The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) has issued a revised Notice, published on 18 September 2020, which gives welcome relief to many whose immigration permission was due to expire over the next few months and who were unable to renew their permissions due to delays caused by the pandemic.

The Notice provides that valid immigration permissions that were due to expire between 20 March 2020 and 20 January 2021 will be deemed to have been automatically renewed by the Minister to 20 January 2021. The renewal permission will be on the same basis as the individual's existing permission with the same conditions attached. It will be sufficient to accept the individual's previous immigration permission as evidence of their ongoing permission.

Students who have Stamp 2 permissions are required to be enrolled on a course of study and registered or have a registration application submitted. For students who have recently graduated and have applied for an appointment to obtain a Stamp 1G permission the requirement to be enrolled on a course of study does not apply.

The extension is also of particular assistance to those awaiting renewals of their 1G permission under the Third Level Graduate Programme and to their employers.

The INIS  have advised that this is expected to be the last extension to be granted and are encouraging those to whom it applies to make the necessary arrangements to ensure registrations can be renewed at the earliest opportunity.

The INIS have also produced a helpful FAQ document which can be found at

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Immigration-Service-Delivery-Covid-19-FAQ4.pdf/Files/Immigration-Service-Delivery-Covid-19-FAQ4.pdf

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.