REGULATIONS TO EXEMPT victims and survivors from paying the €300 immigration registration fees have been signed by Migration Minister Colm Brophy. 

Registration is how the Immigration Service Delivery records that a person has been given a permission to legally reside in Ireland and what they can legally do while they are here.

If a person who is coming from outside the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland intends to reside in Ireland for more than 90 days they must register a permission to remain with Immigration Service Delivery.

Once registered, an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card will be issued. The IRP is a credit-card sized plastic card that displays basic information including the name, registration number, Stamp permission. 

Under the guidelines, anyone who experiences domestic abuse and whose “permission to be in Ireland is linked to the perpetrator of that abuse” can apply to the Immigration service for a separate independent immigration permission. 

The application for this permission is free. When a person applies for a residency permit, they are required to pay a registration fee of €300. There are exemptions from this fee already provided for by law under previous regulations, but the new amendment to regulations “expressly include[s] survivors and victims of domestic violence granted an independent permissions”. 

Brophy said people who are subjected to domestic abuse are “particularly vulnerable when they are dependent on their partner sponsoring their immigration permission.

“With this change we are removing a financial barrier to them seeking help.”

He said he wanted to issue his assurance that reports of domestic abuse are handled sensitively and with care. 

“Domestic violence should always be reported, and you do not have to remain in an abusive relationship to stay in Ireland,” Brophy said.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said alongside the announcement today: “Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence remains one of the most serious challenges facing our society. The government is unwavering in its commitment to a zero-tolerance approach when confronting this issue.”