IRELAND – New Smart Cards to be Required for Foreign Registrants
As of May 12th, the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) has begun implementing a new system of foreign national registration. The GNIB will be issuing new smart cards (Certificate of Registration) that contain biometric data for any foreign nationals registering as residents. Foreign nationals are required to register in person at a local police station (An Garda Síochána) and supply their fingerprints. For those foreign nationals who register outside of the Dublin Metropolitan Region, the local police station will grant the foreign registrant an interim card upon receipt of fingerprints while the smart card is printed in a batch in Dublin (Burgh Quay, Dublin 2).
It should be noted that because this new process will require around 30 minutes for each smart card to print, there will be fewer appointments available each day. Foreign registrants should be prepared to register at least a few days in advance as they may not be able to have an appointment on the same day. As the GNIB introduces this batch printing process, foreign nationals who register at the Registration Office in Dublin (13-14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2) after 8:30 p.m. may be required to return to the office the following morning to collect their certificates of registration. Any foreign nationals who register outside of Dublin during this transitional period should expect to wait two to three weeks to receive their smart cards, as they are being printed in Dublin. These foreign nationals will have to return to the same Registration Office to collect their Certificate of Registration at a later date.