Minister Jim O’Callaghan receives Government approval to strengthen migration legislation and introduce new rules on asylum and citizenship & Minister Jim O’Callaghan and Minister Colm Brophy publishes Family Reunification Review

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan has secured government approval to introduce new policies and legislative changes to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system to ensure it is rules-based, efficient and aligned with many EU Member States. These reforms also include a thorough review of family reunification policies developed with Minister of State Colm Brophy.

Key aspects:

• Changes to legislation will ensure that Family Reunification for those granted International Protection status will only be granted in cases where it can be shown they have sufficient resources to support family members.
• Residents of international protection accommodation in employment to make a financial contribution towards their accommodation.
• Additional powers to revoke refugee status where a person is found to be a danger to the security of the state or has been convicted of a serious crime.
• Tightening of citizenship criteria to ensure there is clear guidance on the application of good character requirements and the introduction of a requirement that applicants are self-sufficient.
• Residency requirements for people granted International Protection to rise from three years to five years before they can apply for citizenship.
• An updated policy document will tighten the existing policy on family reunification for most non-European Economic Area (EEA) residents, reduce the effective waiting period for those on General Employment Permits, and will give permission to work for 16-18 year olds.
• Applicants for citizenship must be self-sufficient and not in receipt of certain social protection payments within the previous two years before an application is made.

Announcing these measures, Minister Jim O’Callaghan said:

Minister Jim O’Callaghan also brought to Government a proposal for residents of international protection accommodation to contribute to their accommodation if they are in employment. The level of contribution will be linked to income levels.

The scheme will be implemented within a planned 12-month period, allowing for the development of systems and resources to assess eligibility, share data securely and collect and process payments.

On this proposal Minister Brophy said:

Speaking on the new measures related to Citizenship Minister Jim O’Callaghan added:

Officials in the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration will now work with the Attorney General’s Office and Department of Social Protection to develop the heads of legislation.

Minister Jim O’Callaghan received government approval with Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy to publish the Family Reunification Review which sets out how Irish citizens and most non-EEA Irish residents (not including most international protection beneficiaries or EEA Citizens) may apply to bring family members to live with them in Ireland.

This Policy sets the criteria, which has remained largely unchanged for almost a decade, for those wishing to bring family members from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to join them in Ireland. The majority of the changes in the review will take immediate effect.

The updated Policy will continue to allow Irish citizens and eligible non-EEA citizens to be joined by their immediate non-EEA family members (spouses, partners and children under 18), but strict limits will be placed on other family members. People sponsoring applications will need to demonstrate a clear financial capacity to provide for their family members if they are to be granted a permission to come to Ireland.

Applications must be made while their family members are outside the State, and an application fee will be introduced.

New conditions will also be introduced over time to ensure certain sponsors have suitable private accommodation for their family before they arrive in Ireland.

On the publication of the revised Policy, Minister Jim O’Callaghan said:

Also speaking on the Family Reunification Review, Minister of State with responsibility for Migration, Colm Brophy said:

The review of this Policy followed detailed engagement within the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, with other Departments, and also with other key stakeholders. The Policy will be kept under ongoing review, and will be updated on an annual basis, particularly to reflect the latest financial requirements.

The updated Policy is available for review: Here

ENDS...///

Notes to Editors

International Protection

Family reunification is provided for under Section 56 of the International Protection Act 2015, and allows people granted international Protection status to apply for certain family members to join them in the State.

In order to align more closely with certain EU Member States, it is being proposed to amend the Act so that anyone granted protection under the Act will not be entitled to seek family reunification unless they are financially self-sufficient. If such applicants are in receipt of certain social welfare payments within three years of the granting of their protection, or owe a debt to the State, they will not be eligible to apply.

The provisions of the 2015 Act on family reunification give effect to the EU Directive 2004/83/EC which contains provisions on maintaining family unity. These provisions are under review in the context of reforms to asylum and migration policy and the implementation of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.

Citizenship

Currently, there is an application fee of €175 and a certification fee of €950 following a positive decision. The State has not increased the fees for naturalisation applications since 2011. These fees will be reviewed in the context of changes undertaken by other EU countries.

It is also proposed that the Act be amended to exclude residency accrual for naturalisation purposes for those who are residing in Ireland on temporary permissions including time spent in the State on the basis of:

• Temporary Protection under the Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC (which has been activated in respect of the invasion of Ukraine);
• as an EU Treaty rights applicant; and
• a Stamp 0 permission applying to dependent elderly relatives, retirees and certain temporarily visiting academics.

The timing and impact of the exclusion of time spent under Temporary Protection from the calculation of reckonable residence will be carefully considered alongside the provision to be made in Ireland and other EU Member States for persons moving from Temporary Protection to other residence permissions or return arrangements.

Other proposed changes include:

• Five-year residence requirement in line with all other category of applicant for people who are granted refugee status, or stateless people.
• Clearly define what constitutes “good character”, which often relates to criminal behaviour. This will clarify the application process for applicants, and the decision-making process for officials.
• International Protection Applicants for citizenship must be self-sufficient and not in receipt of certain social protection payments within the previous two years before an application is made.

International Protection Accommodation Contributions

The proposed contribution rates are proportionate to the amount that people earn, and they take account of the accommodation services they receive.

Policy review on Non-EEA Family Reunification

The Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy sets out how Irish citizens and most non-EEA Irish residents (not including beneficiaries of international protection or EEA Citizens) may apply to bring family members to reside with them in Ireland.

The first outcome of the review was expedited and took effect on 15 May 2024. This extended the right to work without the need for an employment permit to eligible spouses and partners of General Employment Permit holders and Intra-Corporate Transferees, who have been granted family reunification under the Policy.

The Department has now completed a comprehensive review of the Policy, which was last amended in 2016, and a number of important changes will take immediate effect.

Other Changes announced

• Tightening the existing Policy on how and when the Minister may waive certain criteria in exceptional circumstances.
• Giving permission to work for 16-18 year olds dependents of General and Critical Skills Employment Permit Holders.
• A reduced effective waiting period before an application can be made by General Employment Permit holders, by reducing financial records requirement from two years to one year to align with the one year waiting period before an application can be made
• Independent permissions (Stamp 4) for spouses, civil partners, de facto partners and minor children after their sponsor naturalises as an Irish citizen
• Applications for adult dependent family members will be limited to parents and adult children with serious health conditions who cannot live independently. Income levels for sponsoring such dependent applications have been increased to €92,789 and will rise further each year.

The policy will also be kept under ongoing review as required to address longer-term issues such as potentially adjusting the income thresholds required, further reducing waiting periods before application and introducing an application fee.

Main sponsorship criteria

There must be a valid and genuine family relationship between the sponsor and the family member, and this relationship must involve dependency.

Both the sponsor and the family member must be eligible under the Policy, which is generally restricted to nuclear family members (meaning spouses, civil partners, de facto partners and dependent minor children). To sponsor a Spouse or Partner an Irish citizen must have earned a gross income over and above any State benefits of not less than €40,000, cumulative, over the three-year period before they make the application.

People here on employment permits with a higher salary threshold such as Critical Skill Employment Permits are not subject to income thresholds.

General Employment Permit holders must have a gross income in excess of €30,000 in the year to sponsor a spouse or partner. They are also subject to a one year waiting period to ensure they are well established in Ireland before their family joins them.

New requirements will be introduced over time for sponsors to have suitable accommodation for their family members, for all applications (including those involving non-visa required family members) to be submitted while family members are outside the State, and for an application fee to be paid.

Applications for Family Reunification for Minor Children are subject to the following Financial Thresholds