International Protection Act 2026
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Provision of information to applicants | ||
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82. (1) Without prejudice to section 26 , the Minster shall, within 3 days from the date on which the application concerned is made or deemed to have been made under Part 3 or an indication is made under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 13(1) of the Act of 2015, inform the applicant of— | ||
(a) the material reception conditions to which the applicant is entitled, | ||
(b) the rights and obligations of the applicant under this Part, | ||
(c) the contact details of any organisations or groups of persons that, in the opinion of the Minister, may be able to help or inform an applicant in relation to the material reception conditions and health care to which the applicant is entitled, and | ||
(d) the contact details of any organisations or groups of persons that provide specific legal assistance and representation, including free of charge, or of any organisations or groups of people that, in the opinion of the Minister, may be able to help or inform an applicant in relation to the legal assistance or legal representation to which the applicant is entitled. | ||
(2) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the information provided under subsection (1) shall— | ||
(a) be in writing and in a concise, transparent, intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language, | ||
(b) be in a language that the applicant understands or is reasonably supposed to understand, and | ||
(c) be based on the template developed for that purpose by the Asylum Agency (if any). | ||
(3) Where the Minister considers it necessary, the information referred to in subsection (1) shall be adapted to the applicant’s needs and shall also be provided orally or, where appropriate, in a visual form, including in the form of a video or pictogram. | ||
(4) Where the applicant is an unaccompanied minor, the information provided under subsection (1) shall be provided by the Child and Family Agency— | ||
(a) in an age-appropriate manner, | ||
(b) in a manner that ensures that the unaccompanied minor understands it, | ||
(c) using material specifically adapted to minors where appropriate, and | ||
(d) in the presence of the minor’s representative person or provisional representative person. | ||
(5) In exceptional cases, the information required to be provided under this section shall be provided to the applicant by means of an oral translation or, where appropriate in a visual form, including by means of videos or pictograms where— | ||
(a) the information cannot be provided in writing within the period referred to in subsection (1) because the language that an applicant understands or is reasonably supposed to understand is a rare language, and | ||
(b) the applicant subsequently confirms that the applicant understands the information provided. | ||
(6) Where the circumstances in subsection (5) apply, the Minister shall provide the applicant with the information in writing in the language concerned as soon as practicable thereafter, other than where it is clear, in the opinion of the Minister, that the provision of such information is no longer necessary. |