The Gazette 1988

JULY/AUGUST 1988

GAZETTE

E. Token of Honour The President of Ireland, under Section 1 2 of the 1956 Act, may confer Irish citizenship on a person as a token of honour. To date this honour has only been bestowed on five persons. Immigration to Ireland In c o n s i d e r i ng i mm i g r a t i on possibilities to Ireland, persons who are not Irish citizens can be considered under the following three categories: (i) Persons born in Great Britain or Northern Ireland. They are treated to all intents and pur- poses in exactly the same manner as Irish citizens. They do not require residency per- mits or work permits of any description and are fully ex- empt from Aliens Control. t he ir d e p e n d a n t s) of memb er states of the European Com- munity. Pursuant to Ireland's obligations under the Treaty of Rome, the rights of free movement and establishment of EEC nationals and their d e p e n d a n ts have been provided for in Irish law under a series of r egu l a t i on s, although certain restrictions still exist regarding nationals of the newest member states, namely, Spain and Portugal. Interestingly, the regulations do not apply to persons born in Great Britain or Northern Ireland and, as a result, a serious (and presumably un- intended) anomaly exists, insofar as the dependants of persons born in Great Britain or Northern Ireland who were not themselves born in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland and are not EEC nationals cannot avail in Ireland of these regulations. This came to light in a recent case where a British-born woman of Indian extraction came to live and work in Ireland w i th her t wo- year-old child. The woman had married an Indian three years previously. The woman applied to the Minister for Justice for Entry Clearance for her husband to be able to come and live in Ireland (he was still living in India having been refused entry into the UK) and relied on the 1977 (ii) Na t i ona ls (and

Regulations (S.I. 393 of 1977) wh i ch state generally that a dependant of an EEC national can join his or her spouse in Ireland. However, the Depart- ment of Justice referred the applicant woman to the First Schedule of the Regulations which exempt British-born UK citizens and N.I. born citizens from the Regulations thus leaving a UK citizen in a worse off position than if she had been, for example, a French citizen. (iii) A l i ens o t her t h an EEC nationals. Persons in this category coming to Ireland for reasons other than employ- ment or to engage in business must register w i th the Aliens Registration Authority, and obtain a registration certifi- cate, if intending to stay in the S t a te longer t h an t h r ee months. This certificate must be renewed on a yearly basis and will only be renewed if the alien can show that he and his dependants are not a financial burden on the State. Those non-EEC aliens who wish to take up employment or engage in business face very considerable difficulties, commencing wi th the require- ment to register within one week w i th the Aliens Regis- tration Authority and obtain a Registration Certificate within one month. High unemploy- ment exists in Ireland and the c en t r al o b j e c t i ve of immigration policy appears to

be the prevention of displace- ment of Irish and EEC workers and businesses by non-EEC nationals. If an alien in this category w i s h es to engage in employment or to establish himself in business in the State he must obtain a work permit from the Department of Labour or permission to engage in business from the Department of Labour. To ob t a in a wo rk pe rm i t, application must be made by the p r ospec t i ve employer who must furnish full details of: the proposed employee, particulars of the post, efforts that have been made to recruit an Irish/EEC national for t he post i n c l ud i ng adve r t i s i ng, and wh e t h er t r ade un i ons have been consulted and the result of such consultation. Any work pe rm it g r an t ed mu st be renewed yearly. With regard to engaging in business, the alien must obtain permission from the Minister to do so and it appears that the Minister regards £150 , 000 as the mi n imum investment t hat would qualify an alien for the necessary permission. There is no legislation governing investment criteria and any dec i s i ons are w i t h in t he Minister's absolute discretion. Aliens Control at Point of Entry The Immigration Authorities at points of entry to Ireland have extensive powers to refuse non- EEC aliens leave to land or to attach conditions as to duration of stay. The power of initial admission is generally exercised by the Immi- gration Officer at the point of entry. He may refuse entry on any of the following grounds: (1) if an alien is not in a position to support himself or any accompanying dependant; (2) although intending to take up work or engage in business in Ireland, an alien is not in possession of a valid permit; (3) an alien is suffering from certain scheduled diseases; (4) an alien has been convicted of an offence punishable (in Ireland or otherwise) by im- prisonment for a max imum period of at least one year;

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