International Protection Act 2026
|
PART 10 Voluntary Return and Withdrawal of International Protection | ||
|
Option to voluntarily return | ||
|
213. (1) Subject to subsection (9), the Minister may, by notice in writing, inform a person— | ||
(a) who withdraws his or her application under section 70 that he or she may, within such period as may be specified in the notice, comply with subsection (4), or | ||
(b) at any stage during the administrative procedure, that he or she may opt to voluntarily return to his or her country of origin, country of former habitual residence, or to a country where he or she is entitled to reside, as applicable, under the conditions specified in this section. | ||
(2) The notice issued with the return decision under section 216 (3) or section 218 (3) to a person who is subject to this section shall include information regarding voluntary return and the person subject to that notice shall have 5 days from the date on which the notice is sent to comply with subsection (4). | ||
(3) When the decision of the Tribunal is the one referred to in section 195 (3)(a), the Minister may, by notice in writing, inform the person subject to that decision that he or she may comply with subsection (4) and that person shall have 5 days from the date on which that notice is sent to comply with that subsection. | ||
(4) A person complies with this subsection where he or she confirms to the Minister, in accordance with this section, that he or she will return voluntarily to the country set out in his or her return decision or to a country where he or she is entitled to reside and the confirmation shall be made in writing in accordance with subsection (10). | ||
(5) When a person complies with subsection (4), he or she shall voluntarily leave the State no later than 30 days from the date of the confirmation referred to in subsection (4). | ||
(6) During the period leading up to the voluntary return, the person referred to in subsection (5) shall— | ||
(a) make himself or herself available to the competent authorities in accordance with the requirements set out in section 222 , | ||
(b) where requested by the Minister to do so, surrender any valid travel document that he or she possesses to the Minister for as long as the Minister considers necessary to prevent the person absconding, | ||
(c) where requested by the Minister to do so, commit in writing to undertake certain actions to facilitate his or her voluntary return, and | ||
(d) comply with any commitments made under paragraph (c). | ||
(7) Where the person fails to comply with any of the requirements referred to in subsection (6) the Minister may withdraw the option to return voluntarily. | ||
(8) When the person voluntarily returns to the country set out in his or her return decision or to a country where he or she is entitled to reside, he or she shall confirm the return to the Minister in such manner as may be directed by the Minister. | ||
(9) Where the Minister is of the opinion that— | ||
(a) there are reasonable grounds for regarding the person concerned as a danger to the security of the State, or | ||
(b) the person, having been by a final judgment convicted in the State of a serious offence or outside the State of an offence which if committed in the State would be a serious offence, constitutes a danger to the community of the State, | ||
this section shall not apply to that person. | ||
(10) The Minister shall publish the form in which a confirmation shall be made in accordance with subsection (4) on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Minister or the Government. | ||
(11) For the purposes of this section and section 214 , “competent authorities” include an immigration officer, a member of An Garda Síochána, or an officer of the Minister. | ||
(12) In this section, “serious offence” means an offence for which a person of full age and capacity and not previously convicted may be punished by imprisonment for a term of 5 years or by a more severe penalty. |