Immigration

Proposed new UK immigration laws will "undo progress" on tackling child trafficking in Northern Ireland, the Children's Law Centre (CLC) has said. The Belfast-based law centre said the Nationality and Borders Bill, which is being considered by a Westminster committee from today, will harm children,

A minister in the Northern Ireland Executive has said her department will have "no part" in enforcing new Home Office rules targeting rough sleepers for deportation. Communities minister Deirdre Hargey said guidance issued by the Home Office in April, to the effect that homeless non-nationals can be

Immigration and international protection permissions have been extended again until the middle of January 2022 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the eighth extension announced since the start of the pandemic, almost all of which were billed as the "final" extension.

Applications for short stay entry visas will open on Monday for the first time since March 2020. The move will benefit travellers from all countries which require a visa to enter Ireland, such as China, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Up to 150 additional humanitarian visas will be made available to human rights defenders in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban takeover, ministers have announced. On scheduled deportations from Ireland, minister of state James Browne said there is "no question of anyone being returned to Afghani

The Immigrant Council of Ireland's independent law centre worked on nearly 150 cases last year, according to the NGO's latest impact report. The law centre dealt with issues including residence permissions for victims of domestic violence; migrant and refugee family reunification; citizenship applic

Migrant and refugee rights centre Nasc has announced the appointment of solicitor Brian Collins as a legal officer in Cork. Mr Collins will join Julie O'Leary and Natalia McDonald in the NGO's legal service, which works with between 1,200 and 1,500 refugees, asylum seekers and migrants each year.

NGOs, civil society organisations and other stakeholders have been updated on the proposed regularisation scheme for long-term undocumented migrants. James Browne, the minister of state for law reform, youth justice and immigration, delivered an update on the scheme after reviewing submissions recei

Solicitors working in asylum and immigration law have come together to form the Irish Immigration Lawyers Association (IILA). The IILA has been founded in order to promote and improve advice and representation in the areas of immigration and asylum law, by providing regular training and an online fo

Changes have been made to the employment permits system to address immediate skills and labour shortages in the healthcare and nursing home sectors. Health care assistants will be removed from the ineligible occupation list for workers coming to Ireland from outside the European Economic Area (EEA)

US-headquartered business immigration law firm Erickson Immigration Group (EIG) has announced its expansion into Ireland with the opening of an office in Dublin. The firm, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., announced the move alongside plans to expand in

Visa applications for family reunification and essential business needs will begin to be processed again for the first time since January, the government has announced. Justice Minister Heather Humphreys said there would be "some small adjustments" to the priority/emergency list of visas being proce

The Law Society of Northern Ireland has urged Home Secretary Priti Patel to rethink plans to restrict asylum claims from people entering the UK illegally. The UK government confirmed in the Queen's Speech today that it intends to bring legislation to "establish a fairer immigration system that stren

The Burgh Quay registration office is set to reopen for first-time immigration registrations for people living in Dublin on Monday for the first time since December. First-time registrations cannot be done online because the person needs to have their photograph and their fingerprints taken during t

Thousands of people in Ireland will have their immigration status regularised under a proposed scheme announced this afternoon. Under the proposals set out by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, those who have been in the State for four years without a valid immigration permission will be able to apply