by Kim Bowen, Senior Associate at Mason Hayes & Curran
The Department of Justice had an automatic extension of Irish Residency Permission (IRP) cards in place since March 2020 as a reaction to the pandemic. This essentially meant that all IRP cards which were valid at this time, were automatically extended until 31 March 2022 irrespective of the expiry date on the card. However, as of 31 March 2022, this has now ended. Employers of non-EEA nationals need to be aware of this and its implications.
Irish Residency Permission for non- EEA nationals in Ireland
Since March 2020, the Department of Justice allowed for an automatic extension of IRPs nine times which allowed non-EEA nationals who held a valid permission to be in the State in March 2020 to legally remain here until 31 May 2022, even where they did not have an in-date IRP card.
This has now ended. Employers need to be aware that, where a non-EEA national employees’ IRP card has expired and they were unable to obtain a valid IRP card before 31 May 2022, they are still legally permitted to remain in the State provided they show proof that they have applied to renew their permission and are waiting for it to be processed. In such instances, the employee will have received an email from the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) with an OREG number confirming an application to renew has been submitted which they should present to their employer.
Employers can rely on this email from the ISD and the Government’s notice to verify the employee’s right of residence in the State.
Employers should continue to ensure that the employee also holds the relevant work permission, where applicable.
Employers seeking to hire new employees under these arrangements can also rely on the Government’s notice to verify the potential new employee’s right to reside in Ireland.
Conclusion
The Department of Justice have returned to normal procedures post-pandemic and employers need to be aware of this to ensure any non-EEA national they wish to employ has the requisite permission to reside in Ireland
The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.
About the author
Kim is an Associate on the Employment Law & Benefits team at Mason Hayes & Curran. Her area of expertise is Business Immigration. Her diverse immigration practice covers the full range of corporate and private immigration matters including employment permit applications and all other Irish immigration permissions sought by non-EEA nationals in Ireland.
Kim has particular expertise in transferring non-EEA employees and their families to Ireland, citizenship applications, long term residency rights, visa applications, residency registration, EU treaty rights and family reunification. Kim also advises on the Immigrant Investor Programme working closely with both funds and private investors.
