It has been a busy week of developments in the Irish Immigration world. Here is a round-up of the latest Irish Immigration News.

Re-opening of Garda National Immigration Bureau

The Immigration Service Delivery have announced that the Garda National Immigration Bureau will reopen for first time registrations from Monday the 10th of May. Appointments can be booked online on https://burghquayregistrationoffice.inis.gov.ie/

Persons with previously booked appointments which were cancelled in December will be contacted directly by GNIB staff with a new appointment time and date.

The immigration team at Sinnott Solicitors in Dublin and Cork are thrilled to see the re-opening of the GNIB offices for first time registrations. Thousands of non-EEA nationals have been living in limbo for the past number of months, unable to register to obtain IRP cards which has had a devastating impact on many lives, so the announcement is hugely welcomed.

The full notice can be read here.

Extension of ban on the issuing of new visas and processing of applications

On the 29th of January 2021, the Immigration Service Delivery suspended the acceptance of new visa/preclearance applications with the exception of Emergency/Priority cases. They also suspended the issuing of new visas, so whilst a decision may issue on applications submitted prior to the 29th of January, the psychical visa sticker will not issue until such time as the suspension on visa operations has lifted.

On the 5th of May 2021, the Immigration Service Delivery announced that the current suspension will remain in place until further notice, and that they intend of provide a further update shortly, with the situation being reviewed in consultation with the relevant authorities in the coming weeks.

The full update can be read here.

This is extremely disappointing news for the thousands of applicants waiting to apply for Irish visas, or applicants who have been informed that it is the intention of the visa office to issue them with a visa, but that the visa to facilitate travel will not issue until the current ban is lifted.

Sinnott Solicitors have many clients who are waiting to apply for Irish visas/preclearance or who are waiting for the issuance of their physical visas to allow them to travel.

We submit that in circumstances where most of the countries on the mandatory hotel quarantine list are visa required nationals who would be required to enter into mandatory quarantine upon arrival, the blanket suspension of visa operations, save in the limited cases which fall under the Emergency/Priority category is wholly disproportionate.

Irish passport office reopens for processing

The Irish passport office which suspended the processing of Irish passport applications at the end of December 2020, has recommenced processing activities. The Department of Foreign Affairs have advised that it has expanded its passport processing operations and hope to clear the backlog of applications outstanding within 6-8 weeks.

The full update on the provision of passport services can be read here.

Dedicated Email Address for Registration Inquires

The Immigration Service Delivery have introduced a new centralised email service to deal with all queries relating to registering immigration permissions, renewing permissions and re-entry visa applications. All such queries can now be sent to immigrationsupport@justice.ie.

Sinnott Solicitors have a specialist team of Immigration Solicitors and Immigration Consultants located in our Dublin and Cork offices who are experts on all Irish immigration matters. Should you have any queries with respect to any of the information contained in this article or any other immigration matters, do not hesitate to contact our immigration department in Cork or Dublin today on 014062862 or info@sinnott.ie.