Employment Permits Act 2024

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Review of decision to refuse grant of employment permit

35. (1) A decision of the Minister to refuse to grant an employment permit may, in accordance with regulations under section 50 (14), be submitted by the applicant therefor to the Minister for review under this section.

(2) A submission under subsection (1) shall be made within a prescribed period from the date the decision is notified under section 34 to the applicant.

(3) Where following a decision to refuse to grant an employment permit—

(a) the Minister receives information or documents relating to the application for the employment permit concerned,

(b) the information is, or documents are, received within a prescribed period from the date the decision is notified under section 34 to the applicant,

(c) the applicant has not submitted the decision for a review, in accordance with subsections (1) and (2), and

(d) the Minister is satisfied, having considered such information or documents and having regard to all the circumstances, that it is appropriate to review that decision and to take such information or documents into account in such review,

the Minister may direct that the decision to refuse to grant the employment permit concerned be reviewed under this section, and where he or she so directs, shall notify the applicant of the review.

(4) A review under this section of a decision referred to in subsection (1) or (3) shall be carried out by an officer of the Minister appointed by the Minister for that purpose and the person so appointed—

(a) shall not be the person who made the decision, and

(b) shall be of a grade senior to the grade of the person who made the decision.

(5) In the case of a review of a decision referred to in subsection (1), the person so appointed having afforded the applicant an opportunity to make representations in writing in relation to the matter, may, subject to subsections (7) and (8)—

(a) confirm the decision (and, if the person does so, he or she shall notify in writing the applicant of the reasons for the confirmation), or

(b) cancel the decision and grant to the foreign national concerned the employment permit the subject of the application to which the review relates.

(6) In the case of a review of a decision referred to in subsection (3), the person so appointed, having taken into account the information or documents referred to in that subsection and afforded the applicant for the employment permit concerned an opportunity to make representations in writing in relation to the matter, may, subject to subsection (7) and (8)—

(a) confirm the decision (and, if the person does so, he or she shall notify such applicant in writing of the reasons for the confirmation), or

(b) cancel the decision and grant to the foreign national concerned the employment permit the subject of the application to which the review relates.

(7) Where, during the course of a review of a decision referred to in subsection (1) or (3), the person so appointed is of the view that there are reasons to confirm the decision that differ to the reasons notified to the applicant in accordance with section 34 , the person so appointed shall, before deciding whether to confirm or cancel the decision in accordance with subsection (5) or (6)—

(a) notify, in writing, the applicant of those reasons, and

(b) afford the applicant an opportunity to make representations in writing in relation to those reasons.

(8) Where, during the course of a review of a decision referred to in subsection (1) or (3), the person so appointed is informed of—

(a) new information or documentation that was not available to the decision-maker when he or she made the decision, or

(b) a change in circumstances relating to the application in respect of which the decision was made,

that is relevant to the refusal or grant of an employment permit in that case, the person so appointed shall refer the application back to the decision-maker for reconsideration and the making of a new decision in relation to it, or where the decision-maker is unable (for whatever reason) to reconsider or make such a decision, an officer of the Minister appointed by the Minister for that purpose.