Temporarily ceasing new entry visa processing

What is the change?

The Irish government has announced that they are extending the suspension of processing of new entry visa applications in Irish embassies/consulates and visa
processing centres around the world. 

Key points:

• Implementation time frame: The changes are set to take effect April 6th 2021 until at least May 5th 2021.
• Who is affected: All entry visa required nationals who were seeking to apply for an entry visa. An example of this is your employee who was has an approved employment permit but needed to apply for an entry visa to enter Ireland.
• Next steps: Employers should update their employees who were applying for an entry visa. They will no longer be able to apply.
  

Analysis & Comments:

The Irish government have made this recommendation in line with other countries working to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

In Ireland, all non-EEA nationals must apply for an employment permit to work. For certain nationalities, they must then apply for an entry visa to enter Ireland to commence work. Once in Ireland, all non-EEA nationals must apply for an Irish Residence Permit to register their permission and reside.

The announcement is that new entry visa applications will continue not to be accepted until at least May 5 2021. This means that employees from visa required countries who have an approved employment permit would not be able to apply for an entry visa and enter Ireland.Certain emergency entry visa applications will be accepted (for urgent business critical cases, health care professionals or immediate family members of Irish nationals). The Irish government has announced that anyone coming into Ireland (with some exceptions based on purpose of entry) will be required to restrict their movements or self-isolate on arrival for 14 days to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

If you have employees impacted by the above changes, please contact the Deloitte immigration team to assist. We continue to update our FAQ for employers found here.