Philanthropist ‘confident’ in UK court challenge

Irish millionaire philanthropist Sean Ambrose McCarthy is confident of success in a European Court of Justice challenge to the UK’s alleged non-compliance with EU freedom-of-movement regulations.

The 73-year-old Kerry native, who sold his multimillion-euro environmental engineering interests on retirement at the age of 50, said from his wife’s parents’ home in Colombia that he expected the court to rule in his favour this morning.

He said that in May, one of the court’s advocate generals issued a legal opinion on the evidence before the 14-judge chamber in which he had favoured all of the legal arguments put forward by the McCarthy legal team.

Mr McCarthy, who lives with his 30-year-old wife Helena Patricia and their two children Natasha, 5, and Khloe, 2, in Spain, also owns a house in London where he visits regularly for specialist cardiac care.

His claim, supported by the advocate general in May, is that he should be allowed to bring his Colombian-born wife to the UK without having to apply for a UK travel permit every six months.

Under British law, non-EU family members of EU nationals must be in possession of a family permit if they wish to visit the UK. She has to apply every six months for the permit, which the UK authorities claim is necessary to avoid identity fraud and sham marriages.

Mr McCarthy, who has joint British and Irish citizenship, said that if the advocate general’s opinion is confirmed today, it will have major implications for British immigration rules and border controls between Ireland and the UK.

In eight out of 10 cases, the advocate general’s opinion is confirmed in the full judgment.

The permit is valid for six months and can only be renewed in person at a UK embassy.

In the McCarthy family’s case, this means an 11-hour round trip by car from Marbella to Madrid in order for her to renew it.