Ireland: New Program for Foreign Workers Who Have Lost Their Status

Ireland: New Program for Foreign Workers Who Have Lost Their Status

Ireland has created a new program for foreign nationals who were once lawfully present in Ireland pursuant to an employment permit but have since fallen out of lawful status through no fault of their own. Eligible applicants may apply for a four-month temporary residence permit to allow them time to become eligible and apply for a new employment permit. Interested foreign nationals must submit applications before December 31, 2009.

The Irish Nationalisation and Immigration Service recently announced the creation of a new temporary residence program for certain foreign national workers who currently lack lawful immigration status. To qualify, foreign nationals must have previously held an employment permit and lost their lawful status through no fault of their own. The new program will be of use to foreign nationals whose current or former employer failed to timely apply for a permit renewal, for example, or to foreign nationals who may not have met the renewal criteria when the application was filed. This new program is only available through the end of this year. Applications must be submitted before December 31, 2009.

To qualify for the new program, applicants must demonstrate that (1) the circumstances in which their employment permit was not renewed were outside of their control; (2) they have not lost their employment due to a lay-off; (3) they will not be an unreasonable burden on Irish resources; and (4) they will not engage in any criminal or other behavior contrary to public policy. Applicants who are unemployed may qualify for the program, which is intended to allow individuals to secure employment. However, if an applicant is currently working for an employer that is willing to file an employment permit application on his or her behalf, this fact will help their case.

Qualified applicants will receive a four-month temporary residence permit that will allow them to become eligible and apply for a new employment permit. This four-month period will be evidenced by a stamp in the applicant’s passport and a certificate of registration. The four-month period may not be extended. If a foreign national is unable to secure an employment permit during the four-month validity period, he or she would be required to leave Ireland.

Note that the new program is targeted at a limited group of foreign nationals who held valid green card employment permits or regular work permits. Individuals who previously held other statuses or who fell out of lawful status due to other circumstances do not qualify under this program. For example, foreign nationals who have been laid off do not qualify. However, as previously reported, there is a separate new program for laid off foreign nationals. Individuals who are already subject to a deportation or transfer order are also specifically excluded from the terms of this new program.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen Global Immigration Services or send an email to emea@fragomen.com.

Tags: Foreign Workers, Ireland, Lost Status, New Program

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 8:46 am and is filed under Employment, Global Mobility, Identity Cards, Immigration, Ireland, Visa, Work Permit, documents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.