Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 October 2016
62. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the procedure to be followed to regularise residency in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31390/16]
View answerI have been informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that there is no record of the person concerned having entered or remained in the State.
It is noted that the person concerned has not made contact with INIS' Residence Division in respect of their position in the State, and there are no applications pending with INIS.
The person concerned appears, therefore, never to have had permission to remain in the State and they should be aware that it is illegal for them, under the Immigration Act 2004, to remain in the State without permission from the Minister for Justice and Equality. A person found guilty of such an offence is liable, under section 13 of the Immigration Act 2004, to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both. In addition, it is apparent that the person concerned has failed to meet the requirements of Section 9 of the Immigration Act 2004, which sets out the obligations of non-nationals in respect of registration. Against this background, the person concerned should attend their local Garda National Immigration Bureau Office as soon as possible.
If the person concerned leaves the State voluntarily, and is visa required, then it would be open to them to apply from outside the State for an appropriate visa to re-enter the State. At that point, any family circumstances would be taken into account along with any other reasons why the person in question believes that they should be granted permission to reside in Ireland.
If there are any relevant exceptional circumstances which would justify granting the person concerned permission to remain in the State, they will be taken into account if the person concerned is issued with an intention to deport letter under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended).
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
