Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 May 2022
615. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice if consideration has been given to extending the stamp 2 visas for holders of same that are due to expire on 31 May to September 2022 given the potential impact on the holders' academic studies, the industries in which they worked during the high summer season and the current constraints on An Garda Síochána in relation to processing same. [24768/22]
View answer616. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice if her attention has been drawn to the fact that students on stamp 2 visas who are due to enter third-level education in September must leave the country for the summer sacrificing their accommodation and jobs; if she will consider extending stamp 2 visa permissions until 31 September; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24785/22]
View answer618. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if she will automatically extend stamp 2 visa permissions due to expire on 31 May until 30 September 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24799/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 615, 616 and 618 together.
Since the onset of the pandemic, immigration permissions have been extended nine times, which means that people who held a valid permission to be in the State in March 2020 are legally permitted to remain until 31 May 2022. At this time, I have no plans to issue an extension beyond 31 May 2022.
Dublin based customers who are seeking to renew their permission can continue to do so online at: inisonline.jahs.ie/user/login. Since its introduction in July 2020, the online renewal process has completed approximately 125,000 applications.
A Freephone service (1800 741 741) continues to operate for customers living in the Dublin area wishing to make an appointment to register for the first time. It is currently operating from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. All appointments for persons required to register their immigration permission are now issued through this service, with operators offering one appointment per call, unless it is for an identifiable family group.
The Registration Office’s customer service team is also available to support customers who may have language difficulties or who may need assistance with translation. A number of multilingual videos describing the registration process and what to expect are available on my Department's website www.irishimmigration.ie.
Registrations outside of the Dublin area are processed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) through the Garda Station network. The allocation of appointments with GNIB is a matter for An Garda Síochána. Information on the contact details for all registration offices located outside of Dublin is available at: www.garda.ie/en/contact-us/station-directory.
