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Change of Immigration Status Applications2022-08-03T15:07:53+00:00

Change of Immigration Status Applications

Every day Sinnott Solicitors Dublin and Cork receive queries from those who wish to change their Immigration status to a different Immigration permission.  The Minister has a statutory power to “amend or vary” any permission to reside granted to a non-national resident in the State pursuant to Section 4 (7) Immigration Act 2004.

The relevant statutory provision is Section 4 (7) Immigration Act 2004, which states:

A permission under this section may be renewed or varied by the Minister, or by an immigration officer on his or her behalf, on application therefore by the non-national concerned.”

We submit many applications to the Minister pursuant to Section 4 (7) Immigration Act 2004 for clients in order that they can apply to change their status from one form of permission to another. These applications are fully at the Minister’s discretion, and are considered on a case by case basis.

Example of situations where a person wishes to change their status

A very recent example of where a change of status application was granted concerned a situation where our client who was residing here on a Stamp 4 basis obtained his Irish Citizenship. Before making her own citizenship application, his wife who had been residing here on a Stamp 1G (Graduate permission) was then able to make an application to the Minister to change her Stamp 1G to ad Stamp 4 permission as she was married to an Irish Citizen.

Another example would concern persons who are dependent on a sponsor are often issued stamp 3 permission.  When their circumstances change such that they are no longer dependent  they may need to apply to change to a stamp 4 permission in order to take up employment and support themselves independently in the State.

A number of recent  judgments of the courts have found that applicants must submit their application for a change in their immigration permission prior to the expiry of their current immigration permission.  Otherwise the provisions of Section 4(7) may not be applied to their application.

Applications submitted after expiry of current immigration permission may not be accepted or considered under Section 4(7). Such applications may result in the issuance of a notice under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, notifying the applicant that the Minister is aware that they are present in the State without current immigration permission and that she intends to make a Deportation order in respect of them.

A Change of Status Application is completely dependent upon the Minister’s discretion. It is therefore very important to provide full details of the applicant’s immigration history, current circumstances, future intentions in the State and the purpose for which the Applicant is requesting the change of immigration status. Substantial documentary evidence in support of the application is necessary to support the application.

Sinnott Immigration Solicitors Dublin and Cork can assist applicants to make an application to the Minister to change their Immigration Status pursuant to S. 4(7) Immigration Act 2004. If you require any advice or assistance regarding an application, please contact us on 00353 1 4062862 of by email at info@sinnott.ie

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Sinnott Solicitors are located in Dublin & Cork

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