Ireland

New rules set to relieve registration queues

29 Sep 15

IRELAND

IMPACT – HIGH

What is the change? The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) has implemented immediate measures to reduce queues that have begun to build up over the past few weeks at its public office.

What does the change mean? The GNIB will prioritize services as follows:

  • Weekend hours will be available to service the increased volume at the office.
  • Beginning Sept. 30, new registrations will be handled on Monday and Tuesday each week. Wednesday through Friday will be reserved for registration renewals by existing GNIB cardholders.
  • Additional staff will be on duty to handle registration of immigrant status.
  • Students of designated colleges registering for the first time or renewing their registrations should not appear at the public office; separate arrangements will be made for these registrations later in the fall. The designed colleges are Dublin City University, Dublin Institute of Technology and constituent colleges, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Dublin University, and University College Dublin.
  • Certain GNIB services are in the process of being transferred to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, including registration of immigration permission.
  • An online appointment booking system for applicants seeking re-entry visas is being finalized and will be introduced as soon as possible.

Background: Long queues in the autumn are a chronic problem because of the influx of students registering for the new school year. Students and foreign employees are required to appear in person at the GNIB for registration and biometrics taking, causing long wait times and delays. Last fall, the pileup led to people being turned away at the office after queuing overnight. The same pattern had started to emerge this year, which has prompted the GNIB to take action.

BAL Analysis: The measures should reduce congestion at the GNIB office and prevent overnight queues. BAL will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.

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