S.I. No. 453/2009 - Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) (No. 2) Order 2009


Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 27th November, 2009.

I, DERMOT AHERN, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004 (No. 1 of 2004), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) (No. 2) Order 2009.

(2) This Order comes into operation on 1 January 2010.

2. In this Order—

“Convention travel document” means a travel document issued in accordance with Article 28 of the Geneva Convention;

“Geneva Convention” has the meaning assigned to it by the Refugee Act 1996 (No. 17 of 1996);

“permanent residence card” has the meaning assigned to it by the Regulations of 2006;

“residence card” has the meaning assigned to it by the Regulations of 2006;

“Regulations of 2006” means the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 656 of 2006 ).

3. It is hereby declared that the following classes of non-nationals are specified as classes, the members of which are not required to be in possession of a valid Irish visa when landing in the State:

(a) nationals of a state or territorial entity specified in Schedule 1;

(b) non-nationals who are holders of—

(i) a valid Convention travel document issued by Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland and where the intended purpose of the travel to the State by the holder of such a travel document is solely for a visit of up to a maximum period of 3 months,

(ii) a valid permanent residence card issued under Regulation 16 of the Regulations of 2006, or

(iii) a valid residence card issued under Regulation 7 of the Regulations of 2006.

4. It is hereby declared that the classes of non-nationals specified in Schedule 2 are specified as classes, the members of which are required to be in possession of a valid Irish transit visa when arriving at a port in the State for purposes of passing through the port in order to travel to another state.

5. The Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2009 ( S.I. No. 239 of 2009 ) is revoked.

Article 3.

SCHEDULE 1

Classes of non-nationals not required to be in possession of a valid Irish visa when landing in the State

Andorra

Guatemala

Poland

Antigua & Barbuda

Guyana

Portugal

Argentina

Honduras

Romania

Australia

Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region)

Saint Kitts & Nevis

Austria

Hungary

Saint Lucia

Bahamas

Iceland

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Barbados

Israel

Samoa

Belgium

Italy

San Marino

Belize

Japan

Seychelles

Bolivia

Kiribati

Singapore

Botswana

Latvia

Slovak Republic

Brazil

Lesotho

Slovenia

Brunei

Liechtenstein

Solomon Islands

Bulgaria

Lithuania

South Africa

Canada

Luxembourg

South Korea

Chile

Macau (Special Administrative Region)

Spain

Costa Rica

Malawi

Swaziland

Croatia

Malaysia

Sweden

Cyprus

Maldives

Switzerland

Czech Republic

Malta

Taiwan

Denmark

Mexico

Tonga

Dominica

Monaco

Trinidad & Tobago

El Salvador

Nauru

Tuvalu

Estonia

Netherlands

United Kingdom & Colonies

Fiji

New Zealand

United States of America

Finland

Nicaragua

Uruguay

France

Norway

Vanuatu

Germany

Panama

Vatican City

Greece

Paraguay

Venezuela

Grenada

Article 4.

SCHEDULE 2 Classes of non-nationals required to be in possession of a valid Irish transit visa when arriving at a port in the State for purposes of passing through the port in order to travel to another state

Afghanistan

Ghana

Nigeria

Albania

Iran

Serbia

Cuba

Iraq

Somalia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lebanon

Sri Lanka

Eritrea

Moldova

Zimbabwe

Ethiopia

Montenegro

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GIVEN under my Official Seal,

16 November 2009.

DERMOT AHERN,

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order specifies the classes of non-nationals who are exempt from Irish visa requirements and those who are required to be in possession of a valid Irish transit visa when transiting within a port within the State. The principal change effected by the Order is that nationals of Mauritius are, from 1 January 2010, subject to an Irish visa requirement.