EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. MISUSE OF THE RIGHT TO FAMILY REUNIFICATION: IRELAND, EMN Focussed Study 1

The term ‘marriage of convenience’ is not explicitly defined as an offence in Irish legislation and accurate statistics on the issue are thus not available. Article 41.3.1 of the Constitution of Ireland 1937 provides for a privileged position for marriage. A 2011 case before the Irish courts, Izmailovic & Anor v. The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, found that ‘marriages of convenience’ are not unlawful in Irish law and the Gardaí are not empowered to prevent their solemnisation. Civil registrars are legally unable to refuse to conduct a proposed wedding in the case of a suspected marriage of convenience unless there is an impediment to the marriage (as provided for in the Civil Registration Act 2004). In the case of both parenthood and marriage registration in Ireland, a presumption of validity prevails unless questioned. Reasons for suspected marriages of convenience are primarily related to imprisonment and/or a human trafficking situation involving female applicants and debt bondage involving male applicants. Anecdotal evidence has indicated financial gain also

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. ANNUAL REPORT ON ASYLUM AND MIGRATION STATISTICS FOR IRELAND: 2007

This report provides an analysis of statistics relating to migration and asylum in Ireland and is the fifth in the current series.1 The legally-resident population in Ireland has grown steadily during the period in question to reach just over 4.3 million in January 2007.2 This growth has been driven both by net immigration and natural increase. Immigration flows reached a high of 103,260 during 2007. Previously, there had been a decline in immigration in 2004 to 58,875. This decline may have reflected tightening immigration policy and a decline in asylum applications, while the subsequent increase from 2005 onwards may possibly represent increased flows since the enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004. The net migration rate fell slightly during 2007. The main migration- and asylum-related event of interest in 2007 centered on the publication of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill in April 2007. For the first time a definition of a ‘foreign national’ was proposed as being with reference to third-country nationals from outside the European Union only. A category of statutory long-term resident status was also proposed

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. ANNUAL REPORT ON STATISTICS ON MIGRATION, ASYLUM AND RETURN: IRELAND 2005

The current report provides analysis on statistics relating to migration and asylum in Ireland. The majority of the data have been supplied by Eurostat and where other sources have been used this is marked below the relevant table. Data is not available on all of the requested items. The main migration-related event of interest in 2005 was the creation of a new cross-departmental government body with responsibility for a range of immigration, asylum and visa issues which had previously been spread across a number of government departments: the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS). The consultation phase for new comprehensive Immigration and Residence legislation (Immigration and Legislation Bill, 2005) was launched with the publishing of a discussion document and request for submissions in April 2005, and a new Employment Permits Bill was published and sought to offer migrant workers increased protection and introduced a new employment permit scheme described as a ‘Green Card’ for certain highly-skilled workers. New citizenship legislation came into effect in January 2005, which saw a change in conditions under which the child of foreign national parents may acquire Irish citizenship. The government’s National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR) was launched in January 2005

Immigrants and Welfare Receipt in Ireland

Since 2004, Ireland has included in its system of social welfare payments criteria for receipt which limit the extent to which immigrants can receive welfare payments. In this paper, we compare the rates of receipt of welfare for immigrants and natives to see if the outcome is consistent with the operation of this policy. Using data from 2008, we generally find lower rates of welfare receipt among immigrants. While the numbers of immigrants claiming unemployment-related payments surged at the outset of the recession, there appears to have been a quicker stabilisation in the number of immigrants claiming such benefits relative to natives, based on official data from 2007 to 2010. This would be consistent with the on-going implementation of the type of criteria introduced in 2004.Ireland, immigrants, welfare

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Identifying Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings in Asylum and Forced Return Procedures: Ireland

The aim of this report is to explore the interaction between procedures for asylum, procedures for forced return and procedures for victims of human trafficking. This report is part of an EU-wide EMN study1 which examines whether, and how, (potential) victims of human trafficking are detected and identified in Member State procedures for international protection and the related forced return procedures. Procedures regarding the identification of (potential) victims in the subsidiary protection process in Ireland are not covered in this report. A transfer of responsibilities from the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service to the Refugee Applications Commissioner and Refugee Appeals Tribunal followed enactment of the European Union (Subsidiary Protection) Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 426 of 2013) in November 2013; new procedures were in development at the time of writing

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Annual Policy Report on Migration and Asylum 2014: Ireland

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of trends, policy developments and significant debates in the area of asylum and migration during 2014 in Ireland

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. THE ORGANISATION OF RECEPTION FACILITIES FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS IN IRELAND

This study of provides an overview of the reception system for protection applicants in Ireland, including the organisation of the system, the authorities responsible, types of facilities used and basic material conditions within the centres. The strengths and weaknesses of the system are discussed. All seekers of international protection in Ireland (including asylum seekers, those awaiting decisions on their applications for subsidiary protection and those awaiting permission to remain in Ireland under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999) may access the direct provision system of accommodation, but there is no legal requirement to do so. Direct provision accommodation is the responsibility of the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA), an agency under the aegis of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS). RIA provides accommodation for persons with protection applications pending. Applicants who receive a negative decision are housed until the point of return, while successful applicants may remain for a temporary period after the decision has been issued

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Annual Policy Report on Migration and Asylum 2013: Ireland

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of trends, policy developments and significant debates in the area of asylum and migration during 2013 in Ireland

Immigrants' Welfare Receipt Across the EU (Study on Active Inclusion of Migrants)

These slides show how immigrants are at disproportionate risk of poverty (social exclusion) and how there does not seem to be any strong link between welfare generosity and immigration