People Smuggling People smuggling is the facilitated, irregular movement of people across borders for a financial or other benefit. People smuggling is distinct from human trafficking, in that smuggling occurs with the consent of the person, while trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation and exploitation of a victim. The purpose of the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Act 2021 is to strengthen the criminal justice aspects of […]
Citizenship by Descent A person is an Irish citizen at birth if at the time of his birth, either parent was an Irish citizen or would, if alive have been an Irish citizen. This provision applies even if the parent concerned had not activated Irish citizenship, at the time of birth. Irish citizenship is not conferred on a person born outside the island of Ireland, […]
Constitution Article 2 of the Constitution declares that it is the entitlement and birthright of every person born on the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas to be part of the Irish nation. It is the entitlement of all persons, qualified in accordance with law, to be citizens of Ireland. The Constitution declares that the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with […]
Liability of carriers Where a vehicle arrives in the State from a place other than Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Isles or the Isle of Man the carrier concerned shall ensure— that all persons on board the vehicle seeking to land in the State or to pass through a port in the State in order to travel to another state disembark in compliance with […]
Permission to Land An immigration officer may, on behalf of the Minister, give to a non-national a document or place on his or her passport or other equivalent document an inscription, authorising the non-national to land or be in the State (referred to in the Immigration Act as “a permission”). A non-national coming by air or sea from a place outside the State shall, on […]
Obligation of non-nationals to register A register of non-nationals who have permission to be in the State shall be established and maintained by registration officers in such manner as the Minister may direct. A registration officer may amend an entry in, or delete an entry from, the register. A non-national shall comply with the following requirements as to registration: He or she shall, as soon as […]
Making Deportation Orders Subject to the provisions as to prohibition of refoulement , and the subsequent provisions , the Minister may by order ( “a deportation order”) require any non-national specified in the order to leave the State within such period as may be specified in the order and to remain thereafter out of the State. An order may be made in respect of— a […]
Revoking Residence The Minister shall revoke a residence card son issued if the holder of the residence card is no longer entitled to remain in the State under EU Free Movement Regulations. Before deciding to revoke a residence card, the Minister shall— send the holder of the card a notification in writing, in a language that he or she may reasonably be expected to understand, […]
Qualification The Regulations apply to— EU citizens entering or remaining in the State in accordance with EU Free Movement Regulations, and A family member of such EU citizen who— enters the State in the company of the EU citizen, enters the State for the purpose of joining the EU citizen, or becomes a family member while in the State and seeks to remain with the […]
Residence card for family member non-EU national A family member who is not a national of a Member State may, within 3 months of the relevant date, apply to the Minister for a residence card, and shall, where an application) has not been made within the period specified, before the expiry of 4 months after the relevant date, apply to the Minister for a residence […]
Restrictions on grounds of public policy and public security Where the Minister is satisfied, having taken all the relevant circumstances into consideration, that a person who would otherwise qualify, applies represents a danger for public policy or public security by reason of the fact that his or her personal conduct represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of […]
Cessation of entitlements The Minister may revoke, refuse to make or refuse to grant, as the case may be, any of the following where he or she decides, in accordance with the Regulations, that the right, entitlement or status, as the case may be, concerned is being claimed on the basis of fraud or abuse of rights: a decision that a person be treated as […]
Qualification Criteria Acts of persecution must be sufficiently serious by their nature or repetition to constitute a severe violation of basic human rights, in particular the core rights under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, or an accumulation of various measures, including violations of human rights, which is sufficiently severe as to affect an individual in a similar manner. […]
Preliminary interview A person who is at the frontiers of the State, or who is in the State, and who indicates that he or she— wishes to make an application for international protection, is requesting not to be expelled or returned to a territory where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty, torture or other inhuman […]
Taking of fingerprints A member of the Garda Síochána, or an immigration officer may— for the purpose of establishing the identity of a person for any purpose of the 2015 Act, take or cause to be taken the fingerprints of an applicant, for the purpose of checking whether the person has previously lodged an application for international protection in another Member State, take or cause […]
Inadmissible Application A person may not make an application for international protection where the application is, inadmissible. An application for international protection is inadmissible where one or more than one of the following circumstances applies in relation to the person who is the subject of the application: another EU Member State has granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status to the person; a country other […]
Duty of applicant to cooperate It shall be the duty of an applicant— to submit as soon as reasonably practicable all the information needed to substantiate his or her application, to co-operate in the examination of his or her application and in the determination of his or her appeal in relation to that application, if any, and to comply with all of the other obligations […]
Examination of application An international protection officer shall examine each application for international protection for the purpose of deciding whether to recommend, that— the applicant should be given a refugee declaration, the applicant should not be given a refugee declaration and should be given a subsidiary protection declaration, or the applicant should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration. Personal interview […]
Appeal to Tribunal An applicant may, in accordance with regulations appeal to the Tribunal against— a recommendation, that an applicant should not be given a refugee declaration, or a recommendation, , that an applicant should be given neither a refugee declaration nor a subsidiary protection declaration. An appeal shall be brought by notice in writing— within such period from the date of the sending to […]
Refugee and subsidiary protection declaration The Minister shall, give a refugee declaration to an applicant as soon as possible after receipt by the Minister of a report includes a recommendation or a decision of the Tribunal to that effect. The Minister shall refuse to give a refugee declaration to an applicant where the report or appeal so indicate. The Minister may refuse to give a refugee […]
Deportation order The Minister shall make a deportation order in relation to a person where — has refused to give a refugee declaration and to give a subsidiary protection to the person, and is satisfied that the applicant is not making arrangements to leave himself or herself. has refused any other possible bases of permission (humanitarian etc,) A deportation order shall require the person specified […]
Extension to qualified person of certain rights A qualified person shall be entitled— to seek and enter employment, to engage in any business, trade or profession and to have access to education and training in the State in the like manner and to the like extent in all respects as an Irish citizen, to receive, upon and subject to the same conditions applicable to Irish […]
Programme refugees, etc. A “programme refugee” means a person to whom permission to enter and remain in the State for resettlement, or for temporary protection other than temporary protection has been given by the Government or the Minister and whose name is entered in a register established and maintained by the Minister, whether or not such person is a refugee within the meaning of the […]
International Protection Appeals Tribunal There is a Tribunal to be known as An Binse um Achomhairc i dtaobh Cosaint Idirnáisiúnta or, in the English language, the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, which shall determine appeals and perform such other functions as may be conferred on it by or under the 2015 Act and the Dublin System Regulations. the Tribunal shall be— inquisitorial in nature, and independent […]
Statutory Basis for Passports The Passports Act 2008 put the passport system on a statutory basis. It provides for the issue of passports, the processing of personal data (including biometric data) and controls to protect the integrity of the system. It provides procedures for the cancellation and surrendering of passports, offences in relation to passports and the issue of emergency travel certificates. A person who […]
Context A key objective of Irish labour market policy is to ensure that labour and skills needs are met from within the Irish and European Economic Area (EEA — EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) labour markets. Employment permits can be issued however for the employment of non-EEA nationals where there are identified skills shortages and employers can demonstrate demand for labour cannot be met […]
Context A key objective of Irish labour market policy is to ensure that labour and skills needs are met from within the Irish and European Economic Area (EEA — EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) labour markets. Employment permits can be issued however for the employment of non-EEA nationals where there are identified skills shortages and employers can demonstrate demand for labour cannot be met […]
Principal Types of Permit The 2014 Act updated the legislation in relation to the grant of employment permits. It reformed the Employment Permit system and give a clear legal basis for having different types of employment permits for different purposes. It provided additional criteria and rules in determining whether to refuse an application for an employment permit or to grant it. The Act sought to […]
Irish Citizenship I Citizenship grants the most extensive rights to be in the State and enjoy the benefits of its laws and protection. Nationals and naturalised residents are citizens. A wide range of persons potentially qualify for Irish citizenship. In some cases, qualification is automatic, while in others, the Minister for Justice has an element of discretion in the matter Article 2 of the Constitution […]
Free Movement Background Membership of the European Union has had a profound impact on immigration and residency rights in Ireland. Most rights apply to both EU, EEA nationals and Swiss Nationals. The rights have been extended in scope over time, beyond the initial rights which were broadly the right to take up employment or establish a business. The rights now apply as part of so […]
Immigration Control All non-EEA nationals, whether visa required or not, are subject to immigration controls upon arrival in the State. These controls are applied on an occasional basis on persons arriving from within the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK. They apply systematically to persons arriving from outside the Common Travel Area. Generally speaking, persons can be granted up to 90 days permission […]
Background The Common Travel Area reflects the fact that many Republic of Ireland citizens have the deepest family and personal ties with the United Kingdom and that many persons in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have a common Irish and United Kingdom heritage. The CTA reinforces and supports the fact that the UK and Irish labour market have remained as one since […]
Acquired Rights The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties safeguards acquired rights to a significant extent. It had been claimed in the run-up to the Brexit referendum that it would safeguard the EU rights of UK nationals in the EU (and vice versa). However, the rights apply as between states and not individuals or corporate entities. If a treaty is terminated, Article 43 of […]
Citizenship Directive The 2004 EU Citizens Directive in 2004 consolidates and updates earlier legislation. It seeks to reduce formalities and minimise the bases for refusal of entry. It introduced the concept of permanent residence. The directive applies to an EU citizen and family members. Family members cover spouse, direct descendants under 21 and the EU citizen\’s direct dependent and those of a spouse or partner. […]
European Union citizenship and rights. The Maastricht Treaty introduced the concept of citizenship of the European Union. The Treaty declares the rights of a citizen. Citizens have the rights conferred by the Treaty and the duties imposed by it. The duties imposed are limited. The European Union flag and anthem were formally adopted. EU citizenship arises from the nationality of an EU member state. Such […]
Free Movement of Workers The European Union Treaty guarantees the right of workers to move between member states of the European Union to seek employment. They must not be subjected to any discrimination based on nationality as regards employment, remuneration or conditions of employment. There are limited grounds based on public policy, security and health in which member states may restrict the freedom. The rights […]
The Common Travel Area The Common Travel Area did not formally involve aligned immigration rules. However, it involved sufficient alignment and continuing cooperation between the immigration authorities of Ireland and the UK. The CTA was largely subsumed under the common EU freedom of movement rights when both joined the EEC in 1973. However, it did continue in the sense that Ireland and UK always afforded […]