Refugee Act 1996

Leave to enter or remain in State.

9

9.(1) Subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, an applicant, being a person referred to in section 8(1)(a), shall be given leave to enter the State by the immigration officer concerned.

(2) Subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, a person to whom leave to enter the State is given under subsection (1) or an applicant, being a person referred to in section 8(1) (c), shall be entitled to remain in the State until—

F15[(a) the date on which his or her application is transferred to a convention country pursuant to section 22 or to a safe third country (within the meaning of that section), or

 (b) the date on which his or her application is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn under this section or section 11, or]

(c) the date on which notice is sent that the Minister has refused to give him or her a declaration.

F16[(3) (a) The Commissioner shall give or cause to be given to a person referred to in subsection (2) a temporary residence certificate (in this section referred to as a certificate) stating the name and containing a photograph of the person and such other information relating to the person as may be prescribed and specifying the date on which the person's application for a declaration was received by the Commissioner and stating that, subject to the provisions of this Act, and, without prejudice to any other permission or leave granted to the person to remain in the State, the person shall not be removed from the State before the final determination of his or her application.

(b) A certificate shall remain the property of the Minister.

F17[(c) A certificate shall be deemed to be a registration certificate for the purposes of section 12 of the Immigration Act 2004 and a person who is the holder of a certificate that is in force shall be deemed to have complied with section 9 of that Act.]

(d) If a person forges, or fraudulently alters, or assists in forging or fraudulently altering, or procures the forging or fraudulent alteration of a certificate, that person shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both.]

(4) An applicant shall not—

(a) leave or attempt to leave the State without the consent of the Minister, or

(b) seek or enter employment or carry on any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of his or her application for a declaration.

F15[(4A) (a) An applicant shall inform the Commissioner of his or her address and of any change of address as soon as possible.

(b) Where 5 working days have elapsed since the making of an application for a declaration and the applicant has not informed the Commissioner of his or her address, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.]

F15[(5) (a) An immigration officer or an authorised person may, by notice in writing, require an applicant

(i) to reside or remain in particular districts or places in the State, or

(ii) to report at specified intervals to an immigration officer or person or persons authorised by the Minister or member of the Garda Síochána specified in the notice,

and the applicant shall comply with the requirement.

(b) In this subsection an authorised person means a person appointed by the Minister to be an authorised person for the purposes of this subsection.

(6) Upon application to the Minister in that behalf by the applicant concerned, the Minister may, as he or she thinks fit, direct the immigration officer or the authorised person concerned to withdraw the requirement concerned or to amend it in a specified manner.]

(7) A person who contravenes F15[subsection (4), (4A) or (5)] shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine notexceeding £500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 month or to both.

(8) Where an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, with reasonable cause, suspects that an applicant—

(a) poses a threat to national security or public order in the State,

(b) has committed a serious non-political crime outside the State,

(c) has not made reasonable efforts to establish his or her true identity,

(d) intends to avoid removal from the State in the event of his or her application for asylum being transferred to a convention country pursuant to section 22 F18[or a safe third country (within the meaning of that section)],

(e) intends to leave the State and enter another state without lawful authority, or

(f) without reasonable cause has destroyed his or her identity or travel documents or is in possession of forged identity documents.

he or she may detain the person in a prescribed place (referred to subsequently in this Act as “a place of detention”).

(9) The Minister shall make regulations providing for the treatment of persons detained pursuant to this section.

(10) (a) A person detained pursuant to subsection (8) shall, as soon as practicable, be brought before a judge of the District Court assigned to the District Court district in which the person is being detained.

(b) Where a person is brought before a judge of the District Court pursuant to paragraph (a), the judge may—

(i) subject to paragraph (c), and if satisfied that one or more of the paragraphs of subsection (8) applies in relation to the person, commit the person concerned to a place of detention for a period not exceeding F15[21 days] from the time of his or her detention, or

(ii) without prejudice to paragraph (c), release the person and the judge may make such release subject to such conditions as he or she considers appropriate, including, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any one or more of the following conditions:

(I) that the person resides or remains in a particular district or place in the State,

(II) that he or she reports to a specified Garda Síochána station or immigration officer at specified intervals,

(III) that he or she surrenders any passport or travel document in his or her possession.

(c) If, at any time during the detention of a person pursuant to this section, an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána is of opinion that none of the paragraphs of subsection (8) applies in relation to the person, he or she shall, as soon as practicable, be brought before a judge of the District Court assigned to the District Court district where the person is being detained and if thejudge is satisfied that none of the paragraphs of subsection (8) applies in relation to the person, the judge shall release the person.

(d) Where a person is released from a place of detention subject to one or more of the conditions referred to in subsection (10) (b) (ii), a judge of the District Court assigned to the District Court district in which the person resides may, on the application of the person, an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána, if he or she considers it appropriate to do so, vary (whether by the alteration, addition or revocation of a condition) a condition.

(11) Subsections (4), (5), (8) and (10) shall apply only to an applicant who, but for the provisions of this Act, would not be entitled to enter or remain in the State.

(12) (a) Subsection (8) shall not apply to a person who is under the age of 18 years.

(b) If and for so long as the immigration officer or, as the case may be, the member of the Garda Síochána concerned has reasonable grounds for believing that the person is not under the age of 18 years, the provisions of subsection (8) shall apply as if he or she had attained the age of 18 years.

F19[(c) Where an unmarried child under the age of 18 years is in the custody of any person (whether a parent or a person acting in loco parentis or any other person) and such person is detained pursuant to the provisions of this section, the immigration officer or the member of the Garda Síochána concerned shall, without delay, notify the F20[Child and Family Agency] of the detention and of the circumstances thereof.]

(13) (a) A member of the Garda Síochána may detain a person who, in the member's opinion, has failed to comply with a condition imposed by the District Court under subsection (10) in a place of detention.

(b) A person detained under paragraph (a) shall be brought as soon as practicable before a judge of the District Court assigned to the District Court district in which the person is being detained; and subsection (10) shall apply to such person detained under paragraph (a) as it applies to a person detained pursuant to subsection (8) with any necessary modifications.

(c) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied in relation to a person brought before him or her pursuant to paragraph (b) that the person has complied with the condition concerned, the judge shall order the release of the person.

(14) (a) Where a judge of the District Court commits a person to a place of detention under subsection (10) (b) or (13) (b), a judge of the District Court assigned to the District Court district in which the person is being detained may, if satisfied that one or more of the paragraphs of subsection (8) applies in relation to the person, commit him or her for further periods (each period being a period not exceeding F15[21 days]) pending the determination of the person’s application under section 8.

(b) If at any time during the detention of a person pursuant to this section the person indicates a desire to leave the State, he or she shall, as soon as practicable, be brought before a judge of the District Court assigned to the District Court district in which the person is being detained and the judge shall, if he or she is satisfied that the person does not wish to proceed with his or her application for a declaration and wishes to leave the State, order the Minister to arrange for the removal of the person from the State and may include in the order such ancillary or consequential provisions as he or she may determine and the person concerned shall be deemed to have withdrawn his or her application for a declaration.

F16[(15) A person referred to in subsection (1) shall not be given leave to enter the State under that subsection if he or she is the subject of an order under section 4 of the Immigration Act, 1999.]

(16) Where, pursuant to subsection (15), a person is not given leave to enter the State he or she shall not be entitled to make an application for a declaration without the consent of the Minister.

Annotations

Amendments:

F15

Substituted (15.09.2003) by Immigration Act 2003 (26/2003), s. 7(c)(i)-(iv), (vi), (vii), S.I. No. 415 of 2003.

F16

Substituted (20.01.2000) by Immigration Act 1999 (22/1999), s. 11(1)(d), S.I. No. 9 of 2000.

F17

Substituted (13.02.2004) by Immigration Act 2004 (1/2004), s. 16(4), commenced on enactment.

F18

Inserted (15.09.2003) by Immigration Act 2003 (26/2003), s. 7(c)(v), S.I. No. 415 of 2003.

F19

Substituted (1.01.2005) by Health Act 2004 (42/2004), s. 75 and sch. 6 part 15 item 2, S.I. No. 887 of 2004.

F20

Substituted (1.01.2014) by Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (40/2013), s. 93 and sch. 2 part 8, S.I. No. 502 of 2013.

Editorial Notes:

E16

Additional particulars for temporary residence certificate specified (19.08.2002) by Refugee Act 1996 (Temporary Residence Certificate) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 426 of 2002), reg. 4, in effect as per reg. 1(2).

E17

Power pursuant to section exercised (20.11.2000) by Refugee Act, 1996 (Places and Conditions of Detention) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 344 of 2000), in effect as per reg. 1(2).

E18

Previous affecting provision: subs. (4A) inserted (5.09.2000) by Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 (29/2000), s. 9(a), S.I. No. 266 of 2000; substituted as per F-note above.

E19

Previous affecting provision: additional particulars for temporary residence certificate specified (20.11.2000) by Refugee Act, 1996 (Temporary Residence Certificate) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 346 of 2000), reg. 3, in effect as per reg. 1(2); revoked (19.08.2002) by Refugee Act 1996 (Temporary Residence Certificate) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 426 of 2002), reg. 3, in effect as per reg. 1(2).