The Irish Government is to generate an income of nearly €30 million in 2012 from various fees payable by immigrants, Metro Éireann has learned.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter stated in January that the State received a total of €29m in 2011 from non-Irish nationals in visa charges and registration fees for permanent residency and naturalisation.
“The projected income from fees for 2012 is expected to be in a similar region,” the Department of Justice told Metro Éireann, adding that “the level of fees is kept under constant review”.
The statement quashed any speculation that visa fees waived for 14 countries under the short-stay waiver programme ahead of the 2012 Olympics would affect its fee revenue this year.
Minister Shatter said the pilot visa waver scheme, which runs until 31 October 2012, is based on his conviction that “the immigration system can significantly aid economic activity”.
The scheme targets mainly emerging market tourists and business people from the likes of China, India and the UAE who have been granted permission to enter the UK for a short stay to also visit and leave Ireland before the expiration of the UK visa.
However, other visa requiring nationals who want to come to Ireland for tourism, study, business or work must first pay €60 or €100 for a single or multiple entry visa respectively, while those who require a transit visa must pay €25.
Nationals of the waiver countries staying beyond 90 days in Ireland must also register with the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) which costs €150. A further fee of €60 (single) or €100 (multiple entry) is payable for a re-entry visa which allows them to return to the State after a trip abroad.
Other fees payable by immigrants €150 charged to those renewing their Irish Born Children (IBC) residence permit, and €500 for those applying or renewing long-term residency. The State also charges a naturalisation application fee of €175 for adults and €200 for a widow/widower and minor. In addition, non-Irish nationals granted citizenship must pay €950 for a naturalisation certificate.
The 2011 statistics released by the Department of Justice showed the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) received about 164,000 applications, including for visas, residence, protection and citizenship. However, it made decisions in approximately 178,000 cases, including some applications made before 2011.
The figures also showed that over 111,000 immigrants, both new arrivals and renewals, were successfully registered in the same year by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
This brings to the number of non-EEA nationals legally permitted to live in the State to about 130,500, against 132,200 in 2010 and 134,000 in 2009.
The current top six registered nationalities, which account for over 50 per cent of all persons registered, are from India, China, Brazil, Nigeria, the Philippines and the USA. The top five visa-applying countries in 2011 were India, Russia, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
