Refugee Act, 1996

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Number 17 of 1996

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REFUGEE ACT 1996 (Repealed)

REVISED

Updated to 20 April 2015

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of Refugee Act 1996. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 (10/2015), enacted 23 April 2015, and all statutory instruments up to and including European Union (Subsidiary Protection) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 137 of 2015), made 16 April 2015, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 17 of 1996

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REFUGEE ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 20 April 2015

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

This Act is not collectively cited with any other Act.

European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006) and European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 525 of 2014) deal with similar subject matter.

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1999, may be found may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014 (43/2014)

• Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (40/2013)

• Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 (24/2010)

• Health Act 2004 (42/2004)

• Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 (33/2004)

• Immigration Act 2004 (1/2004)

• Immigration Act 2003 (26/2003)

• Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 (29/2000)

• Immigration Act 1999 (22/1999)

All Acts up to and including Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 (10/2015), enacted 23 April 2015, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 525 of 2015)

• Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Travel Document and Fee) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 404 of 2011)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Asylum Procedures) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 52 of 2011)

• European Communities (Asylum Procedures) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 51 of 2011)

• European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Safe Countries of Origin) Order 2004 (S.I. No. 714 of 2004)

• Refugee Act (Section 22) (Amendment) Order 2004 (S.I. No. 500 of 2004)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 424 of 2003)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Section 22) Order 2003 (S.I. No. 423 of 2003)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Safe Countries of Origin) Order 2003 (S.I. No. 422 of 2003)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 571 of 2002)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Temporary Residence Certificate) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 426 of 2002)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Commencement) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 365 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Transitional) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 348 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Travel Document) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 347 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Temporary Residence Certificate) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 346 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Application Form) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 345 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Places and Conditions of Detention) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 344 of 2000)

• Dublin Convention (Implementation) Order, 2000 (S.I. No. 343 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Appeals) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 342 of 2000)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Section 23) (Commencement) (No. 3) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 341 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Establishment Day) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 309 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Sections 14 and 15 and Second Schedule) (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 308 of 2000)

• Refugee Act 1996 (Section 6 and First Schedule) (Commencement) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 8 of 2000)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Section 22 (6)(A) ) (Designated Countries) Order 1997 (S.I. No. 376 of 1997)

• Dublin Convention (Implementation) Order 1997 (S.I. No. 360 of 1997)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Sections 1, 2, 5, 22 and 25) (Commencement) Order 1997 (S.I. No. 359 of 1997)

• Refugee Act, 1996 (Section 24(1)) (Commencement) Order 1996 (S.I. No. 290 of 1996)

All statutory instruments up to and including European Union (Subsidiary Protection) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No. 137 of 2015), made 16 April 2015, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 17 of 1996

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REFUGEE ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 20 April 2015

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

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Number 17 of 1996

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REFUGEE ACT 1996

REVISED

Updated to 20 April 2015

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AN ACT TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE CONVENTION RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES DONE AT GENEVA ON THE 28TH DAY OF JULY, 1951, THE PROTOCOL RELATING TO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES DONE AT NEW YORK ON THE 31ST DAY OF JANUARY, 1967, AND THE CONVENTION DETERMINING THE STATE RESPONSIBLE FOR EXAMINING APPLICATIONS FOR ASYLUM LODGED IN ONE OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES DONE AT DUBLIN ON THE 15TH DAY OF JUNE, 1990, TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF A PERSON TO BE KNOWN AS THE REFUGEE APPLICATIONS COMMISSIONER AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BOARD TO BE KNOWN AS THE REFUGEE APPEAL BOARD AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS RELATED TO THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [26th June, 1996]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Editorial Notes:

E1

European Union (Dublin System) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 525 of 2014), signed 25.11.2014, support the operation in the State of Regulation (EU) No. 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person.

E2

Functions in relation to Act transferred from Health Service Executive to Child and Family Agency (1.01.2014) by Child and Family Agency Act 2013 (40/2013), s. 82 and sch. 1, S.I. No. 502 of 2014.

E3

Provision for retention and deletion of passenger data in respect of offence under Act made (1.11.2011) by European Communities (Communication of Passenger Data) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 597 of 2011), in effect as per reg. 1(2).

E4

European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 20106), as amended by S.I. No. 426 of 2013, give effect (10.10.2006) to Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise need international protection and the content of the protection granted.

E5

Functions in relation to Act transferred to Health Service Executive and references to functional areas construed (1.01.2005) by Health Act 2004 (42/2004), ss. 59, 67 and sch. 3 item 22, S.I. No. 887 of 2004.

E6

Act referred to in definition of health and personal social services (23.12.2004) by Health Act 2004 (42/2004), s. 2 and sch. 1, S.I. No. 886 of 2004.

Interpretation.

1

1.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

F1[‘the Tribunal’ means the Refugee Appeals Tribunal established by section 15;]

“applicant” means a person who has made an application for a declaration under section 8;

“authorised officer” means a person authorised in writing by the Commissioner to exercise the powers conferred on an authorised officer by or under this Act;

“the Commissioner” shall be construed in accordance with section 6;

“convention country” means a country other than the State for the time being standing designated in an order under section 22(6);

“declaration” shall be construed in accordance with section 17;

“the Dublin Convention” means the Convention determining the state responsible for examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member States of the European Communities done at Dublin on the 15th day of June, 1990 (the text of which, in the English...