality but were resident in Ireland. None of the marriages, the court was told, was a marriage of convenience.
After the marriage, each of the non-EU spouses applied for a residency card as a family member of an EU citizen living in Ireland. But the applications were refused by the Minister for Justice because none of the spouses met the condition of previous legal residency in another member state.
The four took their cases to the High Court, which asked the European Court to rule on the validity of the Irish residency requirement.
Today's ruling said the Irish residency proviso risked interfering with the right of all EU citizens to live normally.
The Department of Justice says officials in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service is considering today's judgment.
About 1,500 people have sought information and support from the Immigrant Council of Ireland about the legislation.
Immigrant Council of Ireland Senior Solicitor, Hilkka Becker said: 'This has led to situations in which EU nationals, who were already resident and working in Ireland, were told they could not have their spouses join them here, effectively forcing them in many cases to leave their jobs and return home.
'The freedom of movement provisions in the EU Treaty contain one of the most fundamental rights of EU nationals in the EU and the Immigrant Council of Ireland is relieved to see the EJC upholding this right so strongly.'
'We have previously told the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the blanket refusal of anyone who hadn't previously resided within the EU was unlawful,' Ms Becker added.
