International Protection System:
The Role Of Your Solicitor

The Role Of Your Solicitor

The solicitor’s role will vary depending on when they are instructed. In general, their role is to identify your protection needs, to advise you if you are likely to qualify for international protection and to ensure you are represented properly.

Your solicitor should:

Meet with you, take full instructions from you and help you to prepare for the stage of the application that you are at.
Assess your claims in full to ensure that all relevant information is put before the decision maker, including any evidence available to support your claim:

Your solicitor should advise you on the importance of producing documents to support your claim.
Gather all relevant documents from you to support your claim.
Identify if a referral for a medical legal report would be beneficial.
Identify relevant, reputable and up-to-date “country of origin” information for inclusion in your application. The following sources are usually considered reliable:

be mindful of language barriers and any interpreter needs.
accumulate additional materials to support a “leave to remain” application.
advise you to apply for labour market access after 5 months waiting for an initial decision.
advise you regarding reception conditions entitlements and appeals.
if your application is granted, advise you of the consequences of a decision e.g. any rights that flow from that, including family reunification rights, access to state services, termination of reception conditions etc.

if your application is refused, your solicitor should:

assess the refusal with you to determine if it is fair, and if not, to identify if an appeal or Judicial Review of the decision might be advisable.
advise you on appeal deadlines.
inform you of the parts of your claim that have been accepted and the parts that have not. If there are credibility issues, these must be addressed in this appeal.
request more documentation from you if possible.
analyse any “country of origin” information referred to in the decision and assess it as against the “country of origin” information submitted on your behalf, and any updated “country of origin” information that may be relevant.
Review your Section 35 interview notes, noting any contradictions or issues.
Advise you of the consequences of a decision e.g. if it is a leave to remain refusal and the “end” of the process, if a Judicial Review might be appropriate, the option to voluntarily leave the State, the likelihood of a “proposal to deport” issuing etc.

Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you are in need of assistance with an Appeal to the IPAT, with a Leave to Remain application, or if you have received a negative decision and are wondering if this might be open to challenge before the Irish Courts.

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International Protection System

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We can’t thank Annette enough for all her hard work and assistance. From the very start Annette made us feel comfortable on our surrogacy journey.Highly recommend Annette and team to couples starting their journey.

Stephen and Theresa, Recent Surrogacy Clients

I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how incredibly helpful and professional we found Katya to deal with during our recent house purchase. Katya was extremely patient with all of our questions and calmly and efficiently helped us through the whole process. Of all of the solicitors we've dealt with she really was the most pleasant, helpful and effective one we have worked with.

Siobhan & Gerry

I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!

Immigration client - April 2024

Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan has worked with us on a number of different matters, particularly commercial contracts and property matters. They tend to have specialists in each area which means we get the benefit of a very high level of expertise. We find them very responsive to our requirements, they quickly understand what has to be done and deliver the outcomes we need without delay. We value their assistance highly, and I would not hesitate to give them my recommendation.

David Ruane — Managing Director, Pulse Fashion Accessories, Newcastle, Co Dublin

I just wanted to say how happy we were with the service Keith provided when we were changing our mortgage earlier this year. Keith’s efforts were of the highest standard. He was extremely fast, helpful and professional in his approach. Things were getting tight because of interest rate deadlines and Keith really helped to get it over the line. This will save us a lot of money over the course of the 7 year fixed term. I would highly recommend PKHL to anyone considering moving house or remortgaging their home.

R.L. - Waterford

I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!

Recent Immigration Client

Martin J Crotty, Solicitor of Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors has acted for me and my parents for well over 30 years and we have found Martin to be very courteous, professional and precise with all legal work he has done for us. We would highly recommend Martin to anyone who is looking for their legal affairs to be attended to in a timely and accurate manner

Frank Keoghan, Co. Kilkenny

We can’t thank Annette enough for all her hard work and assistance. From the very start Annette made us feel comfortable on our surrogacy journey.Highly recommend Annette and team to couples starting their journey.

Stephen and Theresa, Recent Surrogacy Clients

I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how incredibly helpful and professional we found Katya to deal with during our recent house purchase. Katya was extremely patient with all of our questions and calmly and efficiently helped us through the whole process. Of all of the solicitors we've dealt with she really was the most pleasant, helpful and effective one we have worked with.

Siobhan & Gerry

I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!

Immigration client - April 2024

Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan has worked with us on a number of different matters, particularly commercial contracts and property matters. They tend to have specialists in each area which means we get the benefit of a very high level of expertise. We find them very responsive to our requirements, they quickly understand what has to be done and deliver the outcomes we need without delay. We value their assistance highly, and I would not hesitate to give them my recommendation.

David Ruane — Managing Director, Pulse Fashion Accessories, Newcastle, Co Dublin

I just wanted to say how happy we were with the service Keith provided when we were changing our mortgage earlier this year. Keith’s efforts were of the highest standard. He was extremely fast, helpful and professional in his approach. Things were getting tight because of interest rate deadlines and Keith really helped to get it over the line. This will save us a lot of money over the course of the 7 year fixed term. I would highly recommend PKHL to anyone considering moving house or remortgaging their home.

R.L. - Waterford

I hired Aileen Gittens at PKHL for help with my complex naturalisation case. She is vastly knowledgeable about all matters immigration and was supportive throughout the whole process. Thanks to Aileen I now have my Certificate. I would recommend her counsel to anyone across Ireland. Thank you!

Recent Immigration Client

Martin J Crotty, Solicitor of Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors has acted for me and my parents for well over 30 years and we have found Martin to be very courteous, professional and precise with all legal work he has done for us. We would highly recommend Martin to anyone who is looking for their legal affairs to be attended to in a timely and accurate manner

Frank Keoghan, Co. Kilkenny