Draft proposals for the scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants in Ireland have been outlined to Cabinet and consultation with stakeholders is underway.
Initial proposals for the scheme envision that people with a period of 4 years residence in the State without an immigration permission, or 3 years in the case of those with children would be granted an immigration permission that allows for unrestricted access to the labour market. Years of residence with that permission would be reckonable for the purpose of naturalisation under the proposal.
The final terms of the scheme are subject to the consultation process. The Department of Justice will hold an information webinar with NGOs, civil society, employer organisations, trade unions and other key stakeholders on Monday, April 26th, on the proposed Regularisation Scheme for long-term Undocumented Migrants. Stakeholders will also have an opportunity to provide more detailed written submissions after the webinar.
Opening the scheme to applications by the end of 2021 is a key component of the Justice Plan 2021. It is anticipated that the scheme will be open for applications for six months.
The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland has welcomed the proposals but is concerned that residency in the State prior to becoming undocumented may not count towards the required 3 or 4 years.
For more information:
Department of Justice press release
See also Migrant Rights Centre Ireland press release: https://www.mrci.ie/2021/04/23/mrci-welcomes-progress-on-regularisation-scheme/
