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Thursday, 15 Feb 2018

Written Answers Nos. 159-167

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (159)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

159. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the status of the determination of eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7948/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned was granted residence permission and a right to work based on parentage of an Irish citizen child on 12 January 2016. The permission was subsequently renewed by INIS until 24 March 2018. The person concerned was informed in the decision letter that if they wished to apply for future renewals of permission to remain that they should apply in writing to INIS four weeks in advance of their permission expiring.

I am also advised by INIS that there is no record of an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria attendant to naturalisation can only be made after an application and supporting documentation is received.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (160)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

160. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the residency status and eligibility for naturalisation in the case of persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7949/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the persons concerned applied for residence permission and a right to work based on parentage of an Irish citizen child. Decision letters were issued to the persons concerned on 13 December 2017 granting them permission to remain in the State on stamp 4 conditions, until 13 December 2020.

I am also advised by INIS that there is no record of a current application for a certificate of naturalisation from the persons concerned. A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria attendant to naturalisation can only be made after an application and supporting documentation is received.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (161)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

161. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the residency status and eligibility for citizenship in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7950/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the processing of an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy, who currently has permission to reside in the State until 6 August 2018, is under consideration and has not yet reached a conclusion but I understand however that the case is due to be submitted for decision very shortly.

As the Deputy will appreciate, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

It is recognised that all applicants for citizenship would wish to have a decision on their application without delay. While most cases are now generally processed within six months, the nature of the naturalisation process is such that, for a broad range of reasons, some cases will take longer than others to process. In some instances, completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Citizenship Applications

Ceisteanna (162)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

162. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if all documentation has been furnished to facilitate update of stamp 4 and if arrangements will be made for the latter in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7951/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned was granted permission to remain in the State, on a stamp 4 basis, as the parent of an Irish citizen child in 2000. The permission was subsequently renewed with the latest permission granted up to 15 July 2017 by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. An application for renewal of permission to remain in the State was received by INIS on 19 January 2018.

INIS was in contact with the person concerned on 21 January 2018 seeking supporting documentary evidence. No correspondence has been submitted to date in response to the request. The application will be considered further on receipt of all of the required documentation.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Residency Permits

Ceisteanna (163)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

163. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the residency status and eligibility for long-term residency stamp 4 naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7952/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person concerned was granted permission to remain in the State, on a stamp 4 basis, as the parent of an Irish citizen child in 2000. The permission was subsequently renewed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau with the latest permission granted up to 23 May 2018.

In order to make an application for Long Term Residency in the State the person concerned must have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of 5 years (i.e. 60 months) on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions.

I am generally aware that foreign nationals living in the State can encounter difficulties in the area of obtaining or renewing passports particularly when there is no embassy or consulate here to assist. As you will appreciate, the conditions under which a national passport is issued or renewed is essentially a matter between the citizen and the national government.

As the current immigration of the person concerned is due to expire, they should apply for renewal of this permission with the Garda National Immigration Bureau and provide evidence that they have been in contact with their embassy for consular assistance.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Residency Permits

Ceisteanna (164)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

164. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if the application process for long-term residency stamp 4 in the case of a person (details supplied) will be facilitated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7953/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that no application for Long Term Residency was received from the person concerned.

In order to make an application for Long Term Residency in the State the person concerned must have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of 5 years (i.e. 60 months) on work permit/work authorisation/working visa conditions. Details of the application process are available on the INIS website at http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Long_Term_Residency.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Family Reunification Applications

Ceisteanna (165)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

165. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the appropriate procedure to follow in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7954/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the person in question made an application for family reunification under the provisions of the Refugee Act 1996 in December 2016. The case has been finalised and a decision letter issued to the applicant on 30 November 2017.

It is open to Irish citizens and those outside the International Protection process to apply for family reunification under the Non-EEA Policy Document on Family Reunification, which is available on the INIS website, www.inis.gov.ie.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been established specifically 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 INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long awaited.

Residency Permits

Ceisteanna (166)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

166. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the residency status and eligibility for stamp 4 or long-term residency or eligibility for naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7955/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I would refer the Deputy to my response to his Parliamentary Question No. 212 on 14 December 2017. I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the situation remains unchanged.

INIS has received requests for permission to remain in the State by the persons concerned.  However, these cases are among a number of cases which are currently being held by my Department pending the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court of the Court of Appeal judgment in Luximon v. Minister for Justice and Equality, which was heard in the Supreme Court on 30 November 2017. A decision will issue in these cases when the matters before the Courts have been finalised.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

Naturalisation Applications

Ceisteanna (167)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

167. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to set out the residency status and-or eligibility for stamp 4 naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7956/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The position remains as outlined in response to the Deputy's Parliamentary Question No. 164 of 8 February 2018. I am advised by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to by the Deputy was refused for reasons provided to the person concerned in a letter issued on 5 February 2018 advising of the decision. The person concerned currently has permission to reside in the State until 20 September 2018.

It is open to any individual to lodge an application for a certificate of naturalisation 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. The fact that a person may have had an application refused does not preclude or disqualify them from submitting a fresh application in the future. Indeed, the letter advising an applicant of a negative decision also informs them that they may re-apply for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation at any time. The letter advises that, when considering making such a re-application, they should give due regard to the reasons for the refusal which were contained in the submission attached to the refusal letter and that any further application will be considered taking into account all statutory and administrative conditions applicable at the time of application.

The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and I know the Deputy will appreciate that it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process.

Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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.

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