Afghan Admission Programme

The Afghan Admissions Programme closed on 11 March 2022.

If you have sent an application, you will get a letter with a decision in the coming weeks.

Afghan nationals who live in Ireland could apply for family members to join them as part of a new scheme. The scheme is called the Afghan Admission Programme. You must have lived in Ireland since before 1 September 2021.

You could apply for up to 4 family members to join you. The family members must live in Afghanistan or have fled to a neighbouring country since 1 August 2021.

There is a maximum of 500 places on the Programme.

You could apply between 16 December 2021 and 11 March 2022.

Afghan people living in Ireland could apply for family who are in Afghanistan, or certain neighbouring countries, to join them in Ireland.

You could make an application if you are:

• From Afghanistan. You can still apply if you have become an Irish citizen.
• Legally resident in Ireland since before 1 September 2021.
• The holder of immigration permission that has a minimum of 12 months remaining, and/or is an immigration permission that can be renewed.
• Of good character with no criminal convictions.

You must be able to support the family member until they are able to support themselves. This means you must be able to pay for their travel to Ireland and accommodate them until they can find somewhere to live for themselves.

You could apply for a maximum of 4 family members. Family members must be Afghan nationals, and they must be living in Afghanistan, or have fled to one of the following countries since 1 August 2021:

• Iran
• Pakistan
• Turkmenistan
• Uzbekistan
• Tajikistan

They must be a close member of your family (see below). Their safety and freedom must be at risk because of the recent changes in Afghanistan. They should be of good character and with no criminal convictions. They must not be involved (either now or in the past) with organisations or activities of a criminal or terrorist nature.

If you were granted refugee status or subsidiary protection status in Ireland, you cannot apply for family members who qualify for family reunification.

Types of family members

This is a list of the family members you could apply for:

• Your spouse (husband or wife)
• Your civil partner
• Your partner (a person you are in a relationship with that is like marriage, but you are not actually legally married to them)
• Your adult child (18 and over), if they are unmarried and have no dependants
• Your child (under 18), if they are unmarried and have no dependents
• A relative who is a child (under 18) and who has no parents, who you have responsibility for
• Your parent
• Your grandparent
• A vulnerable adult close family member who does not have a spouse, partner, or other close family member to support them.

Priority

There were 500 places available on the Programme. If the number of eligible family members is more than 500, priority will be given to family members based on:

• The risk they are under
• How vulnerable they are
• If the risk to the person has increased since the Taliban came to power

Note: The Afghan Admissions Programme closed on 11 March 2022. You can no longer apply for this Programme.

You will get a letter telling you the outcome of your application. If you get a positive decision, your family member must then apply for a visa to come to Ireland. The letter will have more details about what to do next.

If the decision is negative, you can appeal. If the decision is negative, you can appeal. You send an appeal by email to aap@justice.ie . You must appeal within 20 working days from the date of your decision letter. You should give the reasons for your appeal and quote your application reference number. This is on your decision letter.

You should get a response to your appeal within 50 working days.

After your family arrive

Once your family is here, all family members who are aged 16 and over must register and get an Irish Residence Permit. They will get a Stamp 4 permission. This means that they can work without an employment permit. They will also have similar rights in Ireland regarding access to healthcare and education as Irish citizens.

More detailed information on the scheme is available on the Afghan Admission Programme Guidance (pdf). General information and updates are available on the Immigration Service Delivery website.

You can email specific queries to aap@justice.ie.