Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 July 2026
224. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 475 of 15 January 2026, if a response will issue to the question; and if he will include information on those who apply as a result of asylum and all visas. [50127/26]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is provided below and includes family reunification visas as well as family reunification applications for people granted International Protection status.
As the Deputy will be aware, I obtained government approval to introduce new policies and legislative changes to strengthen Ireland’s migration and asylum system to ensure it is rules-based, efficient and more aligned with EU Member States.
As part of these changes, we published the review of the non-EEA Family Reunification Policy, which had remained largely unchanged since 2013, and sets out how Irish citizens and most non-EEA Irish residents may apply to bring non-EEA family members to live with them in Ireland.
I would like to advise the Deputy that further changes were made to the policy on 12 June 2026 based on commitments made in the review, including an annual review of financial thresholds to keep them in line with the cost of living, and to align with the new Statutory family reunification scheme under the International Protection Act 2026. The latest version of the family reunification policy document is available here: www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Family-Reunification-Policy-12-June-2026.pdf
The following table outlines the number of first instance grants for join family visa applications.
Table 1. Join family visa applications granted at first instance 2016-2025.
|
Year |
Join Family Visas (all categories) |
|
2016 |
5,528 |
|
2017 |
6,228 |
|
2018 |
6,131 |
|
2019 |
7,751 |
|
2020 |
6,722 |
|
2021 |
10,099 |
|
2022 |
15,717 |
|
2023 |
15,167 |
|
2024 |
17,262 |
|
2025 |
14,599 |
*Figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
The International Protection Act 2026 came into effect on 12 June 2026. From this date, people granted International Protection status are no longer eligible to apply for family reunification under the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy. Instead, applications for family reunification must be made under section 205 of the International Protection Act 2026, unless the application is regarding a relationship that formed after their entry to the State. People granted International Protection status must wait a minimum of 2 years from the date of having been grated protection before they are eligible to apply for family reunification. This waiting period cannot be waived. Applications made before 12 June 2026 will continue to be assessed under Section 56 of the International Protection Act 2015.
Section 56 of the International Protection Act 2015 was commenced on 31 December 2016 and statistics are available from 2017. In the last 9 years there have been 3,748 family members granted an International Protection family reunification permission, an average of 2.5 per sponsor. Table 2 below gives a breakdown of the figures by year.
Table 2. International Protection Family Reunification grants 2017-2025.
|
Year |
Number of individuals granted Family Reunification |
|
2017 |
62 |
|
2018 |
211 |
|
2019 |
265 |
|
2020 |
196 |
|
2021 |
484 |
|
2022 |
475 |
|
2023 |
407 |
|
2024 |
979 |
|
2025 |
669 |
*Figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
