Background of the Couple
Mike Gallagher and Terry MacInally have been partners for 17 years. Mike, a UK citizen born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, and Terry, a 63-year-old retired Canadian citizen, have been residing in Northern Ireland for five years.
The couple married six years ago and had previously visited Northern Ireland multiple times. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, they decided to relocate permanently from Canada. They initially lived in Omagh before purchasing a home in Londonderry.
Immigration Status and Visa Applications
Terry MacInally has applied to the UK Home Office for a visa under three separate schemes to secure his right to remain in the UK. The couple acknowledges that Terry overstayed his original holiday visa by six months. However, they understood from Home Office guidance that he was permitted to remain in the UK while his visa application was being processed.
MacInally is currently appealing a decision denying him a visa under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS). According to the British Government, Canadian citizens can apply for the EUSS if they are close family members of eligible EU, EEA, or Swiss citizens who were living in the UK by 31 December 2020. To qualify, Gallagher would have needed to reside in the UK before that date, and applications could not be submitted online.
Gallagher admitted missing the deadline due to Covid-related travel restrictions that prevented him from flying to the UK. While the appeal is pending, MacInally holds an EUSS certificate of application (CoA), which serves as temporary legal proof of his right to live, work, and study in the UK while awaiting a final decision.
Based on legal advice, the couple believed that the CoA allowed MacInally to travel.
Detainment at Dublin Airport
In April, MacInally left Derry to return to Canada for three months to apply for a spouse visa.
He was scheduled to return to Ireland in June from Boston, where he had been visiting family. However, upon arrival at Dublin Airport, Gallagher became concerned when he could not contact his husband.
"I knew something was wrong when I could not contact him," Gallagher told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme. "I was frantic and I didn't know what was going on. Nobody could tell me where Terry was."
Six hours after MacInally's arrival, Gallagher was informed that his husband had been placed on a flight back to Boston.
"Terry had his phone taken off him, he wasn't allowed to contact me and they took his passport. He was treated like a criminal when we have not done anything wrong. We have done everything the Home Office has asked us; it's been an extremely frustrating experience," Gallagher said.
Support and Efforts to Reunite
Gallagher is collaborating with local MLAs and MPs who have advocated on their behalf with the Home Office.
"Everyone has been so supportive but it is very hard. I don't know when I am going to see my husband again. I am working a full-time job and then I have a full-time job doing everything I can to try and get Terry home," he said.
The couple has considered selling their house but prefer to remain in Londonderry.
"My whole life I have been looking for home and I felt I had found it when we settled in Derry. I am trying to remain hopeful - we are willing to do anything it takes."
Statements from Authorities
In response to the incident, the Republic of Ireland's Department of Justice stated:
"The Common Travel arrangements apply only to Irish and British citizens. All other nationalities remain subject to the immigration requirements in each jurisdiction. Where permission to land is refused, arrangements are generally made for the passenger's return on the next available flight to the point from which they travelled, or to another destination where they are entitled to enter."
NI has contacted the UK Home Office for comment but has not yet received a response.
