Undocumented Scheme – Opening Date and Eligibility Criteria

undocumented scheme

The Minister for Justice announced before Christmas that a new Scheme would open in the January 2022 to regularise the status of undocumented migrants in the State.

Today it was announced that the Scheme will open for online applications on 31 January 2022.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for the Scheme, applicants must:

  • Be a non EEA national, and
  • Be over 18 years of age, and
  • Have been living undocumented in the State continuously for the last four years – applicants should be able to provide evidence of their continuous undocumented status in the State for four years prior to 31 January 2022 and continue to reside in the State undocumented at the date of their application

A Single or Principal applicant must:

  • Have met the undocumented residency criteria
  • Are of good character and of good conduct, and
  • Have no adverse criminal record in this State or any other country.

If an applicant is applying for themselves and also a spouse/civil partner/de facto partner, the Principal must meet the above criteria and the spouse/civil partner/de facto partner must:

  • Be a non-EEA national, and
  • Be over 18 years of age, and
  • Have been living undocumented continuously for the last two years – applicants will need to provide evidence that they are undocumented and living with the Principal for two years prior to 31 January 2022 and continue to reside in the State undocumented at the date of their application.

For family applications where at lest one dependent child is under 18, the Principal must meet the above single/principal criteria and have been living undocumented in the State continuously for the last three years – and provide evidence of this undocumented residence

The spouse/civil partner /de facto partner of the applicant must meet the above criteria and provide evidence that they have been living with the principal applicant as a family unit for the last two years prior to the commencement date of the scheme 31 January 2022, and continue to reside in the State undocumented as a family unit on the date you submit the family application.

Children under the age of 18 must be residing with the principal applicant immediately prior to the publication of this Scheme on 13 January 2022.

Children aged between 18 – 23 included in the application must:

  • Be a non-EEA national, and
  • Have been living undocumented in the State continuously for the last two years, and
  • Have been living with the principal applicant as a family unit for the last two years prior to the commencement date of the scheme 31 January 2022, and continue to reside in the State undocumented as a family unit on the date you submit the family application.

Documentation

Applicants must provide evidence of their identity and their undocumented status in the State as follows:

  • Principal applicants – three or four years immediately prior to 31 January 2022
  • Eligible family members – at least two years prior to 31 January 2022
  • Eligible minor children – immediately prior to the publication of the Scheme on 13 January 2022

At least one of the following identity documents should be provided for each applicant/family member:

  • Full Copy of Passport (valid or expired)
  • Travel Document (valid or expired)
  • Drivers’ Licence (valid or expired which was issued in Ireland with your photograph on it)
  • Public Services Card (issued in Ireland, which has your photograph on it)
  • National identity card (valid or expired)
  • Birth Certificates of children born in the State
  • Expired Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card or Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) card
  • Expired Temporary Residence Card (TRC) (Former International Protection Applicants card).

A non-exhaustive list of documentation that will be considered as evidence of an applicant’s undocumented status in the State:

  • Previous Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card or GNIB Card, or
  • Previous permission letter issued by the Immigration Service Delivery (formerly Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS)
  • Social Protection Statements, for example, evidence of receiving the PUP payment, children’s allowance
  • Utility bills (that is, from electricity/phone/gas/cable television/broadband provider/mobile phone bills)
  • Registration with the Residential Tenancies Board
  • Employment Detail Summary/P60/P45/P21s; or equivalent
  • Marriage/civil partnership certificates carried out in the State

Fees

A single application fee is €550 and the application fee for family applications is €700. Children up to 23 years, living with their parent(s), can be included in a family application. Spouses/De Facto/Civil partners without children can apply as a family.

This fee is payable in full when the application is submitted.

Should you require further information on the undocumented Scheme please email immigrationteam@kodlyons.ie or call on 01 679 0780.

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Tel: +353 1 679 0780
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