The Irish Government has announced that it has suspended the operation of the Council of Europe Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees (Council of Europe) for 12 months from the 19th of July 2022 to the 19th of July 2023.
This means that recognised refugees who hold Convention Travel Documents issued by the below 20 EU safe countries must now apply for an entry visa prior to travelling to Ireland.
The EU countries are as follows:
Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden or Switzerland.
The suspension does not apply to Ukrainian nationals.
The immigration team at Sinnott Solicitors Dublin and Cork are extremely disappointed by the announcement and we submit that it is disproportionate and discriminatory towards recognised refugees who wish to travel to Ireland.
The official notice issued by the Minister for Justice announcing the suspension can be read here.
With offices in Dublin and Cork, Sinnott Solicitors have a specialist team of Immigration Solicitors and Immigration Consultants who are experts on Irish visas and 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.
