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Online visas will drive down ‘bureaucratic burden’

An online registration renewal system for non-EEA students based in Dublin has been rolled out.  

Recognising that such students will no longer have to book appointments and attend the registration office in person, justice minister Charlie Flanagan has also clarified that the service will be made available to all categories of non-national students living in the Dublin area, who are eligible for renewal of their permission to reside in Ireland.

He said that the difficulty of getting high-demand appointments for visa renewals will be resolved with the new online system and its wider category of applicant.

Students will now complete the application form online, upload copies of supporting documents online, pay the applicable fee and then submit their passport and current IRP card via registered post. 

Checked

Documents will be checked and, if approved, the passport will be stamped and returned by registered post and an Immigration Residence Permission card issued by express post.

Minister Flanagan added: “The new process will allow officials in my Department to process renewals more efficiently by enabling them to better manage the volume of applications.

Quality of documentation

“This will also allow them focus more closely on the quality of documentation being provided to the office.”

The Dublin 2 physical office will now focus exclusively on first-time student registrations.

The Department hopes to significantly reduce the bureaucratic burden placed on applicants and also, with faster processing times, offer greater certainty to applicants that their permissions will be renewed on time.

Categories 

The new system will be kept under ongoing review, with the intention that the on-line service can be rolled out to other categories of applicants in the coming months.

The Immigration Act 2004 requires non-nationals (non-EU/EEA & Swiss plus some other exceptions) to register if they have been given permission to remain in the State for longer than three months.

Alongside the initial requirement to register upon arrival in the State, the registration / permission to remain must be renewed, usually on an annual basis.

In 2019, the Registration Office in Burgh Quay processed over 105,000 applications.

Renewals

Of these approximately 60,000/70,000 were renewals.

In 2019, An Garda Síochána also processed over 75,000 applications.

In 2019, 3,500 third level students used a pilot version of the new process to renew their permissions.