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Family reunification under the International Protection Act 2015
Sections 56 and 57 establish the law in relation to family reunification for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. A beneficiary of international protection must apply for family reunification within 12 months of being issued with a refugee declaration or subsidiary protection declaration. Adult applicants may apply for a spouse or minor children under the age of eighteen. Applicants who arrived in the State as an unaccompanied minor may apply for their parents or minor siblings. No reference is made in the legislation to any income or health insurance requirement, nor is there any requirement for the applicants to be residing outside of the State when the application is made. It is the duty of the sponsor (refugee or subsidiary protection beneficiary) and the person who is the subject of the application (family member) to co-operate fully in the investigation including by providing all relevant information in their possession, control or procurement which is relevant to the family reunification application.
The 12-month time limit for family reunification was the subject of a challenge of constitutionality before the Supreme Court in the case of A v. Minister for Justice & Equality & Ors, S v. Minister for Justice & Equality & Ors and I v. Minister for Justice & Equality & Ors. [2020] IESC 20. The case concerned an applicant who became estranged from her family in 2011 and travelled to Ireland as an unaccompanied minor. She subsequently applied for, and was granted, international protection in 2014. After resuming phone contact with her family in 2018, she applied for family reunification with her parents and sister but the applicant was refused on the basis that it was not brought within the 12-month time frame specified by s.56(8). In a judgment delivered on 8 December 2020, Justice Dunne determined that the 12-month time limit established pursuant to s.56(8) of the 2015 Act was not unconstitutional nor was it incompatible with the ECHR. The Court noted in its decision that it remained open to the applicant to apply under the 2016 Family Reunification Policy Document, whereby the Minister for Justice can exercise her discretion to grant family reunification on humanitarian grounds.[1]
No differences exist between the right to apply for family reunification for refugees and subsidiary protection beneficiaries.
In order to apply for family reunification, the sponsor must request questionnaires in respect of the beneficiaries from the Family Reunification Unit, a division of the Department of Justice. Once the questionnaires are issued, the sponsor must complete them in submit them, along with the relevant supporting documents to the Family Reunification Unit for processing. Occasionally, the Family Reunification Unit may seek further documentation or clarification from the applicant regarding their family circumstances. Whereby the applicant is applying for family reunification with their minor children, they may be asked if they would consent to DNA testing with their children in order to prove biological relationship. This process is initiated by the Family Reunification Unit, who partner with testing services in the beneficiary’s country of origin in order to facilitate the testing. There is no charge for the service. In practice, DNA testing is only required whereby there is doubt or difficulty in establishing children’s parentage.[2]
There is no time established in law for the issuing of a decision in respect of an application for family reunification. However, on average, an application will be processed within 12-18 months. Whereby an application is successful, an applicant must apply for visas for their family to enter the state, unless the family originate from a country which is not visa required. Family members are required to enter and reside in the state by the date specified on the decision letter. While there is no application fee associated with the family reunification process, a fee does apply for the subsequent visa application (approximately €60.00 per visa). Where an application for family reunification is refused, it is possible to seek a review. Alternatively, it is open to the applicant to seek judicial review in respect of a refusal.[3]
Once a family reunification application has been granted that permission will cease to be in force if the family member does not enter and reside in the State by a date specified by the Minister when giving the permission in accordance with Section 56(5) IPA. It remains to be seen how this will be applied in practice.
Under the 2015 Act, there is no possibility for beneficiaries of international protection to apply for dependent family members i.e. adult children, parents of adult applicants, nieces, nephews who are dependent on the refugee or are suffering from a mental or physical disability to such extent that it is not reasonable for them to maintain themselves. Under the previous Refugee Act 1996 as amended it was possible for the Minister to use her discretion to grant family reunification in such circumstances. There is no reference to dependent family members in the IPA.
In July 2017, a group of Senators presented the International Protection Act (Family Reunification Amendment) Bill 2017 to the Government. The content of the bill seeks to reinstate the dependency provision contained in the Refugee Act 1996.[4] The bill would amend the IPA with a view to enabling a wider range of family members to apply for family reunification, including grandparents, siblings, children (over the age of 18), grandchildren, where dependency can be demonstrated. The bill went before the Seanad in November 2018 where it was passed by 29 votes to 17.[5] The bill proceeded to the Dáil and was considered by the Oireachtas Justice and Equality Committee. The Committee called on the Government to support legislation which would give refugee families the chance to apply for their loved ones to join them in Ireland and that a ‘money message’ be granted and that the bill proceed to Dáil committee stage. This ‘money message’ was denied. The bill subsequently lapsed with the dissolution of the Dáil.
The Irish Refugee Council and other organisations advocated for it to be placed back on the Dáil order paper. On 9 December 2020, it was announced that the Bill would be restored for further debate before the Dáil. As of December 2023, the Bill remained at the third stage before the Dáil, during which time the Bill is examined in detail by section and further amendments are proposed.[6] The Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the Dail in November 2024. It remains to be seen whether it will be placed back in the Dail order paper following the establishment of a new government in late-January 2025.
Separately, in July 2024, in the case of Sibanda v. Minister for Justice and Equality & Ors, the Court of Appeal determined that adult children are not eligible family members for family reunification, unless there is more than an emotional dependency between the applicant and her adult child. The applicant was a refugee who applied for family reunification with her three minor child in accordance with s.56(1) of the International Protection Act of 2015. The Minister denied the processing of the application for her eldest child, her daughter, since she was not a minor on the date of the application, as required by section 56(9)(d) of the International Protection Act. The applicant claimed that this was fundamentally unjust because her daughter was a minor when she had applied for international protection two years ago and had effectively “aged out” during the time it took the Minister to decide on her case. The applicant further argued that section 56(9)(d) is unconstitutional, and it violates European law and her rights under the ECHR, in particular, Article 8 on the right to respect for private and family life and Article 14 on the prohibition of discrimination. Upholding the decision of the High Court, the Court of Appeal held that adult children are not required to be included in the list of family members eligible for family reunification, nor are children’s ages assessed to determine whether they are minors on the date of an asylum application or any date prior to the date of the family reunification application. Instead, if an adult child’s dependence on their parent surpasses typical emotional bond (due to a disability or medical condition), that adult child may be treated as a member of the parent’s immediate family for the purposes of family reunification. On this basis, there was no violation of Article 8 or 14 in conjunction with Article 8 ECHR.[7]
Following the onset of COVID-19 and associated restrictions, applicants experienced significant delays in the processing of applications for family reunification. DNA testing was suspended, which has further delayed a number of cases. DNA testing subsequently resumed following the easing of restrictions associated with COVID-19 in late March 2021.
Throughout 2024, there were persistent delays in the processing of family reunification applications. These delays occurred both in the Issuing of questionnaires, and in the acknowledgment and processing of applications, meaning that in many cases, applicants were required to wait lengthy periods for a decision to be issued in respect of their application. In the experience of the Irish Refugee Council, such delays have a detrimental impact on the enjoyment of family life for both applicants and their family members, who continue to face separation for prolonged periods. This is particularly concerning in cases whereby family members were vulnerable or facing persecution in their country of origin.
As of February 2025, 856 family reunification applications were in progress under the Act, accounting for 5,988 family members. In 2024, the Family Reunification Unit received 1,467 family reunification sponsor applications accounting for 4,433 family members. In 2024, 879 family members were approved and 145 refused; 752 were found to be ineligible under the terms of the 2015 Act and a further 99 withdrew their applications.[8] The average processing time for applications throughout 2024 was 18 months as of April 2025[9], however, in the experience of the Irish Refugee Council, processing times were often longer than 18 months and in some cases, up to 28 months.[10]
The Irish Humanitarian Admission Programme (IHAP)
On 14 November 2017, the government announced the introduction of a Family Reunification Humanitarian Admission Programme (FRHAP), which was later renamed the Irish Humanitarian Admission Programme (IHAP).[11]
UNHCR’s Information Note on the IHAP sets out more information on the rationale behind the scheme:
“The IHAP is additional and complimentary to existing rights and entitlements to family reunification under Irish law. The programme will provide an opportunity to Irish citizens and persons with Convention refugee status, subsidiary protection status, and programme refugee status, who have immediate eligible family members from the top 10 major source countries of refugees, to propose to the Minister for these family members to join them in Ireland.
Up to 530 persons were given the opportunity to join immediate family members in Ireland under the programme.”[12]
Applicants were required to be nationals from one of ten countries: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, DRC, Central African Republic, Myanmar, Eritrea or Burundi.[13]
The first open calls for proposals ran from 14 May to 30 June 2018. A larger number of applications than were anticipated were received, however, just 80 applications were granted.[14] A second call for proposals was opened on 20 December 2018 and ran until 8 February 2019. The Department of Justice was aiming to finalise all IHAP 2 decisions by the end of 2020. It is understood that as of December 2021, all IHAP decisions have been finalised. There is no appeal mechanism against a negative IHAP decision though there is anecdotal evidence that some negative decisions were overturned following an administrative review.
Community Sponsorship Ireland (CSI)
In 2018, Community Sponsorship Ireland (CSI) was established as a complementary refugee resettlement stream to the traditional state-centred model. CSI has been developed in cooperation with the Government of Ireland, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and civil society organisations such as: UNHCR, the Irish Red Cross, NASC, Irish Refugee Council and Amnesty International Ireland. This programme gives private citizens and community-based organisations an opportunity to directly support a refugee family newly arrived to Ireland.
Through CSI, sponsoring communities support integration into Irish society of refugee families by providing a home and offering opportunities to connect with the local services they need, such as English language tuition, employment, and education pathways.
A pilot CSI programme commenced in December 2018 has now concluded. During this pilot phase, 5 refugee families (17 persons) were warmly welcomed by host community groups in counties Cork, Waterford and Meath. A further family is to be received by a host community in Dublin in December. After this successful pilot scheme an evaluation review was undertaken to inform the development of a scaled-up national programme. On 15 November 2019, Minister of State, David Stanton, officially launched the Community Sponsorship Ireland Scheme.[15]
Throughout 2022, the Irish Refugee Council engaged with 14 community sponsorship groups, providing training on best practices for community sponsorship. A further 7 workshops were organised for refugee-hosting communities in order to share information and resources. A total of 38 refugees were welcomed by 8 community sponsorship groups across the country.[16]
Throughout 2023, the Irish Refugee Council’s Community Sponsorship Team provided training to six community sponsorship groups and welcomed 15 resettled persons, supported by four different community sponsorship groups.[17] Throughout 2024, the Irish Refugee Council Community Sponsorship Team provided support to 15 Community Sponsorship groups and welcomed 32 re-settled persons.[18]
[1] A v. Minister for Justice & Equality & Ors, S v. Minister for Justice & Equality & Ors and I v. Minister for Justice & Equality & Ors. [2020] IESC 20, available: here.
[2] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council Information and Advocacy Service, February 2024.
[3] ibid.
[4] Irish Times, ‘Senators seek expanded family reunification rights for refugees’, 19 July 2017, available: here.
[5] Oxfam Ireland et al., ‘Refugee family reunification bill progresses to the Dáil’, 5 December 2018, available at: here ; See also Oireachtas, International Protection (Family Reunification) (Amendment) Bill 2017, available: here.
[6] International Protection (Family Reunification) (Amendment) Bill 2017, available: here.
[7] Sibanda v. Minister for Justice and Equality & Ors [2024] IECA 206, 30 July 2024, available: here.
[8] Information provided by Department of Justice, February 2025.
[9] Minister for Justice and Equality, Response to Parliamentary Question No 182, 9 April 2025, availab: here.
[10] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council Information and Advocacy Service, February 2025.
[11] INIS, ‘Minister Flanagan and Minister of State Stanton announce new Family Reunification Scheme in support of refugees and their families under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme’, 14 November 2017, available: here.
[12] UNHCR, FAQ: What is the Humanitarian Admissions Programme 2 (IHAP), 2018, available: here.
[13] INIS, Irish Refugee Protection Programme Humanitarian Admission Programme 2 (IHAP), available: here.
[14] Irish Times, ‘Refugee reunification scheme re-opens with second call for applicants’, 21 December 2018, available: here.
[15] Department of Justice and Equality, ‘Minister Stanton Officially Launches Refugee Community Sponsorship Ireland’, 15 November 2019, available: here.
[16] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council Community Sponsorship Officer, December 2022.
[17] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council Community Sponsorship Officer, March 2024.
[18] Information provided by Irish Refugee Council Community Sponsorship team, February 2025.