MIGRANTS are being squeezed for revenue in order to bolster State coffers, a migrant rights group has said.
Responding to the recent €50 rise in the cost of immigration registration cards for non-EU immigrants, the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) pointed out that such migrants are already paying €500 every year for work permits and €100 for annual re-entry visas.
The group also referred to the fact that non-EU immigrants pay taxes, and that students from outside Europe contribute millions each year in tuition fees to third level institutions.
Commenting specifically on the rise in the price of the registration card to €150, the group said: “The MRCI estimates that the €50 increase could generate an additional €5–10m from non-EU migrants.”
Jacqueline Healy, deputy director of the MRCI, said it was “completely unacceptable” to “generate revenue on the back of non-EU workers and students, many of whom are struggling to support themselves and their families.”
However, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the increase was necessary following technical enhancements, which now include the embedding of fingerprints in the biometric chip on the card.
“The provision of such high quality secure documents is an expensive process,” said the spokesperson. “The costs involved include the actual cost of the card itself, which includes several security features; administrative work by registration officers in the form of checking of documentation; and capture of registration details and a state-of-the-art computerised registration system operated by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.”
The spokesperson concluded that it was international practice to charge for such documents.
Those exempt from paying the fee include refugees, family members reunited with refugees, minors, spouses or widows/widowers of Irish citizens, and spouses or dependents of EU nationals.
