Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2012
505 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedures to be followed in order to regularise the residency naturalisation entitlement in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24866/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am informed by officials in the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that the person concerned entered the State on 10 January, 2002 on a Student Visa. He has remained in the State with varying status since then. He married an EU Citizen in August, 2005.
On 16 January, 2012 and 10 February, 2012 the solicitor for the person concerned wrote to the EU Treaty Rights Section of INIS stating that their client wanted to regularise his status in the State on the basis of his previous residency in the State as a student initially, and then as the spouse of an EU citizen. The Solicitor of the person concerned advised that the person's EU citizen spouse was no longer resident in the State and stated that she had departed in either 2007 or 2009.
I am advised by my officials that having examined the details of the case and having made further enquiries in the matter, it appears that the person's EU Spouse citizen left the State in early 2008. EU Treaty Rights Section, by letter of 11 April, 2012, through the person's solicitor, advised that it was not possible for the person concerned to regularise his permission under EU Treaty Rights, as his EU citizen spouse ceased to exercise her rights when she left the State. He was also advised to attend his local immigration office to discuss his status as he no longer had any immigration status to be in the State since 17 July, 2010.
I am informed by officials in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that there is no record of any application for a certificate of naturalisation being made by the person concerned. It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship if and when they are in a position to meet the statutory requirements as prescribed in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended.
Among such requirements is that an applicant must have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years. In the context of naturalisation, certain periods of residence in the State are excluded, such as periods granted for the purposes of study, and periods of residence in respect of which an applicant does not have permission to remain in the State.
The on-line Naturalisation Residency Calculator can be used as a guide to whether an individual satisfies the naturalisation residency conditions and, if not, give an indication of how long they should wait before making an application.
I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.
506 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if and when entitlement to residency naturalisation will be determined in the case of a person (details supplied in County Kildare; if the Zambrano case has implications in the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24867/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraArising from the refusal of his asylum application, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended), the person concerned was notified, by letter dated 27th March, 2009, that the then Minister proposed to make a Deportation Order in respect of him. He was given the options, to be exercised within 15 working days, of leaving the State voluntarily, of consenting to the making of a Deportation Order or of making representations to the Minister setting out the reasons why a Deportation Order should not be made against him. In addition, he was notified of his entitlement to apply for Subsidiary Protection in the State in accordance with the provisions of the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006.
The person concerned submitted an application for Subsidiary Protection and also submitted written representations pursuant to Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended). More recently, he has sought to have his case to remain in the State considered in line with the principles set out in the European Court of Justice judgment in the Zambrano case.
The Subsidiary Protection application will be considered first. When consideration of this application has been completed, the person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome.
In the event that the application for Subsidiary Protection is refused, the position in the State of the person concerned will then be decided by reference to the provisions of Section 3 (6) of the Immigration Act 1999 (as amended) and Section 5 of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) on the prohibition of refoulement. All representations submitted, including those relating to the possible relevance of the Zambrano judgment to the case, will be considered before a final decision is made. Once a decision has been made, this decision and the consequences of the decision will be conveyed in writing to the person concerned.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from the INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
