The Asylum Process & Forms of Protection in Ireland

  • The Asylum Process
  • Making an Application
  • The Interview
  • Other Information about The Asylum Process
  • Leave to Remain
  • Subsidary Protection
  • Immigration Stamps


    •      
    pdf

         
    PDF update from European Council on Refugees & Exiles
    on future developments in EU Asylum Policy

    The Asylum Process

    The Asylum Process is the process of seeking to be recognised as a refugee. Section 9(1) of the Refugee Act, 1996 provides that any person who arrives at the frontier of the state seeking asylum or indicating that they cannot return to their country of origin because they fear persecution will be given leave to enter the state.

    The definition of a refugee is
    ‘a person owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion is outside the country of his or her and is unable or owing to such a fear, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country’

    To be recognised as a refugee, a person must make an application for a declaration to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law reform. The application is examined by two statutory independent bodies. These are the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner (ORAC) at the first instance and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT) at the appeal stage.

    Making an Application

    A person can make an application for asylum at:
    1) The port of entry
    2) The Office of the Applications Commissioners

    1) The port of entry
    The initial application will be dealt with by an immigration officer. Then a preliminary interview will be carried out to establish whether the person wishes to make an application for a declaration for refugee status and, if so, the general grounds upon which the application is based, the identity of the person and their nationality, transport and route taken to reach Ireland as well as the legal basis for entry into or presence in the state. The person will then be referred to ORAC

    2) The Office of the Applications Commissioners (ORAC)
    The ORAC office is situated at 79-83 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.
    The initial (The Asylum interview will be carried out at a later stage) interview is carried out by an ORAC official. An interpreter will be provided where necessary and possible.

    The applicant is given a detailed questionnaire which requires him or her to provide biographical and other personal details, travel particulars and most importantly, the reason for seeking asylum.

    The Questionnaire
    The questionnaire must be returned in two weeks. Questionnaires are available in over 20 different languages. The questionnaire is very important and must be completed fully. The reason for seeking asylum should be given in as much detail as possible. Applicants should not assume officials know about their country.

    Because of its importance, applicants should register with the refugee legal service or engage a private solicitor before completion.
    Applicant should provide as much documentary evidence as possible so as to:

    The Interview

    The applicant will be requested to attend and interview by ORAC. This can take place shortly after arrival in the state; however in some cases it can take several months to be called for interview. The interview can take from 2- 5 hours.

    An applicant may have legal representative present, and should consult their legal representative before attending interview.

    The applicant can request an interviewer and interpreter of the same gender. The applicant should prepare well for the interview, in particular if it is some time since the events took place. The accounts given must be truthful and should contain where possible contain precise details. If the applicant cannot attend interview they must notify ORAC within three days. This notification must be supported by relevant documentation e.g. medical certificate. Failure to do so may result in the application being withdrawn.

    Other Information about The Asylum Process


    Decisions by ORAC

    Recommendations To Be Considered A Refugee
    If ORAC considers that a person is a refugee, it will make a recommendation to that effect and the applicant will be notified. The Minister will normally accept the recommendation by ORAC. The Ministerial Decisions Unit of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) will then notify the individual that the minister has declared him/her as a refugee. The person must then register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau/Local immigration Garda.

    Negative Recommendations By ORAC
    If a person receives a negative decision they can appeal it within 15 working days. Depending on the circumstances of the applicant’s case, the applicant may be entitled to an oral hearing or the case may be decided on the papers only. It is essential that the person gets legal advice if considering appealing. If an appeal is granted the applicant must have legal representation at his/her appeal.

    The Oral Hearing
    The oral hearing will be before a member of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (RAT). The appeal will be attended by the applicant, and his/her legal representative and a presenting officer from ORAC. A UNHCR representative may also attend depending on the case and some witnesses may be called. The person will subsequently receive a decision.

    Section 3 Letter
    If the applicant receives a negative letter from the RAT, the applicant will receive a Section 3 letter (also known as a 15 day letter or 3 options letter).
    The person will be informed that the minister intends to make a deportation order and will also be informed that s/he has three options.
    1) To agree to the deportation
    2) To leave the state voluntarily
    3) To make representations setting out why s/he should not be removed from the state.

    Under section 3 of the Immigration Act, 1999 the minister is obliged to consider a number of factors including:
    Decisions to grant leave to remain are made at the discretion of the minister.

    Leave to Remain

    After issue of the Section 3 letter, the person can apply for leave to remain; it is advisable that the individual seeks legal advice if they wish to apply for leave to remain. Leave to remain is granted at the discretion of the minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, usually on humanitarian grounds.

    There are two groups of asylum seekers who may be given leave to remain in the state;
    • Those who withdraw from the asylum process
    • Those who are refused a declaration as a refugee by the RAC, were not granted subsidiary protection and who failed to have this decision overturned by the RAC.

    Rights of a person with leave to remain
    Employment and Training
    You are now entitled to work and set up your own business. You are also entitled to go on FAS courses (FAS is the national training agency). To find out more information on FAS courses you should speak to the Employment Service Mediator in your nearest FAS office.

    Social Welfare
    As you are entitled to work you should be able to receive a social welfare payment. There are different payments depending on your circumstances. For some payments you will have to satisfy the habitual residency test. For more information contact your local social welfare office.

    Subsidiary Protection

    As of October 10th 2006, a new form of protection was passed in to law. This was an EU directive to ensure minimum standards of protection in all member states. The directive is called the qualification directive, it is the first international, legally binding treaty, which establishes a duty (Article 18) for member states to grant subsidiary protection to those in need of protection.
    The articles definition of a person eligible for subsidiary protection is:
    ‘“a third country national or stateless person who does not qualify as a refugee but in respect of whom substantial grounds have been shown for believing that the person concerned, if returned to his or her country of origin, or in the case of a stateless person, to his or her country of former habitual residence, would face a real risk of suffering serious harm as defined in Article 15, and to whom Article 17(1) and (2) do not apply, and is unable, or, owing to such risk, unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country”

    Serious Harm is defined as:
     Who can apply? Integrating Ireland and the Irish Refugee Council are of the opinion that subsidiary protection allows for applications from people at various stages in the system. The following are given as examples:
    Paragraph 9 of the directive clarifies that the scope of the directive does not apply to third country nationals who are allowed to remain in the territory of a Member State,
    “for reasons not due to a need for international protection but on a discretionary basis on compassionate or humanitarian grounds”

    Immigration Stamps

    Stamps are issued by immigration to show that the holder has permission to remain in the state. The stamps along with a Certificate of Registration from the GNIB are necessary for non EEA nationals to remain in Ireland.

    Stamp 1
    This stamp gives the following holders permission to remain in the state.

    Stamp 1A
    The holder of stamp 1A is allowed to stay until a specified date. The holder is not allowed to engage in other employment. The holder is allowed to stay to do full time training with a named body. The following is an example:

    Stamp Number 2
    The holder is permitted to stay in Ireland to study until a specified date. The holder is not permitted to engage in any business or profession other than casual employment (up to 20 hours per week during school term and 40 hours per week during school holidays) the person has no eligibility to public funds unless otherwise provided. The holder would be typically the following:
    Stamp Number 2A
    The holder is permitted to stay in Ireland to study until a specified date. The holder is not permitted to engage in any business or profession or enter employment and the person has no eligibility to public funds unless otherwise provided.The person would usually be the following:
    Stamp Number 3
    The holder is permitted to stay in Ireland until a specified date. They cannot enter employment, or engage in any business or profession.
    The following is examples of stamp 3 holders.
    Stamp Number 4
    These following holders of stamp 4 are permitted to remain in Ireland until a specified date.