Delays in residence permit renewals put lives of non-EU immigrants on hold – again

Robin Jose’s immigration papers had expired by the time his wife got hers renewed, he said, recently.

His status is tied to his wife’s. She works in healthcare, said Jose.

He reckoned he couldn’t apply to get his own papers without showing an up-to-date Irish Residence Permit (IRP) for his wife, said Jose. 

In retrospect, he said, he probably should have applied anyway. It took three months for his wife’s IRP to process, said Jose. 

At that point, Jose’s IRP had been out of date for a month, he said. He applied for renewal in December when his wife got hers. He’s still waiting, said Jose.

In the meantime, he said, he’s out of work until he has a new IRP.

The Department of Justice has a notice for employers on its website asking them to let people like Jose keep working on an expired IRP for “a maximum of 12 weeks”.

But not every employer keeps people on that long, he said.

Some are more understanding than others, said Jose, who worked in retail. 

He is not alone. There are others whose lives are so unsettled by the wait that they have banded together and called a protest for Thursday 12 March, at 11am, outside the city’s immigration office on Burgh Quay.

For those currently waiting, one thing is clear, they said. The impact of not having a valid IRP card on their lives is profound. It can upend it – like pulling on a thread and unravelling the whole garment.

They want the Department of Justice to bulk up staff numbers for its Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) unit to avoid delays even when there’s an upswell, they said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that at the moment the city’s immigration office is wrestling with “exceptionally high demand”, both for first-time registration of immigration permissions and for renewals. 

“With a recent spike in numbers due to the annual renewal of Temporary Protection permissions” for Ukrainian refugees, they said.

Not the first time

Delays like these have cropped up before. In 2022, the Department of Justice saw a solution in letting people apply for renewal up to three months before their permissions lapsed.

It’s not always possible for everyone to file requests way ahead because they might be waiting for needed paperwork to come through. But it seemed to have mostly tackled the backlog. 

But back then it was only processing applications filed by Dubliners. 

Since late 2024, people from all over the country apply online to renew through the city’s immigration office, not just Dubliners. 

Before that, those living outside Dublin had to email their local Garda station, request an appointment and turn up on the day to show paperwork to an immigration officer working for the Gardaí to renew. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not directly respond to a query asking if it is facing staff shortages.

It is sitting on about 68,000 online renewal applications, and currently looking at cases filed on 6 December 2025, the spokesperson said.

It understands the frustration of those waiting for long periods, they said.

 But “please be assured that ISD is doing everything possible to facilitate as many applicants possible”, the spokesperson said.

Hey, what have I got?

For Pranab Kumar, a lack of immigration papers means he can’t get his driving licence despite having passed the exam, said Kumar, who applied to renew his IRP on 18 December 2025.

“After waiting four-five months for a driving test, I finally passed my driving test on 28 January 2026,” said Kumar.

When he was applying to get his licence, his IRP had expired already, so he uploaded proof that he’d requested a new one, he said.

But the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) told him it can’t process his application without a new residence permit, said Kumar.

“I explained my situation and also sent them an email requesting an extension until I receive my renewed IRP card, but so far I have not received any response,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has not yet responded to a query sent on Friday morning asking if its NDLS would grant extensions to people in the same boat if they need it.

Though, there doesn’t seem to be any deadline for picking up a driving licence. 

Never came

Shanto George’s immigration paper renewal request successfully processed, he said, but his IRP never arrived.

He applied in November and got an approval email on 30 January, which usually asks people to give it a couple of weeks to get the actual card in the mail, he said.

“I tried to call them, but there’s no contact number,” George said. 

He submitted queries through the Department of Justice’s “customer service portal” for immigrants, he said.

“They said wait 20 days, and there hasn’t been any more progress,” George said.

He lives in Cork city, where people like him used to pick up their papers at its Garda station in the past.

George dropped by there anyway, he said. “They said they had no idea because they’re not conducting any immigration process there.”

He’s reached out to An Post, too. Its workers told him that since the immigration office sends out residence permits like a regular letter, they can’t track it for him, said George. 

“So, I have no clue what happened,” he said.

Immigrants have said in the past that their important letters have gone astray on the way.

Not all government departments rely on post to send out salient permits and missives, though.

The Department of Employment emails out a digital work permit to non-EU workers on the same day it approves their application.

We’re going nowhere 

Ajay Shaji, a member of Kranthi Ireland – a social and political group for the Indian community here – said IRP processing delays have also curbed people’s freedom of movement.

The Department of Justice has not extended a “travel confirmation notice” that used to make it possible for people to travel abroad and board flights back on an expired IRP but showing proof that they’d applied to renew it, said Shaji.

The notice was valid until 28 February, but not after, Shaji said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said it doesn’t have any plans to extend the travel notice at the moment. 

Its website suggests that the measure was initially rolled out “to facilitate customers travelling at Christmas”, but had been renewed and stretched out to February’s end.  

Said Shaji:“Even when they acknowledge they have this much backlogs they are not extending the travel advisory”.

Allen Joseph said his friend had to travel back to India for a family emergency, but he can’t come back. “He’s stuck”.

Jose – the man who had waited for his wife’s IRP to come through to apply for his – said he wished there was a number he could call to hear a human voice on the other end, who’d listen. But “everything is the same reply or an automatic email”.

He said he’s even willing to pay more than the current IRP price of €300 to get his papers so he can work again. “I’d pay €400, €500,” he said.

“You know our rent is €2,000 here, and I have a baby. We don’t have enough to manage only with [my wife’s] salary,” said Jose.