OFFENCES UNDER THE REFUGEE ACT

An applicant for a declaration as a refugee who:

• leaves or attempts to leave the State without the permission of the Minister (section 9(4)(a) of the Act);
• seeks or enters employment or carries on any business, trade or profession during the period before the final determination of his or her application for a declaration. (Section 9(4)(b) of the Act);
• fails to inform the Refugee Applications Commissioner of his or her address or any change of address as soon as possible (section 9(4A) of the Act);
• fails to comply with a requirement to reside or remain in particular districts or places in the State or to report at specified intervals to an immigration officer or member of the Garda Síochána (section 9(5) of the Act);

will be guilty of an offence under the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended) and may be liable to a fine and/or imprisonment on summary conviction.

Any person who:

• forges, or fraudulently alters, or assists in forging or fraudulently altering, or procures the forging or fraudulent alteration of a Temporary Residence Certificate (section 9(3)(d) of the Act);
• gives or makes to his/her knowledge false or misleading information or statements for the purposes of, or in relation to an application for a declaration as a refugee (section 20(2) of the Act);
• destroys or conceals identity documents with intent to deceive for the purposes of or in relation to an application for a declaration as a refugee (section 20(3) of the Act);

will be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine and/or imprisonment on summary conviction.

Any person who:

• forges or fraudulently alters, or assists in forging or fraudulently altering or procures to be forged or fraudulently altered any identity documents for reward, with intent to use such  documents for the purposes of, or in relation to, an application for a declaration as a refugee (section 20(4) of the Act);
• sells or supplies, or is in possession for the purpose of sale or supply, forged identity documents with intent to use such documents for the purposes of, or in relation to, an application for a declaration as a refugee (section 20(5) of the Act;

will be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine and/or imprisonment on summary conviction or on conviction on indictment.

A member of An Garda Síochána may arrest without a warrant a person who may be reasonably suspected of committing, or of having committed, an offence under section 20 of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended). 

CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH AN APPLICANT FOR REFUGEE STATUS CAN BE DETAINED

Subject to the provisions of the Refugee Act, 1996 (as amended), you could be detained by an Immigration Officer or a member of An Garda Síochána if, with reasonable cause, it is suspected that you:

• pose a threat to national security or public policy;
• have committed a serious non-political crime outside the State;
• have not made reasonable efforts to establish your identity (including non-compliance with the requirement to provide fingerprints);
• intend to avoid removal from the State, in the event of your application being transferred to a Dublin II/Dublin Convention country;
• intend to avoid removal from the State, in the event of your application being unsuccessful;
• intend to leave the State and enter another without lawful authority;
• without reasonable cause, have destroyed identity or travel documents or are in possession of forged identity documents.

See also Section 9.3 above for details of the circumstances where a person, who has been refused a declaration as a refugee and against whom a deportation order is in force, can be detained.