Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has confirmed that the state generated over €71 million from fees associated with the provision of Irish Residency Permit Cards in 2023.
The Minister was responding to Labour TD Alan Kelly, when also confirmed that fees of over €58 million were taken in over the course of 2022, while to end of February of this year a further €11 million was raised.
This amounts to more than €141 million in fees residency card holders.
The fee for an individual card is approximately €300, however, as the Minister further noted:
The following applicants are exempted from the fee if they are:
An Irish Residence Permit is a small wallet-sized card that shows a person is legally in the State while also indicating the type of immigration permission, represented by a stamp number, that the person has.
The Department of Justice website provides an overview of the process involved.
It makes clear that if a person is coming to Ireland from outside the EU and Switzerland, and wishes to stay for more than 90 days, they must apply for an immigration permission and then register it once it’s granted. The type of permission a person receive is printed on an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) which is sent to the person by post once they have successfully registered.
Once permission is granted, the person must register it within 90 days to apply for their IRP card.
Each stamp shows what the holder is here for such as study, work or invest in a business. An in-date IRP card allows the holder to travel freely from and return to the state.