Vietnamese, Bosnians to enter State under family reunification programme

There has been a mixed response to a Department of Justice decision to approve a "final" reunification programme for Bosnian and Vietnamese communities in Ireland, allowing 550 family members entry to the State.

Under the once-off programme, up to 200 Vietnamese and 350 Bosnians will be admitted to join relatives already settled here.

In addition, the Department has agreed to enter into an informal arrangement with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, under which a small number of vulnerable people and their families will be admitted annually as part of the UN agency's resettlement programme.

Mr Zdenko Stanar of the Bosnian Community Development Project welcomed the move as "an act of generosity on behalf of the Irish Government".

There are more than 850 Bosnians living in the State at present, 166 of whom have been naturalised. Up to 100 Bosnian applications for naturalisation are in various stages of processing.

Mr Stanar said he was not worried by the fact that it would be the last reunification programme as "most Bosnians here have already brought their families over".

However, the Vietnamese Irish Association said the allocation fell well short of the demand.

Mr Tri Nguyen, vice-chairman of the group, said there were 540 Vietnamese people waiting to be reunited with relatives here. Some had been waiting since 1979 when the first group of 212 programme refugees fleeing the Vietnam war were invited to Ireland.

"In 20 years, only a small number of people have been allowed to join their families here. It is causing a lot of pain for brothers and sisters and parents and children who continue to be separated." One woman whose brother was stranded without any family support in Vietnam had been waiting for over 10 years for a decision. Mr Nguyen said the Department should also clarify the application procedure to ensure the places went to genuine Vietnamese relatives.

He said visas made available in the past for reunification purposes had been snapped up by other nationals, including Chinese.

A total of 619 Vietnamese people are now living in Ireland, of whom 230 were born here.

According to Department figures, applications for naturalisation by resident non-EU nationals have increased from 295 in 1995 to 650 last year and 543 this year to the end of November.