Explain whether Lungani has any grounds under EU Law to challenge the decision to refuse him entry to Ireland.
Question
Michael, an Irish citizen, worked in South Africa for three years. While working there, he married Lungani, a South African national. Michael wanted to return to Ireland, bringing Lungani with him. However, Lungani’s application for a visa was rejected as he did not meet Irish immigration requirements for entry as a spouse of an Irish citizen. Michael travelled with Lungani to Barcelona, Spain, to look for work there. However, the Spanish immigration authorities refused to give Lungani a visa to enter the country as Lungani had never previously resided anywhere in the EU.
(a) Explain whether Lungani has any grounds under EU Law to challenge the decision to refuse him entry into Spain. Assume for this part of the question that Lungani successfully challenged the refusal to allow him to enter Spain. Michael obtained part-time work in a bar and four months later Lungani once again applied for an Irish visa, this time seeking to rely on EU Law. However, this application was also refused. The immigration official dealing with his application told him that that EU Law did not apply to his application as Michael had worked in Spain simply in an attempt to bypass Irish immigration rules, and so Irish immigration rules alone applied to his application.
(b) Explain whether Lungani has any grounds under EU Law to challenge the decision to refuse him entry to Ireland.