The Department of Justice has confirmed that the Afghan Admission Programme will open for applications on Thursday 16 December 2021. Up to 500 places will be available on the Programme for current or former Afghan nationals living legally in Ireland. Eligible candidates can apply for temporary residence for four close family members, who are living in Afghanistan or who have … Read More

The Department of Justice has announced that the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill has completed all stages in the Oireachtas and will be signed into law shortly. The new legislation strengthens laws against people smuggling. It covers a broad range of scenarios including intentionally assisting entry, transit, or presence where the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe … Read More

The Department of Justice has announced a new scheme to regularise long-term undocumented migrants and their families living in Ireland. Applicants must have a period of four years undocumented residence in the State, or three years in the case of those with children, to be eligible. Successful applicants will be granted an immigrant permission allowing for unrestricted access to the … Read More

New EMN Ireland/ESRI research finds that alternatives to detention, such as regular reporting to a Garda Síochána station, are used routinely for persons being deported or transferred to other Member States. Nonetheless, in 2019, 477 people were detained in Irish prisons for immigration-related reasons, reducing to 245 people in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main reasons for immigration-related prison … Read More

The Department of Justice has announced a number of immigration changes to simplify the processing of citizenship applications and to facilitate immigration requirements over the Christmas period. From 1 January 2022, new citizenship applicants will no longer be required to submit their original passport with the initial application. Instead, applicants must provide a full colour copy of their entire passport, … Read More

The Government has announced several changes to the employment permits system for workers outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). Almost all occupations in the construction sector are now eligible for a General Employment Permit;  HGV drivers recruited from outside the EEA will be eligible for an employment permit without the limitation of a quota; 350 General Employment Permits will … Read More

The Irish Government has approved the establishment of an Afghan Admission Programme that will provide up to 500 additional places for Afghan family members. Afghan nationals living in Ireland on or before 1 September 2021 will be able to apply to nominate up to four close family members who meet the eligibility criteria and who are currently living in Afghanistan, … Read More

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has announced the appointment of a new three-person independent group to monitor the implementation of the White Paper to End Direct Provision. The provisional tasks of the group will be to  monitor the progress of the transition to a new model of accommodation and supports for International Protection Applicants as set … Read More

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The Department of Justice has stated that the processing of short stay entry visa processing has resumed from Monday 13 September. Processing has resumed for visa required nationals legally resident in the EEA who can produce a valid Digital COVID Certificate (DCC). It will also resume for people in this category where they do not have a DCC if they … Read More

The 2021 Population and Migration Estimates released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the number of immigrants is estimated to have decreased by 23.7 per cent year-on-year from 85,400 in 2020 to 65,200 in 2021. The number of emigrants also decreased from 56,500 to 54,000 in the year to April 2021. These combined changes have resulted in net … Read More

The Irish Government has said that it intends to expedite the processing of current international protection applications from Afghan nationals. Family reunification applications made by Irish citizens and Afghan beneficiaries of international protection will also receive focussed attention, considering the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The Department of Justice estimates that approximately 150 people will be granted permission to enter Ireland … Read More

ESRI/EMN Ireland has published research that sheds new light on how data are managed within the international protection procedure in Ireland. Biographical data such as names and date of birth, biometric data such as fingerprints, and details on a person’s protection claim, are collected in the various phases of the procedure. These data form the basis of a person’s application … Read More

A total of 4,400 new Irish citizens have been naturalised so far this year since the temporary statutory declaration process opened in January 2021. The new temporary system enables applicants to complete their naturalisation process by signing a statutory declaration of loyalty. It has been in place since 18 January 2021. The declaration replaces the requirement for citizenship applicants to … Read More

An essential resource for students, academics and researchers, the latest version of the EMN Glossary offers an EU-wide multidisciplinary vocabulary of approximately 500 terms and concepts related to migration and asylum, which are translated  into over 20 languages. Since its first publication in 2010, the Glossary has been a valuable resource for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers in the field of … Read More

Ireland has been kept on the Tier-Two Watch List for the second consecutive year according to the recently published 2021 Trafficking in Persons (TiP) report. Published by the U.S. Department of State, the 2021 TiP report notes that while the Irish government has made significant efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared … Read More

The Council of the European Union and European Parliament together with the European Commission have agreed that the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) will be transformed into a new European Union Agency for Asylum. The Agency will have a reserve of 500 experts from Member States and a reinforced mandate. It is intended that the Agency will contribute to more … Read More

The United Nations Human Rights Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has published the Global Trends report 2020, which shows that nearly 82.4 million people were displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing public order in 2020. This marks a four per cent increase on the record-high 79.5 million internationally displaced people at the … Read More

The Department of Justice has announced the lifting of the temporary entry and transit visa restrictions that came into effect on 28 January 2021. Restrictions, including the suspension of visa-free travel, are lifted for nationals of South Africa, Brazil, and other South American countries. The move is in line with the Government’s Resilience and Recovery Plan for Living with COVID-19. … Read More

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has announced changes to the employment permits system for workers outside the European Economic Area (EEA). The occupation of Health Care Assistant has been removed from the ineligible occupation list. I; individuals must attain a relevant QQI Level 5 qualification after two years employment in the State and receive a minimum salary of … Read More