The Afghan Admission Programme Information Page

In response to recent developments in Afghanistan the Irish government has introduced an immigration programme specifically for Afghan nationals. It offers temporary Irish residence to people whose freedom or safety is at risk, whether resident in Afghanistan or certain neighbouring countries having fled from Afghanistan since 1 August 2021 and who have close family members in Ireland.

The following are the key dates for the Programme:

The Programme is demand-led, therefore estimated processing times cannot be confirmed until it closes. An update as to expected timelines will issue by 28 March 2022.

A person originally from Afghanistan legally resident in Ireland on or before 1 September 2021 holding an immigration permission with a minimum remaining duration of 12 months and/or is renewable at the time of application, or a Naturalised Irish Citizen (previously from Afghanistan).

You can apply for up to 4 beneficiaries under the Afghan Admission Programme. There will be up to 500 places available and it may not be possible to grant permission to every proposed and eligible beneficiary.

The eligible categories of proposed beneficiary are as follows:

There are up to 500 places available for the Afghan Admission Programme. If the total number of eligible beneficiaries from all applications received is above 500, we will prioritise those most at risk. The decision will be based on the following:

In the decision-making process the Minister will have regard to:

1. The priority you indicate on the application form; and
2. The views you outline as to the risk to the safety and freedom of each person you nominate.

The assessment will have regard to the vulnerability to risk of each individual and in particular to the vulnerability of close family members who are:

Regard will be had to the evidence provided by you as the proposer and other relevant information.

Each proposed beneficiary identified must be a national of Afghanistan, currently living in Afghanistan, or who fled to Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan or Tajikistan since 1 August 2021.

The Minister’s decision will be final, subject to an appeals process.

You must have sufficient financial resources to support all of your successful beneficiaries from the date of their arrival in Ireland until they are able to support themselves.

You must also be in a position to arrange and pay for all travel arrangements for all beneficiaries for their journeys to Ireland. Full details are in the guidance document.

Successful beneficiaries under the Afghan Admission Programme will be granted a temporary immigration permission for a two year period but there will be no automatic right to the renewal of any such permission granted. While there will be no automatic right to the renewal of the permission granted, it will be open to the beneficiaries to seek a renewal or another permission as appropriate. This will be subject to the beneficiaries having complied with the conditions of their original permission.

Beneficiaries will be entitled to:

Beneficiaries will be entitled to:

The programme is open for applications from the 16/12/2021 and closes 5pm on the 11/3/2022.

In addition to the application form, there is an accompanying guidance document this should be studied very carefully in advance of submitting an application.

The time between the 16th December and end of year, should be used to gather the various proofs, in particular proofs establishing identity and availability of accommodation.

With regards to when decisions will issue, the AAP is a demand lead programme therefore it is only after the closing date that the Department will have line of sight as to the volume of applications. It’s expect by mid-March that an indicative decision timeline will be communicated.

There is no application fee for submitting an application, but certain other fees are payable as the application is progressed.

Please see the guidance document together with a presentation giving an overview of the Programme.

We will also contact An Garda Síochána and the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB). You can read the applicants guide to An Garda Síochána National Vetting Bureau e-Vetting.

Please note a tax clearance document is required for your application, information on how to obtain eTax Clearance..

Please see the guidance document.

You will be informed in writing if you receive a positive decision.

You must then make an individual visa application for each of the beneficiaries. Your decision letter will outline details of this process.

If you receive a negative decision you will be informed of the reasons in writing. The Minister’s decision on who should or should not come to Ireland under this Programme will be final, subject to an appeals process.

Queries can be sent by e-mail to [email protected]. Please keep queries to a minimum to enable staff focus on processing applications.

Please find the Frequently Asked Questions document. A large volume of queries continues to be received and this document will be updated once the team have worked through those queries.