The Department of Justice has announced that it is suspending re-entry visa requirements for children under the age of 16 years with immediate effect.

In Ireland, non-EEA nationals who are aged over 16 and who hold a valid immigration permission to live in Ireland are issued with an Irish Residence Permit (IRP card).  Holders of a valid Irish Residence Permit can enter the state without a re-entry visa.  Minors under the age of 16 are not issued with an IRP card and up until now, were required to apply for a re-entry visa prior to travel to enable them to re-enter the state when travelling if they were citizens of a visa required country.  The process of applying for re-entry visas for children from visa required countries has been a cumbersome process for parents who themselves hold a valid IRP card to live in Ireland but have had to apply for re-entry visas for children every time they wanted to travel abroad.

The suspension of the re-entry visa process for children now means that children under the age of 16 who reside in Ireland with parents/legal guardians who themselves hold a valid Irish Residence Permit, will no longer need to apply for a re-entry visa. It is important to note that the parents/legal guardians must hold a valid IRP card and they must be travelling with the children.

The Department of Justice has confirmed that re-entry visa applications that were previously submitted as of 15 June 2022 will be returned to applicants.

Sinnott Solicitors Dublin and Cork welcome the announcement as it not only means that the process of travel abroad for Irish resident children from visa required countries is now much easier, we would further hope that it will free up additional staff visa office staff to process regular visa applications.

The full notice is available to read on the Immigration Service Delivery website here.

With offices in Dublin and Cork, Sinnott Solicitors have a specialist team of Immigration Solicitors and Immigration Consultants who are experts on 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