Holly Cairns
Question:425. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Justice the steps she is taking to reform the family reunification process of Non-EEA healthcare assistants. [32232/23]
View answerTuesday, 4 July 2023
Questions (425, 434)
Claire Kerrane
Question:434. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Justice what engagement his Department had with the Department for Health on visa criteria for non-EEA healthcare assistants, particularly with regard to family reunification processes and eligibility criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32389/23]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 and 434 together.
I can advise the Deputy that the criteria for obtaining an Employment Permit for healthcare assistants is set by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
My Department's role relates to the immigration legislation and procedures which apply to persons granted an Employment Permit. These include the requirement to apply for a Visa to travel to the State, where the person is a visa required national. In addition, on arrival in the State holders of an Employment Permit will be required to register at their local Immigration office where they will be granted a Stamp 1 immigration permission.
I can further advise the Deputy that work is underway to revise the current system whereby employment permits and immigration permissions are dealt with separately, with a view to improving the user experience and enhancing Ireland’s competitiveness in attracting skilled migrant workers. The Government agreed in principle late last year that a single application procedure for employment permits and immigration permissions should be developed and that an Inter Departmental Working Group should be established to develop an implementation plan for consideration by Government.
The Inter-departmental Working Group is examining the operational, policy and legal considerations of simplifying the process for employment permits and immigration permissions to improve on timelines to secure critical skill workers. The Working Group aims to report back to government with an implementations plan and associated timelines later this year. The Working Group’s report will also allow Government to consider opting-in to the recast EU Single Permit Directive at a future date.
The position in regard to applications for family reunification is set out in the Policy Document for Non-EEA Family Reunification, which is available on my Department's Immigration Services website www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Policy-document-on-Non-EEA-family-reunification.pdf. The policy, which was last amended in 2016, is currently under review.
The policy document sets out the rationale for applying resource requirements as part of the overall assessment of whether to approve an application for family reunification. In general terms, the sponsor must demonstrate their capacity to provide for their family member(s) if they are to be granted a permission to come to Ireland. Separately, it is open to spouses of General Employment Permit holders to apply for Employment permits in their own right and enter the State and work.
As a guideline, Category B sponsors such as those on General Employment Permits, regardless of occupation, must have a gross income in excess of that applied by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) in assessing eligibility for the Working Family Payment (formerly Family Income Supplement). In examining such applications, my Department applies the DSP income levels current at the time of assessment.