The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, has today confirmed that the Afghan Admission Programme will open for applications this Thursday, 16 December 2021.
The Programme will enable current or former Afghan nationals living legally in Ireland to apply to have their close family members, who are living in Afghanistan or who have recently fled to territories bordering including Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, to apply for temporary residence in Ireland.
The Programme will allow the applicant to nominate up to four family members to be considered for approval to join them in Ireland. If approved a family member would qualify subject to the availability of places under the Programme. There will be 500 places overall, which will be awarded to those deemed most at risk.
The applicant is required to list their four nominated family members in order of priority, in terms of their vulnerability and risk to their freedom and safety. The information they provide on each family member in this regard will be important in assisting determination of who is deemed most vulnerable in determining granting of places.
The Programme outlines the intended family members who would be covered by the Scheme, that is: a spouse, civil partner, defacto partner, their minor children and adult children where they are unmarried and do not have dependents. It will also allow the applicant to nominate a grandparent or a related minor child without parents where the applicant has parental responsibility. The applicant can also nominate a vulnerable close family member who does not have spouse, partner or other close relative to support them.
It is important to note that the eligibility criteria requires that the applicant must be able to maintain their nominated family members, including to provide them with accommodation. They would also have responsibility for covering travel costs.
Please see the full notice here.
Please see full details of the Afghan Admission Programme here.
