State to suspend visa-free travel for refugees from 20 ‘safe’ countries

Visa-free travel for refugees into Ireland from 20 “safe” European countries will on Tuesday be suspended for a year in a hardening of the State’s immigration policy.

It means that people who have been granted refugee status in other countries can still apply to travel to Ireland, but will need a visa to do so.

The visa-free travel arrangements for Ukrainian nationals fleeing the Russian invasion will be unaffected.

The reversal, which will see Ireland temporarily suspend the application of a Council of Europe agreement abolishing visas for refugees, is in the first instance billed as an anti-abuse measure, with concerns over the system being “exploited”.

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However, Coalition sources concede the step could not be separated from wider pressures coming to bear on the State’s reception and integration system for refugees, and would be seen as a clear signal being sent by the State on migration.

Ministers were told at an incorporeal Cabinet meeting on Monday, of concerns about document forgery, and of the system being misused by people who have been granted international protection in one country before then applying for the status in Ireland.

Private warning

A private warning to Ministers outlined that current trends would see the numbers seeking international protection increase by 300 per cent in 2022 compared to 2019 – currently they are up 191 per cent on the same period in 2019. This is having “significant implications” for processing applications and accommodation, they were told.

Under the terms of the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees, International Protection (IP) applicants can travel without a visa between signatory countries so long as they stay no more than three months.

The visa exemption applies to holders of a Convention Travel Document issued by Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden or Switzerland.

The International Protection Office (IPO) has been receiving applications from some people who already have been granted refugee status by other states, a Government statement said. The IPO checks every applicant over the age of 14 against a European database that stores the fingerprints of international protection applicants or people who have crossed a border illegally.

Ireland is notified if a person who has been granted international protection has already had it granted elsewhere. In the year to January 2022, there were 760 notifications of someone in receipt of international protection in another state. Of those, 479 came from EU member states whose beneficiaries of international protection are visa-exempted, representing 7 per cent of the 6,494 applications for international protection in that period.

‘Secondary attraction’

The Cabinet was also warned of credible intelligence that a “secondary attraction effect” was at play, with family or other parties seeking to join those who arrived in this way. The move was necessary to protect the system, safeguard public confidence and protect the Common Travel Area between Ireland and Britain, Ministers were told.

Irish Refugee Council chief executive Nick Henderson said the exemption was used by low numbers and the suspension risked “being disproportionate and regressive”.

He said the decision was “regrettable” and the agreement was an important way for families torn apart by war to visit each other across Europe. “Requiring a visa application for such a visit adds considerable uncertainty and obstacles for refugee families and is in stark contrast to the principle of free movement for EU nationals.”

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said it was examining the detail of the decision.

Two countries have previously temporarily suspended the exemption – the UK in 2003 and France in 1986.

The move comes as preparations are being completed to move 150 Ukrainians to a tented village at Gormanston army camp. The Department of Integration said there would be no air conditioning at the site, which is expected to accommodate people only for a week at a time. Last week, the Government ran out of space for Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers in State-provided accommodation at the Citywest Conference Centre, forcing more than 300 people to stay in the old Dublin Airport terminal building.