Citizenship Applications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022

Tuesday, 4 October 2022

Questions (525)

Bríd Smith

Question:

525. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Justice if a master's degree obtained in 2015 after which a stamp 2 graduate visa from 2015 to 2016 was issued can be included as reckonable in a citizenship application given that Stamp 1G is now reckonable, while acknowledging that Stamp 1G did not exist in the period mentioned; her views on whether it would exclude the aforementioned cohort if their particular visas were not permitted to be included as reckonable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47871/22]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

Where a person was previously granted a Stamp 2 Immigration permission, in line with the Graduate Programme criteria applying at the time, then the period of residence on that Stamp 2 permission was considered reckonable for the purposes of making an application for Citizenship and any such application received was accepted and processed in line with the 1956 Act as amended.

My Department published a revised Third Level Graduate Programme in 2017 that provided transitional provisions for people who had already received an award on or before 31st December 2016. These transitional arrangements allowed non-EEA nationals to present at their local immigration office to renew their residence in the state and receive a Stamp 1G, if they continued to be eligible for participation in the Graduate programme.

The revised Third Level Graduate Programme 2017 is available on my Department's website here: Third-level-graduate-programme.pdf (irishimmigration.ie).