Tag Archive for: Stamp 3

UPDATED INFORMATION ISSUED BY THE IMMIGRATION SERVICE DELIVERY RELATING TO SHORT STAY VISAS AND STAMP 3 PERMISSION HOLDERS

The Immigration Service Delivery has recently updated their set of frequently asked questions relating to Covid-19 and its effects on immigration permissions in the State.

The set of questions has addressed concerns of those regarding their ability to financially support themselves in the State whilst holding visitor visas and Stamp 3 permission that has been extended during Covid-19.

Addressing the query of such permission holder’s ability to take up employment, the ISD have reiterated that the renewal of permission allows you to remain in the State on the “current conditions” in which you are resident in the State and therefore may not take up employment if you are here on a visitor visa or on Stamp 3.

However, the ISD have mentioned a possible exception to this rule confirming that people on visitor permissions may apply for a change of status, stating that “in light of the current COVID-19 crisis, the Minister for Justice and Equality may examine a situation on a case by case basis in which a person in the State wishes to change permission to allow them to take up employment with the HSE, as per the HSE’s “Be on Call for Ireland” campaign. The person would have to show the Minister evidence of a job offer from the HSE, where the job offer is for a period beyond the two-month extension referred to”.

Referring to the “Be On Call for Ireland” Campaign, the updated notice details that if you are on Stamp 3 and have experience in the area of healthcare you are encouraged to contact the HSE in this regard. Should you qualify under the campaign, you are asked to provide written confirmation of same to INIS in order to apply for change of immigration permission.

This is a very encouraging clarification and we would submit that the Minister should continue to promote self-sufficiency in the State to those who are able to take up employment. These possible avenues to apply for a change of status provides an opportunity for people to contribute to the State in a positive way, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

We submit that during the present pandemic, the importance of employment and the dignity attached to work and employment has been highlighted. We submit that Stamp 3 is always an inappropriate stamp for an adult person who is willing and able to work. 

We at Berkeley Solicitors are happy to advise anyone on their queries relating to their immigration Status in the State or on any possible avenue to making a change of status application during Covid-19.

The Be On Call for Ireland Campaign can be accessed here.

The full updated set of FAQs can be read in full here.

IMMIGRATION APPLICATIONS CAN BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY UNTIL 20TH MAY 2020

We are happy to see that INIS has issued a new notice on the 15th April 2020 confirming that EU Treaty Rights and Domestic applications can be submitted by email until the 20th May 2020 as a temporary measure.
The notice confirms as follows:
As part of combined efforts to adhere to the Government’s strategy to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to ensure customer safety, we have taken the decision, as a temporary measure between now and the 20th May 2020, to allow EU Treaty Rights and Domestic applications to be submitted by email together with scanned copies of supporting documentation. EU Treaty Rights will require the original application to be submitted by post in due course

The full notice can be read at the below link:
http://www.inis.gov.ie/
Our office continues to act for many clients who have pending immigration applications, and we are continuing to liaise with INIS on behalf of our clients as normal.
It is good news to see that any clients who wish to commence new immigration application can now do so electronically, without the requirement to submit original documents at this time.
Please contact our office with any queries regarding commencing new applications.

Berkeley Solicitors

IMMIGRATION IN IRELAND STATISTICS MID-TERM REVIEW

FURTHER DECISION ISSUED IN WHICH MINISTER RETROSPECTIVELY AMENDS STAMP 2 A PERMISSION TO STAMP 3 FOR SPOUSE OF PHD STUDENT

Berkeley Solicitors has received a second decision within two months in which the Department of Justice and Equality has agreed to retrospectively amend Stamp 2A permission, incorrectly assigned to our client, to Stamp 3 immigration permission spanning over a period of two years.

In November 2019, we posted a blog on this issue which can be read in full here.

Our client is the spouse of a PhD student in Ireland and prior to being issued with Stamp 2 A, our client held Stamp 3 permission for a number of years.

Our client was never provided with an explanation for the change in permission nor was she provided with any information regarding the impact or consequences of this change of status.

Given that it is the practice for the Minister to issue Stamp 3 permission to Spouses of PhD Students, the significant decision to retrospectively amend our client’s permission is particularly encouraging.

We highlight that this decision provides our client with further years of reckonable residence, which she was deprived of through the wrongful issuance of Stamp 2 A. Our client is now able to proceed with an application for naturalisation.

We are delighted to see requests for the retrospective amendment of a person’s registration or permission being facilitated and it has become clear to us that this it is entirely possible for the Minister to issue such decisions where appropriate.

If you or a family member are affected by the issuance of inappropriate immigration permission please do not hesitate to contact our office.

RETROSPECTIVE AMENDMENT OF STAMP 2 A RESIDENCE PERMISSION TO STAMP 3 FOR SPOUSE OF PHD STUDENT, REPRESENTED BY BERKELEY SOLICITORS

Berkeley Solicitors has recently received a significant decision in which the Department of Justice and Equality has agreed to retrospectively amend Stamp 2A permission, incorrectly assigned to our client, to Stamp 3 immigration permission for a number of years.

Our client is the spouse of a PhD student here in Ireland. Our client was dependent on her husband and applied for a visa to Ireland.

She was initially issued Stamp 3 permission; however, she was then issued with stamp 2 A permission at all subsequent registrations.

Stamp 2 A is described as follows on the INIS website:

“Stamp 2 A indicates permission for full time study in Ireland for a course that is not on the official Interim List of Eligible Programmes (ILEP), for a specified period. Stamp 2 A is not reckonable as residence when applying for citizenship by naturalisation.

You may be given Stamp 2A in the following circumstances:

  • Semester abroad (ie at an Irish university/college)
  • Study at a private secondary school in Ireland”

The issuing of stamp 2 A to our client was contrary to the Minister’s policy to issue stamp 3 permission to the spouses of PHD students. Stamp 2 A was at no time appropriate to her circumstance. She had never been a student in the State, and has always resided here as the dependent of her husband.

The wrongful issuing of stamp 2 A permission deprived our client of a number of years of reckonable residence, which she was entitled to by way of the Minister’s policy.

When the couple had a baby, they intended to make an application for an Irish passport. However, in order to obtain Irish citizenship for a child born in Ireland after 1st January 2005, the child’s foreign national parent must be legally resident in Ireland (this includes Northern Ireland) for 3 out of 4 years immediately before the child was born in Ireland.

As Stamp 2 is not reckonable as residence towards citizenship by birth, our clients’ baby was being deprived Irish citizenship because of the Minister’s error to issue stamp 2 A to our client.

Our office applied to the Minister to rectify this mistake by retrospectively amending our client’s previous permissions from stamp 2 A to stamp 3, based on the fact that a mistake was made on each occasion that a Stamp 2 A permission was issued to her.

A decision was recently issued to our clients which confirmed that her permission was retrospectively amended to the appropriate stamp 3 permission spanning over a number of years, thereby rendering the couple’s child eligible for Irish citizenship by birth.

We are delighted for our clients to have resolved their immigration difficulties.

We also think this is an extremely important and highly positive precedent for others who may have been issued the wrong residence permissions and confirms that, if appropriate, the Department of Justice and Equality can back date residence permission retrospectively.

If you or a family member are affected by the issuance of inappropriate immigration permission please do not hesitate to contact our office.

THE PROBLEM WITH STAMP 3 IMMIGRATION PERMISSION

Persons on Stamp 3 immigration permission are restricted from taking up employment or working in Ireland.

Our office has met many clients whose lives are severely negatively impacted by holding Stamp 3 permission.

Many adults, who wish to work and integrate into Ireland are prevented from doing so unless their area of expertise or work experience leaves the option of an employment permit open to them. Even then obtaining a work permit is not always possible. The vast majority of occupations are ineligible for employment permits.

Many people holding Stamp 3 have been offered secure employment but have been unable to take up their employment offers due to the restrictions placed on them by their immigration status.

We submit that to put adults, who are able and willing to work in this position is unnecessary and cruel.

It prevents individuals from getting to know people in Ireland and fully integrate. Employment gives people confidence and a sense of purpose. Being unable to work negatively impacts on a person’s mental well being. A large part of a person’s self-worth and sense of being is derived from their employment.

We submit that the Minister should promote the ideals of employment and self-sufficiency and should not leave adults who are able to work in such a position. Persons on Stamp 3 are required to remain dependent on family members well into their adulthood.

Young adults are most affected by the issuance of Stamp 3 permission at an extremely important and formative part of their lives. Our office is even aware of adults with children of their own being issued Stamp 3 permission to reside, leaving them unable to support themselves or their own families.

We submit that allowing persons to work serves in the best interests of the state as it will allow persons to contribute to the economy and promotes integration and the building of communities.

We submit that there is no risk to state resources, funding or expenditure in the granting of Stamp 4/ Stamp 1 without the need for a work permit to persons currently resident on Stamp 3 as the Minister can make it a condition of a person’s immigration permission that they cannot access State supports.

The absolute prohibition on work was found to be unlawful in respect of persons seeking asylum in Ireland in the case of  of N.V.H. v Minister for Justice and Equality and ors [2017] IESC 35 in which it was held that the ability to engage in work is connected to the dignity of the human person and that prohibiting a non-citizen, in this particular case an asylum seeker, from seeking employment is therefore contrary to the Constitution. We submit that the same reasoning should apply to individuals currently on Stamp 3 permission in the State.

We highlight in particular the Court’s judgment at paragraphs 15-17 in which it is stated:

“15…Much work is drudgery, often the subject of complaint rather than celebration, and most often an economic necessity as a means to live a chosen life rather than an end in itself. However even approaching the matter with a healthy dose of skepticism, it must be recognised that work is connected to the dignity and freedom of the individual which the Preamble tells us the Constitution seeks to promote.

Persons on Stamp 3 permission are not eligible to take up employment in the State until if and when he or she naturalises as an Irish citizen- given the current processing times this could amount to anywhere from 5 to 6 years if not more.

We submit that the restriction on work created by Stamp 3 immigration permission is unnecessary and unreasonable.

If you or a family member are affected by Stamp 3 immigration permission please do not hesitate to contact our office.