In a judgment of 29 January 2015, the Supreme Court found that the Immigration Appeals Board’s (UNE) decisions in what is known as the ‘Maria case’ are invalid.
The case concerned expulsion and rejection of an application for a residence permit for Maria’s mother, who is a national of Kenya.
In general, Supreme Court judgments weigh heavily in how the rules shall be applied. As of Friday afternoon, UNE had not received the grounds for the judgment. Once we do, we will go through the judgment in detail, see what is new or clarifying on different points, and consider in particular the consequences of the judgment for expulsion cases involving children.
As regards the concrete case at hand, UNE will, as a consequence of the judgment, reverse the expulsion decision. The judgment also means that the immigration administration will reconsider the application for family reunification.
Background to the case
The Kenyan woman applied for protection (asylum) in Norway in 2008. She received a rejection from the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) on the grounds that she did not have a need for protection. The decision was upheld by UNE.
It later emerged that she had given a false identity. The UDI made the decision on expulsion because she had violated the Immigration Act by giving a false identity and staying in Norway illegally. The expulsion decision was upheld by UNE.
During her stay in Norway, she had a child with a Norwegian citizen. She applied for a residence permit in order to live with the child in Norway. This application was also rejected, first by the UDI and then by UNE. UNE’s decision was based on the child accompanying its mother to Kenya.
The expulsion decision entailed a five-year prohibition on entry and only applied to the woman, not the child. On expiry of the prohibition on entry, the woman could apply for family reunification with the child in Norway.
Both the expulsion decision and the rejection of the application for a residence permit were declared valid by Oslo District Court and Borgarting Court of Appeal, while the Supreme Court in the judgment of 29 January 2015 concluded that the decisions were invalid.
Statement published at une.no on 30 January 2015