Man found working in Donegal takeaway without valid passport appears in court

A Chinese national who was found working in a Donegal takeaway while not in possession of a valid passport has appeared in court.

Xi Xing, who appeared before Letterkenny District Court, was given the benefit of the Probation Act.

The 35-year-old, whose address was listed as The Happy House, The Diamond, Castlefin, was charged with an offence from April 1, 2026.

Garda Sergeant Maurice Doyle told the court that at 5pm on the day in question at The Happy House, a Garda immigration officer car spoke to the defendant and demanded the production of a passport or other identification documents under the immigration legislation.

The accused man failed to produce documents and admitted to Gardai that he did not have them, as were required under the act.

He was charged with an offence under section 12 (1) of the Immigration Act, 2004 as amended by section 2 (1) (b) of the Employment Permits Act, 2006.

The relevant act specifies that every non-national shall produce on demand, unless he or she gives a satisfactory explanation of the circumstances which prevent him or her from so doing, a valid passport or other equivalent document, issued by or on behalf of an authority recognised by the Government, which establishes his or her identity and nationality.

Mr Rory O’Brien, solicitor for the accused, said his client had only been working in The Happy House for three weeks having lived in Northern Ireland for the previous 10 years. He had worked in a Chinese takeaway in Belfast, Mr O’Brien said.

Mr O’Brien added that Xi, who originally hails from the Northern Province in China, lost his passport a number of years ago. He said the man came to live in Donegal in order to come under the EU system “as he felt it would be an easier system to attain a new copy of his passport”.

Mr O’Brien informed the court that Xi is not currently working as he suffered a work-related incident. He said that his client cooperated fully with the investigation and will apply for a new passport with the Chinese Embassy.

He added that Xi - who was aided by an interpreter in court - would obtain employment once he gets the passport in order and asked Judge Emile Daly to be as lenient as possible.

The court heard that the maximum penalty for such an offence was a €3,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment.

Judge Daly convicted Xi and, as it was his first offence, marked the case as the facts having been proven and applied the Probation Act.

Legal aid was granted to Mr O’Brien.