Port Removal from Ireland and ILR Application in the UK

Question

I'm an Irish citizen; my girlfriend and I live in London. Last Christmas, we tried to go to Ireland on the boat, but my girlfriend didn't have her passport with her (she is Turkish and has a UK Self-Employed Visa). The immigration team at the port stopped her and sent her back on the boat as she didn't have the right documents.

They gave her a 2-page document:

• The first page was directed to the Ship Company - a Carrier's Removal Direction under section 5(10)(b) of the Immigration Act 2003;
• The second page was addressed to her under the Immigration Act:

(g) that the non-national is not in possession of a valid passport or other equivalent document, issued by or on behalf of an authority recognised by the Government, which establishes his or her identity and nationality.

She has had tourist visas to Ireland twice before and the person at Port immigration told us that this sort of removal was not a big deal.

Now she is again applying for an Irish tourist visa, and one of the questions asks about removal from a port in Ireland. How will last year's removal affect getting a tourist visa?

Also, most importantly, she will be applying for an indefinite visa in the UK in February. How will this situation effects her ILR application?

Answer 1

Any kind of removal is not viewed favorably. That is the bottom line. In her case although this might seem trivial to you, an immigration officer might view it as someone who doesn't care for following rules. So it will affect her negatively, however upon being interviewed and the immigration officer being able to fully assess her particular case, he could waive the infraction.

Once again will it affect her ILR approval? Yes it will, however I do not expect it to tip the balances in the favor of a refusal if she has the other factors for an indefinite stay weighing in her favor.

Do not rely on what border immigration officers tell you. Their paramount concern is to remove you as expeditiously and calmly as possible and will many times tell you a lie like don't worry, no big deal, you can come back easily with the right documents so that you leave without too much of a fuss, only to find out later that it really is a big deal.

All the best.