Pa Daly
Question:258. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice the cost of creating one IRP card in 2023. [17246/24]
View answerThursday, 18 April 2024
Questions (258)
Written answers
Section 9 of the Immigration Act 2004 provides that a register of non-nationals who have permission to be in the State (in general for a period of 3 months or longer) shall be established and maintained by registration officers and also provides that a non-national is required to pay a fee to the registration officer for the issue of a registration certificate. This fee is set by regulations made by the Minister for Justice with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. It is common practice throughout Europe to charge a fee for immigration services.
The Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card provides the customer with a secure immigration document including individual biometrics indicators protected by a sophisticated encryption system and showing the holders’ immigration status in the State. This high quality secure document is easily recognisable for employers and Government agencies alike. It certifies that a person is legally registered with the Irish immigration authorities and provides details of the immigration permission held, for example a Stamp 1 or 4, etc. Once a person has an in-date IRP card, there is no requirement to apply for a re-entry visa when returning to the State after a short period abroad.
An applicant is exempted from the fee if they:
• Have refugee status
• Have subsidiary protection status
• Have leave to remain under Section 49 of the International Protection Act 2015
• Are under 18
• Are resident based on your marriage to an Irish citizen
• Are a family member of an EU citizen
The Registration Office of my Department also provides an online renewals portal that speeds up the renewal process and a customer service team that is available to support customers. The cost of registration has not increased since 2012; however, the fee structure is kept under ongoing review by my Department.
I can inform the Deputy that the standard registration fee of €300 payable by an applicant is designed to reflect the effort and cost, above and beyond the cost of producing the card itself, in processing registrations. This includes, among other things, the significant staffing costs incurred by my Department and An Garda Síochána, the costs associated with the public offices at which the activity is carried out and the costs of information technology associated with the registration system.