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CACV115/2025
The Applicant v Director of Immigration
Case Details
Case ReferenceCACV115/2025
CourtCourt of Appeal of the High Court 高等法院(上訴法庭)
Date Published2026-03-19
LanguageEnglish
NCN[2026] HKCA 469
Claimant / ApplicantThe Applicant (Appellant)
Defendant / RespondentDirector of Immigration
JudgesHon Kwan VP, Barma JA
Judgment Summary
Facts
- •Applicant is a Vietnamese national who entered Hong Kong illegally in 2015.
- •Non-refoulement claim rejected by Director in 2017 and Board in 2018.
- •Board found claim unsupported by reliable evidence and contradicted by immigration records.
- •Applicant filed for judicial review leave six years out of time in 2024.
- •Deputy High Court Judge refused extension of time on 28 February 2025.
Issues
- •Whether to grant extension of time for judicial review application filed six years late.
- •Whether the Board's decision involved errors of law or procedural unfairness.
- •Whether family ties constitute valid grounds for non-refoulement protection.
- •Whether the Deputy Judge's decision was plainly wrong.
Outcome
- •Appeal dismissed.
- •Family ties held not to constitute valid grounds of appeal.
- •Grounds found to be bare assertions without evidence.
- •No error identified in the lower court's decision.
Implication
- •Strict scrutiny applied to delays in filing judicial review applications.
- •Family ties do not automatically grant non-refoulement protection.
- •Judicial review is not a rehearing of the merits of the claim.
- •Bare assertions without evidence are insufficient for appeal.
Laws & Authorities Cited
- §Nupur Mst v Director of Immigration [2018] HKCA 524