GNIB Renewal for Citizenship applicants while waiting for next ceremony

[Narbukra]

Hello
I applied for Irish citizenship and received the acceptance letter on 04th February 2020.
The letter indicates that "The minister proposes to grant your application, subject to the successful completion of the application process..."

I sent the €950 fee, photographs and original GNIB card on February 7th.
I have not yet received receipt for the fee.

My current GNIB permission (printed on the passport) expires on August 31st, 2020.

Should I apply for GNIB renewal (I sent my original IRP as requested in the acceptance letter)?
Is there special residency terms for those waiting for ceremony while their GNIB expires?

Thanks

[littlerr]

Receipt is normally given on the day of ceremony.

You should send an email to citizenship office and ask whether they have received your fee and GNIB card, and ask them what you should do in this occasion.

Then also send an email to Burgh Quay reg office and ask to schedule an appointment for a temporary renewal. Attach your approval letter from the citizenship office. You should get a renewal free of charge.

[sugeie]

Hello?


Can i ask what your time line for application, second letter and approval was?

[Narbukra]

Thank you littlerr. I presume this is a common problem to all applicants who have been waiting for the ceremony invitations over covid.

[littlerr]

Thank you littlerr. I presume this is a common problem to all applicants who have been waiting for the ceremony invitations over covid.

I thought the vast majority of approved applicants were naturalised in March.
INIS said they held a small-scale virtual ceremony last month for those who got approval but were unable to attend the ceremony in March. Thus I thought all approved applicants have now been naturalised. Maybe there are still some approved applicants waiting for the ceremony, but I guess you should confirm with them to see if they have received your fees and photos correctly, just in case anything happens with the unreliable AnPost.

[sugeie]

Hello?


Can i ask what your time line for application, second letter and approval was?

Hello @Narbukra. This question was actually directed at you

[Hussein Kubadi]

Hello
I applied for Irish citizenship and received the acceptance letter on 04th February 2020.
The letter indicates that "The minister proposes to grant your application, subject to the successful completion of the application process..."

I sent the €950 fee, photographs and original GNIB card on February 7th.
I have not yet received receipt for the fee.

My current GNIB permission (printed on the passport) expires on August 31st, 2020.

Should I apply for GNIB renewal (I sent my original IRP as requested in the acceptance letter)?
Is there special residency terms for those waiting for ceremony while their GNIB expires?

Thanks

Hi dear friend.
After how long you got your approval letter?

[Hussein Kubadi]

Hi dear to all of you.
Is there anyone knows when would be the next Ceremony this year? Thank you

[Narbukra]

Applied in June 2019. Got acceptance early February 2020.

[Stanina]

I thought the vast majority of approved applicants were naturalised in March.
INIS said they held a small-scale virtual ceremony last month for those who got approval but were unable to attend the ceremony in March. Thus I thought all approved applicants have now been naturalised.

I am in the same boat as topic starter. Got the same letter as topic starter but didn't receive invite to ceremony at all. I was told that no need for temp IRP in April(original IRP should expired in 2021 ), for essential travel can apply for reentry visa.

As per my understanding test virtual ceremony was for those who received invite for march ceremony but couldn't attend for valid reasons(fever, cold, stuck in other country)

[littlerr]

I am in the same boat as topic starter. Got the same letter as topic starter but didn't receive invite to ceremony at all. I was told that no need for temp IRP in April(original IRP should expired in 2021 ), for essential travel can apply for reentry visa.

As per my understanding test virtual ceremony was for those who received invite for march ceremony but couldn't attend for valid reasons(fever, cold, stuck in other country)

Too bad you guys have to apply for re-entry visas if you need to travel, which is always quite a hassle.

My colleague was able to get his IRP card back when he found out INIS couldn’t schedule him for the next ceremony. This was late 2018 to early 2019. Not sure if you can do the same here.

For the OP though, he/she would have to apply for a renewal of IRP as his/her current permission will have been expired when the next ceremony is scheduled.

[Stanina]

Too bad you guys have to apply for re-entry visas if you need to travel, which is always quite a hassle.
My colleague was able to get his IRP card back when he found out INIS couldn’t schedule him for the next ceremony. This was late 2018 to early 2019. Not sure if you can do the same here.
For the OP though, he/she would have to apply for a renewal of IRP as his/her current permission will have been expired when the next ceremony is scheduled.

I will probably will write them email next week to reconfirm as many things have changed since that time. I think INIS and ME were hoping for ceremony on July at that time.

Although it looks like you can't renew IRP card outside Dublin from today anyway and new guidance should be published next week.

[Hussein Kubadi]

Applied in June 2019. Got acceptance early February 2020.

Hi dear.
You are lucky man!!!

I applied 13/08/2018. I got my advance letter /
June/2019.which’s very last Stage I only need one sign by Minister of Justice for permission and I’m still waiting.

[Narbukra]

INIS said I must renew my current IRP.
For those who got acceptance letter and awaiting for the next ceremony, do we need to pay IRP fees, given that we already paid the €950 fee on receipt of the acceptance letter?
Anyone can share his experience?

[littlerr]

INIS said I must renew my current IRP.
For those who got acceptance letter and awaiting for the next ceremony, do we need to pay IRP fees, given that we already paid the €950 fee on receipt of the acceptance letter?
Anyone can share his experience?

In normal situations, INIS knows when the next ceremony is going to be, so they would be more than happy to give you a 3-6 month temporary extension to cover the period till the next ceremony, and it's free of charge.

This time it is a bit different, because:
(1) there is no ceremony planned, which means they may have to renew you for an entire year or more,
(2) there is no facility to waive the fee on the online renewal portal, and
(3) you won't be able to post your IRP card to INIS, which is required before the renewal can be processed.

I guess you will need to send an email to both Burgh Quay registration office and Citizenship office with a copy of your approval letter, explain your situation, and ask them whether it is possible to get something like a 1-year Stamp 4 free of charge.

[Narbukra]

Thank you littlerr.
They returned my IRP card and asked me to renew it. There was no indication on free renewal. Here is what they said:
"Please note that the onus is on all Non-EEA Nationals to keep their residency up to date at all times while they are in the State."

Was it conventional to offer free of charge extension in normal situations while waiting for ceremony?
Is there any reference to this?

[littlerr]

Thank you littlerr.
They returned my IRP card and asked me to renew it. There was no indication on free renewal. Here is what they said:
"Please note that the onus is on all Non-EEA Nationals to keep their residency up to date at all times while they are in the State."

Was it conventional to offer free of charge extension in normal situations while waiting for ceremony?
Is there any reference to this?

A temporary extension is different from a renewal.

An extension is usually for just a few months to cover a short period. There is no charge for that. It is not just for citizenship applications. It can be for anything (e.g. college students who just graduated may ask for a short extension so that they can attend graduation ceremony in November).

I got a 3-month extension for my Stamp 1 about 5 years ago. My fiancée got an extension for her Stamp 1A two years ago too due to a different reason. I also saw quite a few people here getting extension to cover the period till the ceremony in the past few years. Just explain the issue to the immigration officer. As long as it is reasonable, they won’t charge you anything. They don’t print a new IRP card in many circumstances either.

A renewal is different. It would be a full-length (e.g. 2-3 years of Stamp 4) of permission and they have to check all the permission requirement, documents etc, and will have to issue you with a new IRP card. Therefore there is a cost for that (although I still think 300 euro is outrageous).

Just check with Burgh Quay and see whether it is possible to give you something free of charge. You can argue that this is not your fault for not making the ceremony.

(Of course you can always use the online portal and pay 300 euro if you have your current IRP card. And if you are a spouse of an Irish/EU national, you don’t have to pay for anything.)

[Stanina]

Inis replied to my email, as well after some time. I was told that if I need my IRP card they can send it to me. As no ceremony is planned at this time and I should check website for the updates when it can be conducted in proper way.

[Narbukra]

Hello

I received citizenship confirmation in February. I requested my IRP back to renew it, which I received by post.
The citizenship team advised to renew my IRP. I emailed the Burgh Quay Registration Office for extension. They asked me to reach out to the Permission Renewals Team. I emailed them to have free extension and followed up but they have not responded for many weeks.
Citizenship dept will send soon statuary declaration to sign to be issued naturalisation certificate as per COVID-19 measures announced by Minister McEntee. If I do not return my IRP, I will not be issued the statuary declaration.

Any idea how I can get free IRP extension faster? I want to avoid renewal through the online system as there is no way to waive fees.

Thank you!

[littlerr]

I thought the permission is renewed till 20 January next year? It would be quite silly for INIS not to be able to arrange for a 'ceremony' (or so-called statutory declaration) by that time.

Don't take my words for it, but if you want to take a risk, maybe try using the online renewal platform and selecting 'Spouse of Irish national' - that will waive the registration fees. You will of course need to explain your situation in a cover letter the reason you selected that with all the letters and proofs from the Citizenship department.

Alternatively, maybe just wait till Burgh Quay office is reopened and walk in there and try to explain nicely

[anongirl]

The vast majority of people who were approved back in February did not get to attend the March ceremony I would say only half of them did as there was also meant to be one in July for the remainder but that did not do ahead due to Covid. The virtual ceremony only had a small number of people that opted out of the March one due to them possibly being sick or stuck in another country due to covid restrictions. So there are many of us still waiting to get our ceremony myself included. The minister has said its approximately 3000 people and that wasn’t including any recently approved people. So I am guessing the interim solution of affidavits is to clear those who didn’t get to attend ceremony (I.e. the 3000 already approved) plus any other approved people recently. After that I think they will wait it out again to see how the news with the vaccine will go as they may be able to revert back to proper ceremony. I just thought I should clear that up as many seem confused on the whole matter

[anongirl]

With regards renewal of IRP card unfortunately after 20th January when automatic renewal ends it’s up to ourselves to ensure our residency cards are in date. Hopefully they send the affidavits out before this but if not we are looking at either getting and extension if possible or paying the €300 again for a full renewal unfortunately. There isn’t really an in between

[Narbukra]

I thought the permission is renewed till 20 January next year? It would be quite silly for INIS not to be able to arrange for a 'ceremony' (or so-called statutory declaration) by that time.

Don't take my words for it, but if you want to take a risk, maybe try using the online renewal platform and selecting 'Spouse of Irish national' - that will waive the registration fees. You will of course need to explain your situation in a cover letter the reason you selected that with all the letters and proofs from the Citizenship department.

Alternatively, maybe just wait till Burgh Quay office is reopened and walk in there and try to explain nicely

Thank you littlerr. As I requested my IRP back before the minister announcement and the extension of IRP validity until January 20th, I think the citizenship dept is now expecting a renewed IRP and will not accept my current IRP.