Section 19(1)(a) of the Immigration Act, 2004 provides that for the giving of a permission (to reside in the State) a fee is payable by a non-national of such amount as may be prescribed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform with the consent of the Minister for Finance. The consent of the Minister for Finance to revise the registration fee from €100 to €150 was obtained.
The revised fee of €150 is effective in respect of all registrations applied for on or after 23 August 2008. The following classes of persons are not required to pay the fee: Convention Refugees; Persons who have been reunified with such refugees under section 18 of the Refugee Act 1996; Persons who are under 18 years of age at the time of registration; Spouses, widows and widowers of Irish citizens; Spouses and Dependants of EU nationals who receive a residence permit under EU Directive 38/04; Programme Refugees, as defined by section 24 of the Refugee Act 1996.
Non-EEA nationals who register with an immigration officer receive a secure residence document in the form of a certificate of registration (registration card). The provision of such high quality secure documents is an expensive process. The costs involved include the actual cost of the card itself which includes several security features (including a biometric chip), administrative work by registration officers in the form of checking of documentation and capture of registration details and a state of the art computerised registration system operated by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. The practice internationally is to charge for the issuing of resident permits.
Since 19 August last, this registration system has been enhanced by the commencement of the roll out of a fingerprinting system for all persons who are required to obtain permission to reside in the State. Non-nationals who register from that date will have at least two fingerprints taken and these will be embedded in the biometric chip on the registration card. The costs of providing this system and the administrative costs associated with running it are substantial and this is reflected in the increased fee. An element is also included to reflect the change in inflation since the fee was introduced over 2 years ago.
Section 4(10) of the Immigration Act 2004 provides that an immigration officer, in performing his or her functions under the Act, shall have regard to all the circumstances of a non-national who is proposing to enter the State, including his or her income, earning capacity and other financial resources as well as the financial needs, obligations and responsibilities which he or she has or is likely to have into the foreseeable future. Other matters that an immigration officer will have regard to include the purpose and duration of the visit to the State and whether the non national has any family connections in the State. Insofar as students are concerned, an immigration officer will require details of the course to be attended and that any fees due have been paid. It also follows that a non-national who is arriving in the State to begin a course of study should have access to funding while he or she establishes himself or herself, by securing part time employment for instance. The figure of €1,000 mentioned by the Deputy is a guideline only in this regard. The actual financial situation of the non-national will be considered as part of the wider assessment process set out above.