Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 March 2021
172. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the steps that have been taken to create an awareness campaign to ensure that non-EEA citizen family members of UK nationals, previously resident in the State on the basis of Directive 2004/38EC, are aware that they are now legally required to exchange their current valid IRP card for a new one stating that they benefit from the Withdrawal Agreement before 31 December 2021. [13586/21]
View answerNon-EEA family members or dependents of UK nationals continue to hold the same residence rights to live, work or study in Ireland, if they resided here at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. It is estimated that approximately 6,000 non-EEA nationals resident in Ireland will apply for a new residence document under the Withdrawal Agreement as family members of UK nationals.
Non-EEA family members or dependents of UK nationals are required to exchange their current valid Irish Residence Permit (IRP) Card for a new one stating that they benefit from the Withdrawal Agreement. This card exchange programme has applied from 1 January 2021, and is administered by the Immigration Service of my Department for applicants nationwide. Applications are made through an online renewal system.
As of 8 March 2021, 774 card exchange applications have been received, of which 731 have been completed.
To raise awareness of the card exchange scheme, my Department has created a Brexit information section on the Immigration Service website which includes information for non-EEA family members of UK citizens resident in Ireland. This is available at http://inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Brexit.
Social media content has been created to sign post available information on the website and published to my Department’s social media channels. The Immigration Service has also developed a detailed frequently asked questions guide which has been published on its website (http://inis.gov.ie). My Department will continue to communicate the card exchange scheme deadline in the coming months and throughout this year.
