The Department of Justice in Ireland 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 visa office staff to process regular visa applications.

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

Do you need more information about visas for Ireland?

One pathway for obtaining a visa for Ireland is through investing, so read on to learn how to obtain an Ireland investment visa and what its advantages are. And did you know that Ireland offers a number of tax reliefs for tech companies in the country? You can learn everything you need to know about starting your own business in Ireland here!

Sinnott Solicitors, based in Dublin and Cork, have lead the way by bringing about changes to Irish immigration law and practices introduced by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration

Connect with Carol to discuss investor visas or other possible immigration pathways to Ireland.