Over 300 Afghans granted Irish visas since Taliban takeover

More than 300 humanitarian visas or visa letters have been issued by the State since August to Afghans seeking to flee their home country and come to Ireland following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

A total of 330 Afghans have been granted permission to come to Ireland under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, with priority given to those working on human rights issues, including the rights of women, girls and minorities, and those working for European and international organisations, a Government official has confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has said it is prioritising applications for refugee status made by Afghan asylum seekers who came to Ireland before the Taliban takeover with a view to “expediting their progress”.

The Government has not yet released details of the humanitarian scheme announced in August that could see up to 500 more Afghan refugees receive permission to come to Ireland. A Department of Justice official said plans were under way, “as a matter of urgency”, to progress with the new scheme under which people already in Ireland can apply for family members in Afghanistan to be granted permission to come here.

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The Minister for Justice “intends to bring proposals to Government in relation to this matter in the near future”, he said.

“The department is currently focused on processing applications for Afghan family members of Irish citizens and Afghan nationals living in Ireland,” he added.

The State’s plan to bring up to 500 Afghan refugees here under the humanitarian admission scheme would be in addition to the 330 people who have already received visas to come to Ireland.

People at risk

Refugee support organisations in Ireland have urged the Government to launch the programme without delay, warning that loved ones of families in Ireland are increasingly at risk due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

In a statement, representatives from five of the State’s main refugee charities called for the scheme to include extended family members, and they urged the Government to “be more sensitive and flexible” in its approach to visa applications for Afghans with family already in Ireland.

The statement underlines that refugee support groups had been “inundated with calls” from Afghans living in Ireland in recent weeks seeking information and support on how to bring their loved ones to Ireland and that Ireland’s Afghan community was going through “immense pain and heartbreak”. The Government should also establish an “online visa application process” whereby documents can be uploaded to a secure portal in light of the limitations faced by Afghans in getting passports or other original documents, it notes.

“Afghan families in Ireland are terrified for their families’ safety,” said Fiona Finn of Nasc, the Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre. “We’re hearing of incidents in the past three weeks of punishment beatings, property confiscation, disappearances and tragically a number of deaths. We are very concerned that 500 places will not be enough to meet the need and would caution against the Government imposing an upper limit at the outset of the programme.”