Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2021
288. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice if circumstances described in correspondence (details supplied) will qualify under the recently announced scheme for undocumented persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61010/21]
View answerLast week, the Government approved my proposal for a once-in-a-generation scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living in Ireland.
The scheme will enable eligible applicants to remain and reside in the State and to regularise their residency status. It will bring some much-needed certainty and peace of mind to thousands of people who are already living here and making a valuable contribution to our society and the economy, many of whom may be very vulnerable due to their current immigration circumstances.
People who are eligible under the scheme will:
- Have a period of 4 years residence in the State without an immigration permission, or 3 years in the case of those with children on the date the Scheme opens for applications;
- Be granted an immigration permission that allows for unrestricted access to the labour market; and
- Have years of residence with that permission reckonable for the purposes of pursuing citizenship by way of naturalisation.
The Scheme will only be open to those who do not have a current permission to reside in Ireland.
Any person who has previously held an EU Treaty Rights (EUTR) permission and who currently has a temporary permission to remain while their application under the relevant legislation is being considered or is at review stage would not be considered as being undocumented. Therefore, they will not meet the criteria for the regularisation scheme.
If successful in their EUTR application or review, they will be granted permissions under the relevant EU Regulations, for example 5 years' residence or permanent residence in the State.
