NI people British under law even if they identify as Irish, immigration hearing is told
born in Northern Ireland are British citizens even if consider themselves Irish, a court has heard.
The argument was made by a lawyer for the Home Secretary during an upper-tier appeal after Northern Ireland woman Emma DeSouza won her case that she was an Irish citizen.
Ms DeSouza, from Magherafelt, had her application to have her US-born husband Jake granted UK residence as the spouse of an EU national turned down by the Home Office.
Government officials said Ms DeSouza was British, having been born in Northern Ireland.
Ms DeSouza challenged the decision, arguing that the 1998 Belfast Agreement allows for the people of Northern Ireland to identify as British, Irish or both.
In 2017 a judge at a first-tier immigration tribunal ruled that Ms DeSouza was an “Irish national only who has only ever been such”. The Home Office appealed against the decision.
Yesterday, lawyers representing the Home Office and Ms DeSouza in Belfast put forward opposing arguments by video link to two judges sitting in London.
Tony McGlennan QC, for the Home Secretary, said there was a “legal error” in the first-tier decision, arguing that the Belfast Agreement did not supersede the 1981 British Nationality Act.
He argued the Belfast Agreement was two documents — a multi-party agreement and an international treaty between the British and Irish governments.
Mr McGlennan said the 1998 Northern Ireland Act includes sections from both documents, but does not include the provisions around identifying as BritPEOPLE ish, Irish or both, and therefore the 1981 Act stood.
Ronan Lavery QC, acting for Ms DeSouza, said it was up to the courts to interpret documents such as the 1998 Northern Ireland Act, along with the Belfast Agreement.
“In the context of Northern Ireland, when one is interpreting any piece of legislation, one must look at the Belfast Agreement and interpret the legislation in a way which is consistent with it,” he said.
The judges retired to consider the arguments and a ruling will follow.