Immigration bill includes test for language ability

THE Cabinet has approved the long-awaited Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill and it will be published early next week, Justice Minister Brian Lenihan has confirmed.

It will introduce wide- ranging changes to rules for immigrants, refugee and asylum-seekers and for visitor visas.

For the first time there could be a test to ensure people wishing to remain in the country long-term can speak English, while people seeking a visa for family or friends who wish to visit would be asked to lodge a bond.

It will introduce a new appeals procedure for refugees and asylum-seekers refused the right to remain in the country, while immigrants living here legally for five years or more will be entitled to long-term residency status provided they meet some conditions.

Mr Lenihan, who brought the bill to the Government for agreement on Wednesday, said the whole system has been under pressure for the last decade and he hoped the legislation would bring consistency.

“Immigration is very important to Ireland now. This bill will codify all our laws back to the 1930s and I intend that it will be revised regularly,” he said.

He was attending an EU justice ministers’ meeting in Slovenia where regulation of movement between member states and into and out of the EU were discussed.

The first area to be tackled under the new legislation will be that of visitor visas.

Mr Lenihan promised that under the new scheme applications would be dealt with more swiftly. But a bond system, as in the US, would be used to help ensure people returned home when their visa expired.

“It is difficult to make a call on whether people intend to return or not, and it becomes even more difficult when families are asking for a visa for a relative. But now we will be able to require a bond which would be forfeit if the visitor did not leave the country when the visa expires,” he said.

The legislation will also introduce a long-term residency category when after five years of living in the country legally, a person can apply to stay long-term. This will be subject to certain conditions such as being able to speak English, and a test may be introduced.

The appeals procedure for claiming asylum and refugee status has been criticised by many groups, including the Irish Refugee Council, whose chief executive Robin Hanon said currently a civil servant questions an applicant and makes judgement on the same case.