Reception and Intregration Agency

AT THE OFFICE OF THE REFUGEE APPLICATIONS COMMISSIONER/PORT OF ENTRY

If you indicate that you wish to apply for asylum, you will be asked to complete an application form for a declaration as a refugee.

If you wish to make a separate application on behalf of your minor children (or dependant(s)) a separate application form for a declaration as a refugee must be completed for each minor child (or dependant). If not, your accompanying minor children (or dependant(s)) will be included in your application and all decision taken in relation to your asylum application will apply to them.

Your application must be accompanied by any original travel documents (passports, laissez-passer) in your possession and, if appropriate, those of your children aged under 18 years. You must furnish originals of all identity documents, birth and marriage certificates in your possession relating to you and/or your minor children or dependants.

INITIAL INTERVIEW

You will be given an initial interview, in accordance with section 8 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended), in order to establish whether you wish to make an application for a declaration, and if so to ascertain, among other things, the following:

• the general grounds upon which the application is based;
• your identity, nationality and country of origin;
• the method of your entry i.e. the mode of transport used and the route you travelled into the State;
• the reason why came to the State;
• the legal basis for your presence in the State;
• any other basic information which the Refugee Applications Commissioner requires.

At the end of your interview you will be advised of your right to seek legal assistance and to consult with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

If you have applied at the port of entry you are required to attend the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner to complete the initial asylum process. If you do no do so and do not provide an address to the Commissioner within five working days of making an application, your application will be deemed to be withdrawn.

FINGERPRINTING AND PHOTOGRAPH

 As part of the process you and your dependant minors will be required to have your photograph taken. You will also be required to have your fingerprints taken. Fingerprints of your dependant minors may also be taken. Your fingerprints may be disclosed in confidence to the relevant Irish authorities and to asylum authorities of other countries which may have responsibility for considering your application under the Dublin II Regulation/Dublin Convention (an electronic system - Eurodac - facilitates transfer of fingerprint information between Dublin II Regulation countries).

If you refuse to allow your fingerprints to be taken you will be deemed not to have made reasonable effort to establish your true identity and to have failed in your duty to co-operate in the investigation of your application. This may affect the credibility of your application and lead to your application being deemed withdrawn in which case the Minister shall refuse to give you a declaration. You should also note that, in accordance with section 9(8)(c) of the Refugee Act 1996 (as amended) where an Immigration Officer or a member of the Garda Síochána (Irish Police), with reasonable cause, suspects that an applicant has not made reasonable effort to establish his or her identity, he or she may detain the person concerned.

QUESTIONNAIRE

You will be given a Questionnaire which you must complete and return at a date and time specified by the Refugee Applications Commissioner. All persons seeking a declaration as a refugee must complete a Questionnaire. The information you supply in the Questionnaire will be considered in assessing your application. It is important, therefore, that you answer all questions fully and truthfully.

If you fail to return your Questionnaire by the specified date, you may be found to have failed in your duty to co-operate in the investigation of your application and your application may be deemed withdrawn, in which case the Minister shall refuse to give you a declaration.

TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CERTIFICATE

Before you leave the Reception Unit at the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner you will be issued with a Temporary Residence Certificate setting out your personal details and containing your photograph. The Temporary Residence Certificate is not an identity document.

When you have received your Temporary Residence Certificate you will be referred to the Reception and Integration Agency counter in the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner where arrangements will be made for you to be taken to a Reception Centre in the Dublin area.

UNACCOMPANIED MINORS

A child under the age of eighteen, arriving at the frontiers of the State (Port of Entry) or at the Office of the Applications Commissioner, and who is not in the custody of an adult, will be referred to the Health Board. The Health Board may then decide that an application for a declaration as a refugee should be made on behalf of the minor. Specific arrangements will be  made by the Health Board in conjunction with the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner for the processing of such an application.

PRIORITISATION OF APPLICATIONS

The Minister may give a direction in writing to the Commissioner or the Tribunal or to both which requires that certain classes of applications be dealt with as a priority.

In the event that your application is covered by such a decision you will be advised of this.

A Ministerial direction of this nature may be determined by reference to one or more of the following matters:

(a) the grounds of the applications under section 8,

(b) the country of origin or habitual residence of applicants,

(c) any family relationship between applicants,

(d) the ages of applicants and, in particular, of persons under the age of eighteen years in respect of whom applications are made,

(e) the dates on which applications were made,

(f)  considerations of national security or public policy,

(g) the likelihood that the applications are well-founded,

(h) if there are special circumstances regarding the welfare of applicants or the welfare of family members of applicants,

(i)  whether applications do not show on their face grounds for the contention that the applicant is a refugee,

(j)  whether applicants have made false or misleading representations in relation to their applications,

(k) whether applicants had lodged prior applications for asylum in another country,

(l) whether applications under section 8 of the Act were made at the earliest opportunity  after arrival in the State,

(m) whether applicants are nationals of, or have a right of residence in, a country of origin designated as safe under section 12(4) of the Act,

(n) if an applicant is a person to whom paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 2 of the Act applies.

Under the Act, certain specific categories of application must also be prioritised as follows:

• applications from applicants in detention;
• appeals from applicants in respect of recommendations by the Commissioner whic come within the categories described at Section 7.1 (iii) and 7.1 (iv) below.

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