Long Term Residency and IRP card

[Mistii]

Hi guys, I am new here and I have a question about Long Term Residency.

I have recently obtained this Long Term Residency, and it was an ideal timing to renew my IRP.
So I submitted all the doc (obviously including Long Term Residency doc too) online (I live in Dublin / Kildare / Meath / Wicklow area), assuming the new IRP will give me 5 years.

Then I have received the new IRP and it turns out valid only 1 year!!! How is it possible, then what is the point of applying for Long Term Residency, getting a solicitor for Statutory Declaration and paying €500, if IRP you get is valid 1 year only? Are we supposed to pay €300 every single year even though you have Long Term Residency valid 5 years???

Does anyone have a similar experience? I am wondering if I should contact Immigration but knowing they will never reply to you unless it is an urgent case...I am totally frustrated and upset

Thank you for listening to my rant.

[Kay27]

How long is your passport in date for? If your passport expires next year that is probably the reason.

I got my last IRP card in 2017 and am pretty sure it is valid until 2027 as I had just renewed my passport.

[Mistii]

Hi, thank you for your quick response!
My Passport is valid until 2028...so I was expecting like, OK maybe they will not give full 5 years, but how come only 1 year???

I may try to contact Immigration then...
Thank you again

[Mistii]

Update: I have just sent an e-mail asking clarification on this to DRPCustomerservice@justice.ie (Long Term Residency section) and immigrationsupport@justice.ie (IRP card renewal section) Let's see what they say...

[Kay27]

Here's hoping you hear back soon.
It must be so frustrating!

[Danini___]

How long is your passport in date for? If your passport expires next year that is probably the reason.

I got my last IRP card in 2017 and am pretty sure it is valid until 2027 as I had just renewed my passport.

I know Stamp 5 lasts as long as your passport, does it also apply to long term residency? What about normal stamp 4?

[Mistii]

I swear I have read somewhere that Long Term Residency does not care how long your passport is valid, they just give you 5 years, then if your passport expires before that, it is enough you just communicate it once you renew it...Not sure if it is true, anyway I will keep you guys updated if the Immigration people reply to me...

[Danini___]

I swear I have read somewhere that Long Term Residency does not care how long your passport is valid, they just give you 5 years, then if your passport expires before that, it is enough you just communicate it once you renew it...Not sure if it is true, anyway I will keep you guys updated if the Immigration people reply to me...

Yes please! Let us know how it goes. I have similar questions recently. My IRP appointment is on this Thursday, however today i received the approval letter which requires me to pay 500 euro. It seems i cannot get the Grant letter before Thursday, in this case can i renew my IRP again after it just renewed? And how long it will last if my passport is less than 5 years? I messaged the local immigration office and did not get anything.

[Mistii]

I swear I have read somewhere that Long Term Residency does not care how long your passport is valid, they just give you 5 years, then if your passport expires before that, it is enough you just communicate it once you renew it...Not sure if it is true, anyway I will keep you guys updated if the Immigration people reply to me...

Yes please! Let us know how it goes. I have similar questions recently. My IRP appointment is on this Thursday, however today i received the approval letter which requires me to pay 500 euro. It seems i cannot get the Grant letter before Thursday, in this case can i renew my IRP again after it just renewed? And how long it will last if my passport is less than 5 years? I messaged the local immigration office and did not get anything.

First of all, on which date that approval letter was issued? In my case I got the letter end of February but the date of issue was the beginning of that month, meaning I had only a couple of days to complete €500 payment (as you have to pay within 28 days from the date of that letter), besides it has to be a bank draft or postal order, so not straight forward like a credit card...Thanks god my money arrived to them in time, so just be careful about that!

Regarding your IRP...I would say yeah you have to attend that appointment and renew it (for one year I suppose), then once you get the Long Term Residency official letter, you get another appointment to update your status, then let's see how long you will get...I am afraid you will have to pay another €300 then, if it gives you 5 years then fair enough still, if not...

I feel that the Immigration just want to rip off taking advantage of us Non EU, but let's hope that is not the case...Anyway now that you have an appointment, you can ask the officer directly about all these? Living in Dublin area the renewal is all online, so no chance to ask anything Anyway keep you posted....

[Danini___]

I swear I have read somewhere that Long Term Residency does not care how long your passport is valid, they just give you 5 years, then if your passport expires before that, it is enough you just communicate it once you renew it...Not sure if it is true, anyway I will keep you guys updated if the Immigration people reply to me...

Yes please! Let us know how it goes. I have similar questions recently. My IRP appointment is on this Thursday, however today i received the approval letter which requires me to pay 500 euro. It seems i cannot get the Grant letter before Thursday, in this case can i renew my IRP again after it just renewed? And how long it will last if my passport is less than 5 years? I messaged the local immigration office and did not get anything.

First of all, on which date that approval letter was issued? In my case I got the letter end of February but the date of issue was the beginning of that month, meaning I had only a couple of days to complete €500 payment (as you have to pay within 28 days from the date of that letter), besides it has to be a bank draft or postal order, so not straight forward like a credit card...Thanks god my money arrived to them in time, so just be careful about that!

Regarding your IRP...I would say yeah you have to attend that appointment and renew it (for one year I suppose), then once you get the Long Term Residency official letter, you get another appointment to update your status, then let's see how long you will get...I am afraid you will have to pay another €300 then, if it gives you 5 years then fair enough still, if not...

I feel that the Immigration just want to rip off taking advantage of us Non EU, but let's hope that is not the case...Anyway now that you have an appointment, you can ask the officer directly about all these? Living in Dublin area the renewal is all online, so no chance to ask anything Anyway keep you posted....

Hi Mistii,

Thanks for your reply. I live in Cork so I cannot renew IRP online, I have to go into office to renew it. The last time i emailed them about registering long term residency, they told me i can only make a renew appointment when my current IRP expires....So if my IRP get renewed tomorrow, then i do not know what to do, i will ask them again. If they do not let me register then i probably wont pay that 500 euro fee.

I think their problem is that not every staff is very clear about the terms and laws, so even if you get a grant letter from Department of Justice, the local immigration officer might not know what that mean. When you negotiate with them, you have to emphases that you have to register it by law, otherwise you break the law, that might brought their attention.

Best of luck for you, and please keep us updated. Thanks!

Dani

[Mistii]

I think their problem is that not every staff is very clear about the terms and laws, so even if you get a grant letter from Department of Justice, the local immigration officer might not know what that mean. When you negotiate with them, you have to emphases that you have to register it by law, otherwise you break the law, that might brought their attention.

Oh I feel for you on this, I think also the problem is that ZERO communication between each section, I mean Long Term Residency and IRP both are under the same Immigration, right? Once you get the LTR, the IRP renewal should be automatic if they share the information!!!

Look I have lived in Spain for a long time also, with all due respect, I have to say the civil servants there work much less (lol) and it was a nightmare to renew the residence but the Immigration system itself is waaaaay better than Ireland, because for example the work permit and the residence was the same process...besides it was like €100, not €300!!!

Sorry for my rant...and you too good luck with the renewal and let me know if you find out anything in Anglesea Street (I used to live in Cork as well, so I know how it is there...I think the officers are nicer now, it was terrible 10 years ago, once I saw them make an innocent girl cry )

[littlerr]

You pay 500 euro for a successful LTR application and it will be valid for the rest of your life (assuming you have regular income, you are not a burden to the state and you have not committed any serious crime).

You then pay 300 euro for a successful IRP registration - this should be valid for 5 years, regardless of your passport expiry date or any other personal situations.

If you got a card that's valid for 1 year only, send an email to gnib_dv@garda.ie if you live outside of Dublin. It's more than likely this is simply an admin error.

[Mistii]

You pay 500 euro for a successful LTR application and it will be valid for the rest of your life (assuming you have regular income, you are not a burden to the state and you have not committed any serious crime).

You then pay 300 euro for a successful IRP registration - this should be valid for 5 years, regardless of your passport expiry date or any other personal situations.

If you got a card that's valid for 1 year only, send an email to gnib_dv@garda.ie if you live outside of Dublin. It's more than likely this is simply an admin error.

Hi thank you so much for your clarification, good to know, I thought I had read something in that line, so I was totally perplexed to see my new IRP has only 1 year...

Unfortunately I live in Dublin / Kildare / Meath / Wicklow area so as I stated above I sent an e-mail to two sections, let's see if they recognize this admin error!!!

Thank you again

[Danini___]

You pay 500 euro for a successful LTR application and it will be valid for the rest of your life (assuming you have regular income, you are not a burden to the state and you have not committed any serious crime).

You then pay 300 euro for a successful IRP registration - this should be valid for 5 years, regardless of your passport expiry date or any other personal situations.

If you got a card that's valid for 1 year only, send an email to gnib_dv@garda.ie if you live outside of Dublin. It's more than likely this is simply an admin error.

Hi thank you so much for your clarification, good to know, I thought I had read something in that line, so I was totally perplexed to see my new IRP has only 1 year...

Unfortunately I live in Dublin / Kildare / Meath / Wicklow area so as I stated above I sent an e-mail to two sections, let's see if they recognize this admin error!!!

Thank you again

Hi Mistii,

I renewed my IRP in Cork city immigration office, and I asked him about the Long term residency card. He said i can make another appointment after my full grant letter arrives, and it will be 5 years starting from the date on the letter, regardless of how long my passport lasts. Only Stamp 5 is linked to the passport date. Hope that is useful to you.

[Mistii]

You pay 500 euro for a successful LTR application and it will be valid for the rest of your life (assuming you have regular income, you are not a burden to the state and you have not committed any serious crime).

You then pay 300 euro for a successful IRP registration - this should be valid for 5 years, regardless of your passport expiry date or any other personal situations.

If you got a card that's valid for 1 year only, send an email to gnib_dv@garda.ie if you live outside of Dublin. It's more than likely this is simply an admin error.

Hi thank you so much for your clarification, good to know, I thought I had read something in that line, so I was totally perplexed to see my new IRP has only 1 year...

Unfortunately I live in Dublin / Kildare / Meath / Wicklow area so as I stated above I sent an e-mail to two sections, let's see if they recognize this admin error!!!

Thank you again

Hi Mistii,

I renewed my IRP in Cork city immigration office, and I asked him about the Long term residency card. He said i can make another appointment after my full grant letter arrives, and it will be 5 years starting from the date on the letter, regardless of how long my passport lasts. Only Stamp 5 is linked to the passport date. Hope that is useful to you.

Wonderful news! Good to know they you can get 5 years, then clearly it is just an admin error in my case. Hope they rectify it as soon as possible...

Good luck with your final process to obtain LTR! Once they get your payment, the official letter should arrive very shortly

[Mistii]

OK I have just received a reply from Long Term Residency section:

Thank you for your email.

As your query is in relation to Garda/Immigration registration you will need to contact the GNIB or Immigration Registration Office as this office does not deal with immigration registration or the issuing of IRP Cards.

Please see our website for information and contact details.
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registe ... ermission/

I hope this information is helpful to you.

Kind Regards,


....so helpful

[meself2]

You'd have to call your station (or even walk in if all else fails), I'm afraid.

[Mistii]

You'd have to call your station (or even walk in if all else fails), I'm afraid.

Thank you! But as I live in Dublin / Kildare / Meath / Wicklow area so you can't just walk in there
I do have some appointments there for other people (I just go with them to help out), so I might try to take advantage of that....Keep you informed....

[Danini___]

You'd have to call your station (or even walk in if all else fails), I'm afraid.

Thank you! But as I live in Dublin / Kildare / Meath / Wicklow area so you can't just walk in there
I do have some appointments there for other people (I just go with them to help out), so I might try to take advantage of that....Keep you informed....

Hi Mistii,

Any update? My condition is that I renewed my IRP one month prior to my Long term residency grant letter arrives (i had to renew it early due to mortgage reason)...I renewed my IRP in May and the long term grant letter arrives in June...And it seems i can only make an application to renew my IRP 3 months prior to expiry date, which is June 2026 to me....I dont know what to do now. i just sent a letter to immigrationsupport@justice.ie and lets see what they reply

[meself2]

And it seems i can only make an application to renew my IRP 3 months prior to expiry date, which is June 2026 to me.

Why would you think that?

[Danini___]

And it seems i can only make an application to renew my IRP 3 months prior to expiry date, which is June 2026 to me.

Why would you think that?

Hi Myself2,

this website https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registe ... -limerick/ states Applications for renewal of permission, including when changing stamp category, are accepted up to 12 weeks prior to expiry to allow sufficient time for processing.

[meself2]

And it seems i can only make an application to renew my IRP 3 months prior to expiry date, which is June 2026 to me.

Why would you think that?

Hi Myself2,

this website https://www.irishimmigration.ie/registe ... -limerick/ states Applications for renewal of permission, including when changing stamp category, are accepted up to 12 weeks prior to expiry to allow sufficient time for processing.

I woulnd't say that you're renewing it - you're changing the category.
Cork has online permission system, so I'd say it doesn't hurt to send an application - worst case scenario, they'll refund you.