Persons arriving in Ireland must meet with certain criteria before being allowed to enter the country and be granted leave to land. EEA and Swiss nationals may travel into Ireland freely and must only show valid passports to Immigration Officers on entry.

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Persons arriving in Ireland must meet with certain criteria before being allowed to enter the country and be granted leave to land. EEA and Swiss nationals may travel into Ireland freely and must only show valid passports to Immigration Officers on entry. The grounds for refusal of leave to land are set out in statutory instruments under legislation, namely Article 5 of the Aliens (Amendment) (No 2) Order (1999) issued under the Aliens Act 1935. Individuals may be refused leave to land on a number of grounds including that they do not have a valid permit for employment or that they do not possess the necessary visa for entry to Ireland. Visas are required by all countries, subject to a list of exceptions, which covers over 80 countries worldwide in Europe, Asia, Africa and North, Central and South America.

A person refused leave to land will be informed of the reasons for that refusal, they may then be arrested and detained, under section 7 of the Aliens Order, 1946, until they can be removed from the State. A deportation order may be made against them by the Minister of Justice, they will be notified of this and have a number of options: they can make representations setting out reasons why they should not the deported to the Minister within 15 working days; they may leave the country voluntarily within 15 working days; or they may consent to the deportation order within 15 working days.

Individuals have the right to seek asylum at the border (see 8.2 – Immigration law and policy). Asylum applicants are granted leave to enter under the Refugee Act 1996, section 9, until; their application is transferred under the Dublin Convention; the application is withdrawn; or a decision is made refusing refugee status.

Analysis provided by: Anisa Niaz LLM (Public Law), United Kingdom.

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