No post for me today’, says long-term residency applicant, who is one of thousands playing…
THOUSANDS OF immigrants are stuck in their current jobs because of major delays in the processing of long-term residency applications.
Long-term residency allows non-EU immigrants to compete for jobs across all sectors rather than be tied to one employer through a work permit - but applicants are now facing a 20- month wait to receive a decision. Those primarily affected are tax-paying non-EU immigrants with solid roots in Ireland, as all candidates must have been working legally here for at least five years.
According to the Department of Justice, it is currently assessing applications received in January 2007. A department spokesperson told Metro Éireann that a "backlog" is causing delays but that "some progress" has recently been made.
However, the processing time seems to have lengthened, with the department confirming to Metro Éireann on Friday that the current timescale is 20 months, whereas its website has been reporting an approximate 18-month processing time.
It has left over 7,000 immigrants, who have been legally resident in Ireland for five years, tied to their current employer under work permit regulations. While they can approach other employers to offer a work permit, it is often a difficult process as employers are legally obliged to source their labour needs through EU nationals first.
One affected applicant is Satender Rauthan from Dehradon in India. The Lucanbased man has been living in Ireland since January 2001 and works as a chef at a Dublin restaurant. He applied for longterm residency on 1 February 2007 and has received no decision to date. What he cites as particularly distressing, however, is the lack of information coming from the Department of Justice as to the current status of his application, referring to 45-minute waiting times when calling the Department of Justice's helpline, followed by a 15-minute wait in the 'queue'.
Rauthan said the situation was disrupting his career plans, but that many others are in a far worse predicament, such as stuck with an exploitative employer. "If you get residency you are not bound to one place, you feel more relaxed -with a Stamp 4, you can do any job," he explained, "Lot's of people are facing problems in their job, and that's why they want to get a Stamp 4." He added that those facing delays in relation to long-term residency, and citizenship applications, are often "afraid to come forward", as they fear it will affect the decision. Rauthan said that another issue relates to the spouses of long-term residents, who must make a separate application.
"Once you get a stamp 4, your wife doesn't get a stamp 4. My wife has an MA in chemistry and she's able to do a job over here, but she is not working in this area at the moment."
Another Indian national, living in Ireland for over seven years and working in the hospitality sector, told Metro Éireann he submitted his long-term residency application in September 2006, and is “still waiting”. The man, who said he didn’t want his name published as he feared it might further delay his application, added that “another fellow I know is waiting since July 2006”.
However, he said that it appears €1 Available Nationwide 75p NI Many voices – one Ireland Vol 9 Issue 48 18–25 September 2008 Ronit Lentin Like Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar, second generation migrants are often the least tolerant of newer migrants Page 17 Pictured at the launch of the 7th Annual Metro Eireann Media and Multicultural Awards (MAMAs) 2008 were Editor of Metro Éireann, Chinedu Onyejelem, Minister for Integration, Conor Lenihan TD, Chair of the National Action Plan Against Racism, Lucy Gaffney, and the Chair of the Iris O’Brien Foundation, Denis O’Brien, who were urging the public to log-on to www.mamaawards.com and nominate entrants for this year’s Media and Multicultural Awards (MAMAs).
The Awards will be held in central Dublin at the end of November. Closing date for entries for the 2008 MAMAs is Friday 17 October. Picture Colm Mahady/Fennells some people have gotten longterm residency in as little as six months, which is causing puzzlement within migrant communities. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said, “If you ask at the front desk [of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service-INIS in Dublin] they just give you a number and you spend one hour calling before getting to the queue.” The man said he’s regularly checking the letterbox, hoping that the relevant correspondence will arrive. “No post for me today,” he said, finding some humour amid the frustration.
According to Jacqueline Healy, deputy director at the MRCI (Migrant Rights Centre Ireland), many immigrants are facing “unbearable delays” when it comes to decisions on their long-term residency applications. Healy said that the Department of Justice's immigration division appears to be "dealing with everything", and are a "catch-all division of the INIS". She said the MRCI has been in discussions with INIS about improving access to its helpline, adding that she’s called the helpline herself and had found it “full by 10.30am”. Emailed queries, she added, “don’t get a response all the time” .
A Department of Justice spokesperson told Metro Éireann that a dedicated long-term residency team was established in June 2008 to “deal specifically” with processing of long term residency applications.
Speaking to Metro Éirean recently, Integration Minister Conor Lenihan TD said he has been raising this issue with the department’s officials and the Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern TD.
Minister Lenihan added that the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill “in many respects will provide a fantastic new opportunity - once its passed, there’s going to be long delays through the parliamentary process - but it will provide a huge opportunity to speed up things for once and for all.”
The bill contains a new regulation that applicants for long-term residency must have a “reasonable competence” in either the English or Irish language. It also provides that long-term residence holders, and their dependents, will have access to the same employment and educational opportunities as Irish citizens. In line with current arrangements, a long-term residence permit will last for 5 years, and will be renewable.
Meanwhile, the backlog in citizenship applications stands at 16,600, with officials currently processing applications received in February 2006.
