International Protection Act 2026
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Permission to enter and reside for family members of beneficiaries of international protection | ||
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205. (1) A sponsor may, subject to subsection (2), make an application to the Minister for permission to enter and reside in the State to be given to his or her family member to whom section 204 (1) does not apply. | ||
(2) Subject to section 206 , an application may not be made until after the expiry of a period of 2 years from the date on which the sponsor was granted international protection. | ||
(3) The Minister shall investigate, or cause to be investigated, an application to determine— | ||
(a) the identity of the person who is the subject of the application, | ||
(b) the relationship between the sponsor and the person who is the subject of the application, | ||
(c) the domestic circumstances of the person who is the subject of the application, and | ||
(d) whether, subject to subsections (6) to (9), the sponsor has sufficient resources for himself or herself and his or her family members not to become an unreasonable burden on the State. | ||
(4) The sponsor and the person who is the subject of the application shall cooperate fully in the investigation under subsection (3), including by providing to the Minister all relevant information in the possession, control or procurement of the sponsor and that person. | ||
(5) Where the Minister, having regard to the application and information available to him or her, including any information obtained in an investigation under subsection (3), is satisfied— | ||
(a) that the person who is the subject of an application is a family member of the sponsor, and | ||
(b) subject to section 206 , that the sponsor satisfies the condition specified in subsection (3)(d), | ||
the Minister may, subject to subsection (10), give a permission in writing to a person to enter and reside in the State. | ||
(6) The conditions specified in subsection (3)(d) shall be considered to have been satisfied where the sponsor— | ||
(a) subject to subsection (7), is at the time of his or her application, in receipt of at least the minimum level of income prescribed under section 212 (1), | ||
(b) is not, at the time of his or her application, in receipt of a prescribed social welfare payment or a prescribed housing support, and subject to subsection (8), has not, in the period of 2 years immediately preceding the application, been in receipt of such payment or such support, and | ||
(c) subject to subsection (9), does not, at the time of his or her application, owe a debt in respect of his or her relevant contributions for a period of arrears of 12 weeks or more. | ||
(7) Subsection (6)(a) shall not apply where the sponsor was a minor on the date that he or she made his or her application for international protection. | ||
(8) The Minister may give a permission under subsection (5) to a family member of a sponsor who does not satisfy the requirement under subsection (6)(b) where the Minister is satisfied that the sponsor has been in receipt of a prescribed social welfare payment or a prescribed housing support for a period that does not, or periods the aggregate of which do not, exceed 6 months in the period of 2 years immediately preceding the application by the sponsor. | ||
(9) The Minister may give a permission under subsection (5) to a family member of a sponsor who does not satisfy the requirement under subsection (6)(c) where the Minister is satisfied that the sponsor has entered into, and is complying with, a repayment arrangement for the purposes of the arrears referred to in subsection (6)(c). | ||
(10) The Minister shall refuse to give a permission under subsection (5)— | ||
(a) where he or she is of the opinion that it is in the interest of national security or public policy, as it relates to the family member, not to do so, | ||
(b) where the sponsor in relation to whom the person is a family member ceases or has ceased to be entitled to remain in the State, | ||
(c) where the person is a spouse or civil partner of a sponsor, where there are strong indications that the marriage or civil partnership was contracted for the sole purpose of enabling the person concerned to enter or reside in the State, or | ||
(d) where there has been misrepresentation or omission of facts, whether or not including the use of false documents, in respect of any matter referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c). | ||
(11) A person to whom a permission under subsection (5) is given shall— | ||
(a) comply with section 9 of the Act of 2004, and | ||
(b) while the permission is in force and the sponsor is entitled to remain in the State, be entitled to the rights, and subject to the obligations, specified in Chapter VII of the Qualification Regulation, including those specified in this Part. | ||
(12) A permission given under subsection (5)— | ||
(a) shall cease to be in force if the person to whom it is given does not enter and reside in the State by the date specified by the Minister when giving the permission, | ||
(b) shall cease to be in force on the same date as the permission to reside given to the sponsor in accordance with section 203 , | ||
(c) shall cease to be in force, where it is given to the spouse or civil partner of a sponsor, on and from the date on which the marriage or civil partnership concerned ceases to subsist, and | ||
(d) shall, subject to subsections (10) and (13), be renewable for as long as the permission to reside given to the sponsor is renewed in accordance with section 203 . | ||
(13) The Minister shall revoke or refuse to renew a permission given under subsection (5) where he or she is of the opinion that— | ||
(a) there has been misrepresentation or omission of facts, whether or not including the use of false documents, in respect of the conditions specified in subsection (3) or the circumstances referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (10), and | ||
(b) the permission would not have been given, or as the case may be, renewed, but for the misrepresentation or omission referred to in paragraph (a). | ||
(14) In this section— | ||
“application” means an application made in accordance with this section; | ||
“de facto partner”, in relation to a sponsor, means a person— | ||
(a) who is unmarried, | ||
(b) with whom the sponsor lived in an intimate and committed relationship, | ||
(c) who is in a stable and continuing relationship with the sponsor, | ||
(d) with whom the sponsor intends to resume the relationship referred to in paragraph (b), and | ||
(e) who is not related to the sponsor within a prohibited degree of relationship such that the person and the sponsor would be prohibited from marrying each other in the State by reason of that relationship; | ||
“family member”, in so far as the family already existed before the sponsor arrived in the State, in relation to a sponsor, means the following members of the family of the sponsor: | ||
(a) the spouse, civil partner or de facto partner of the sponsor; | ||
(b) a minor child of the sponsor provided that the minor child is unmarried; | ||
(c) an adult child of the sponsor who is— | ||
(i) dependent on a long term basis on the sponsor, or | ||
(ii) suffering from a mental or physical disability, | ||
to such extent that it is not reasonable for the adult child to maintain himself or herself fully; | ||
(d) a parent of the sponsor who is— | ||
(i) dependent on a long term basis on the sponsor, or | ||
(ii) suffering from a mental or physical disability, | ||
to such extent that it is not reasonable for the parent to maintain himself or herself fully; | ||
(e) where the sponsor is a minor on the date of an application, the father and mother of the sponsor or other adult (including the sponsor’s adult sibling) responsible for the sponsor; | ||
“prescribed housing support” means a social housing support, accommodation, lodgings or assistance prescribed under section 212 (4); | ||
“prescribed social welfare payment” means a payment prescribed under section 212 (3); | ||
“relevant contributions” means the contributions payable by a sponsor towards the cost of— | ||
(a) material reception conditions made available to him or her under Chapter 2 of Part 4 , and | ||
(b) the relevant reception conditions provided to him or her under the European Communities (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2018 ( S.I. No. 230 of 2018 ). |