Limerick woman who planned to return to Ireland with Syrian husband hits out at Government visa decision 

Kerrie Price, originally from Moyross in Limerick City, planned to travel from her home in Berlin on Wednesday evening with her husband Mohammad but his visa application could take eight weeks to process. File picture: iStock

A Limerick woman who was planning to travel home on Wednesday with her husband, a Syrian refugee, has slammed the Irish Government’s decision to tighten immigration rules with immediate effect.

Kerrie Price, originally from Moyross in Limerick City, planned to travel from her home in Berlin on Wednesday evening with her husband Mohammad.

However, Ms Price told the Irish Examinershe may have to make the journey alone to visit her parents, siblings and other relatives, because of a decision by the Government on Monday to impose a requirement for refugees travelling from 20 “safe” European countries to have a visa. The move will not affect Ukrainian nationals.

Mohammad has been living in Germany since 2016 and has booked time off from work to travel with Ms Price to visit her family this week.

The couple planned to stay in Ireland until August 25 and had booked accommodation in Galway for one weekend of the trip. The remainder of the holiday was being spent with relatives.

But Ms Price said the couple’s plans are now in disarray because of Monday’s Cabinet decision, adding: “I have not seen my family since last year.” 

Mohammad said his wife was left in tears by the decision and said: “They should have told us before this.” 

Ms Price said the immediate effect of the new measure would result in chaos for many people who will already have made arrangements with employers, and booked flights and accommodation.

She contacted the Irish Embassy in Berlin when she became aware of the change and was told Mohammad would have to apply for a visa before he can come to Ireland. She said, however, that the visa application is set to take eight weeks, adding her mother was devastated by the impact of the Government decision.

'Drastic action'

The interim chief executive of migrant rights organisation Nasc in Cork, Fiona Hurley, said the organisation was concerned about the Government’s “drastic action”.

She said: “The visa-free travel for Convention refugee travel document holders is a really important mechanism for refugees to see their families. Many will have planned for months or years to travel to visit family in Ireland and the sudden imposition of visa requirements may mean that they simply will not have enough time to go through the process before their flight.” 

She said refugees were “hurt and disappointed” by the measure following two years of pandemic-related travel restrictions.

In a statement, the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (Masi) said the organisation was disturbed by the move.

The statement said: “Masi is concerned that refugees may be stuck in countries that have been found undermining the European Convention on Human Rights. There is rich jurisprudence in European courts on asylum seekers being ill-treated in countries like Greece for instance. And those asylum seekers or refugees who find themselves in such situations should be allowed to seek protection elsewhere.” 

It added: “There are many legitimate reasons for why people leave a European Union country to seek asylum in another. And the imposition of visa requirements for refugees makes it difficult for people to do that. Ireland cannot be preaching about human rights in the global arena while shutting its borders to people who seek safety.