🇮🇪 Family reunification

The International Protection Act 2026, which commenced on 12 June 2026, gives effect to Ireland's participation in the relevant measures of the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Applicants now undergo screening at the beginning of the process, including enhanced identity and security checks, biometric registration and vulnerability assessment. The screening process determines which procedure will be used to examine the application. The new framework establishes separate processing periods. The inadmissibility procedure has a two-month timeframe, while accelerated and asylum border procedures have a three-month timeframe. Ordinary asylum cases have a six-month timeframe. For cases handled under the border procedure, the first-instance decision, return decision and appeals are required to be completed within 12 weeks. The border procedure applies to specified categories of applicants, including people from countries where the proportion of decisions granting international protection is 20% or lower across the EU, as well as certain applicants who have misled authorities, lack required documentation or present specified security concerns. Applicants in the border procedure are accommodated in designated arrangements while their claims are processed. The institutional structure has also changed. The new Tribunal for Asylum and Returns Appeals, or TARA, assumes responsibility for appeals under the new framework, while the legislation also provides for a more streamlined removal and deportation process. The government intends the combination of early screening, differentiated procedures, mandatory timelines and new institutional arrangements to shorten the overall period between an application and its final outcome. The September 2026 update indicates that these mechanisms are already being used in practice. Ireland reported more than 800 first-instance decisions and a median of 33 days to a first decision during the first approximately 100 days of implementation. This figure is an early implementation result rather than a new statutory deadline: the legal deadlines remain those established by the June legislation.

From 12 June 2026, Ireland increased the financial requirements for non-EEA family reunification. Irish citizens sponsoring a spouse, civil partner, de facto partner or minor child must now have earned at least €75,000 in gross income over the previous three years, excluding State benefits. The income must come from the individual sponsor and cannot be combined with a spouse's or another family member's income. The policy also introduced updated financial thresholds for other family categories. For Category C sponsors bringing minor children, the 2026 minimum net-income requirement ranges from €39,780 for one child to €79,664 for eight or more children, with indicative gross-income requirements ranging from €50,200 to €131,600. For dependent adult relatives, the minimum gross-income requirement is €96,929 for one dependent adult, €130,985 for two and €165,042 for three. These thresholds are subject to annual updates. Category C sponsors, including General Employment Permit holders, Reactivation Employment Permit holders and eligible Stamp 4 holders, must also demonstrate that they have suitable accommodation for their family members. The accommodation must meet the policy's space requirements and avoid overcrowding. Where children are being sponsored, the sponsor must generally rent or own the entire housing unit, and rented accommodation must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. Sponsors must also meet restrictions concerning State-supported accommodation and housing assistance. Certain homeless, emergency, International Protection Accommodation Service, social and local-authority housing arrangements can prevent a sponsor from meeting the requirements, while specified housing supports may also affect eligibility. The rules for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection have also changed. They are generally no longer eligible to use the ordinary Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy and must instead use the family reunification provisions of the International Protection Act 2026. They must generally wait two years from the date protection was granted and demonstrate sufficient resources to support their family without becoming an unreasonable burden on the State. Specific exceptions apply to certain minors, including unaccompanied minors. The revised policy also sets different waiting periods according to sponsor category. Category A sponsors, including Irish nationals, have no waiting period. Category B sponsors, including Critical Skills Employment Permit holders and certain researchers, students and other eligible categories, generally have no waiting period for nuclear family members but must generally complete two years for other family members. Category C sponsors generally must have been legally resident in Ireland for 12 months before sponsoring nuclear family members, while a five-year residence period generally applies to other eligible family members.

Current rules for this policy, plus every recorded change.