Travelling back to Ireland, IRP with INIS

My wife will be travelling with me within the EU, but her IRP card is with the Naturalisation Department as her naturalisation has been granted.

She asked for the IRP card to be returned to her due to this trip, they said they would send it back but it hasn't arrived yet (that was about 2 weeks ago).

If she doesn't get the IRP card in time for the trip, do you know if the Travel Confirmation Notice issued by the DOJ is enough to gain re-entry? She has a valid Stamp 4 on her passport and she would be re-entering the country with me, an Irish Citizen and her daughter who is an Irish citizen as well.

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/new-imm ... announced/

To be honest I am more afraid of the airline not letting her board the plane than the officials here at the airport. Not sure if the airlines are actually asking for IRP cards or just checking the stamp on the passport.

Can you apply for the single entry visa ?

Stamp on the passport is not suffice to re-enter the country and I imagine with the new rule of IRP validity extension, it's applied to expired IRP card and you may still need the expired card with you to proof that, as stated in the article link shared.

Also, congratulation on your wife's approval for naturalization, will you mind sharing her timeline of application?

OneWorld2122 wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 29, 2021 4:35 pm

Also, congratulation on your wife's approval for naturalization, will you mind sharing her timeline of application?

Applied in July 2019 and the approval came in in November 2021. So a little over 2 years.

If she is from a visa-required country, she will need either an IRP card or a re-entry visa to enter Ireland. Airlines are pretty strict these days, especially with many countries re-imposing COVID restrictions.

The accompany by you is irrelevant in this case, as you are not exercising EU Treaty Rights (even if you do, there is still a 90-100% chance that airlines will deny her from boarding).

What are her options? We have contacted the re-entry visa office but received no response. Citizenship said they would send the card back but haven't done so. We contacted the Irish Embassy in the country we are visiting and they said that because she is resident in Ireland they cannot issue her a re-entry visa and that it needed to be handled by Immigration in Ireland.

Once you send the IRP back to them you are basically in limbo as there is no way to get in touch with them by phone either.

So we have just contacted the GNIB office in Dublin by phone and they said there is nothing that can be done apart from getting the card returned by the Citizenship Department. They cannot issue a re-entry visa as these have been abolished and the requirement is now lifted for the Christmas season. Their suggestion was to contact the Airline, which we did and suggested we contact the Embassy. The Embassy said they cannot issue a visa because she is an Irish resident and must contact the GNIB office in Dublin.

All in all, it's up to the Airline and the person on the desk on that particular day.

MadImmG wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:17 am

So we have just contacted the GNIB office in Dublin by phone and they said there is nothing that can be done apart from getting the card returned by the Citizenship Department. They cannot issue a re-entry visa as these have been abolished and the requirement is now lifted for the Christmas season. Their suggestion was to contact the Airline, which we did and suggested we contact the Embassy. The Embassy said they cannot issue a visa because she is an Irish resident and must contact the GNIB office in Dublin.

All in all, it's up to the Airline and the person on the desk on that particular day.

Hi there,
Same happened to us. We were waiting for our irish passport book which did not come on time as backlog was and is still huge. So i email citizenship dept in tipperary they replied and said they cant send my IRP as you are already naturalised so contact relevant immigration authorities. then i contacted inis in burg quay (email and send them my national passport with naturalised cert and the reason why i need the re entry visa. after two days they contacted me that you visa is ready so we went there and collect our passport.If you were on spouse visa or any other visa make sure contact the relevant dept to avoid the delays.

MadImmG wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:17 am

So we have just contacted the GNIB office in Dublin by phone and they said there is nothing that can be done apart from getting the card returned by the Citizenship Department. They cannot issue a re-entry visa as these have been abolished and the requirement is now lifted for the Christmas season. Their suggestion was to contact the Airline, which we did and suggested we contact the Embassy. The Embassy said they cannot issue a visa because she is an Irish resident and must contact the GNIB office in Dublin.

All in all, it's up to the Airline and the person on the desk on that particular day.

I’m not sure whom you contacted, but GNIB office or your embassy will not know anything about visa. You need to talk to the re-entry visa office, or even visit them in person if possible. Re-entry visas are issued in these situations but you must have a valid reason for it.

littlerr wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:46 am

I’m not sure whom you contacted, but GNIB office or your embassy will not know anything about visa. You need to talk to the re-entry visa office, or even visit them in person if possible. Re-entry visas are issued in these situations but you must have a valid reason for it.

Yes we did contact them last week by email at immigrationsupport@justice.ie but no reply just yet. I am guessing they might be swamped with requests due to the festive season plus the covid measures.

MadImmG wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 30, 2021 1:47 pm

littlerr wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:46 am

I’m not sure whom you contacted, but GNIB office or your embassy will not know anything about visa. You need to talk to the re-entry visa office, or even visit them in person if possible. Re-entry visas are issued in these situations but you must have a valid reason for it.

Yes we did contact them last week by email at immigrationsupport@justice.ie but no reply just yet. I am guessing they might be swamped with requests due to the festive season plus the covid measures.

Oh no, that email is notoriously slow. It will take them forever to come back to you, if ever at all. If you are in a hurry, try to write a letter to the re-entry visa office in Burgh Quay or just visit them in person.

Re-entry visa offices are quite accommodating and they can usually grant visas right away or in a few days at most, but you won't be able to reach them by email. You will have to send them a letter or visit in person. (And obviously either way make sure you include all the reasons and copies of proofs etc in your letter.)

littlerr wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:38 pm

Oh no, that email is notoriously slow. It will take them forever to come back to you, if ever at all. If you are in a hurry, try to write a letter to the re-entry visa office in Burgh Quay or just visit them in person.

Re-entry visa offices are quite accommodating and they can usually grant visas right away or in a few days at most, but you won't be able to reach them by email. You will have to send them a letter or visit in person. (And obviously either way make sure you include all the reasons and copies of proofs etc in your letter.)

Thanks for this, it definitely helps. We might as well head over to the Burgh Quay office in person to get it sorted.

In case this is helpful for anyone out there. We finally got it sorted.

Don't go to the Burgh Quay office in the afternoon as they wont see you. You have to be there 8am in the morning. It was quite difficult to get someone to actually listen. It wasn't until she mentioned the fact that her naturalisation had been granted that they called someone from upstairs to help her out. They literally have a policy of no appointment, go home. Also, re-entry visas are abolished so they don't really deal with these cases on a daily basis.

She was given a re-entry visa at no cost but was told that the airline wouldn't have allowed her to board the plane without the IRP or a re-entry visa. Airlines are getting fined if they don't comply with this regulation.

So if you are planning to travel and your IRP is with the Citizenship Division, make sure you get a re-entry visa. Writing an email to the Burgh Quay office is a waste of time as we were told they receive thousands of emails and it could take several weeks for them to get back to you.

I’m glad that you have it sorted.

Just to add to that, if you live outside of Dublin, it is possible to send all required details by registered post to them and they will be able to sort it out in a few days. However, it is still advisable to visit them in person.

I don’t think there is a rule of not accepting people in the afternoon, but re-entry visa office has a very short opening hours. I think they used to finish at 2 or 2.30pm. It could be even earlier now since it has been abolished for most people.

With regards to the reception in Burch Quay, they are never useful or helpful. One of the rudest groups of people I have ever seen, consistently over the last 10 years or so. Just insist that you talk to re-entry visa office directly and don’t be afraid to insist on that when they refuse you.