With Irish Residence Permit (IRP) production backlogs stretching to six weeks, Ireland’s Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) has revived a special Christmas-season waiver that lets non-EEA residents travel on recently expired cards. From 8 December 2025 through 31 January 2026, qualifying travellers may leave and re-enter the State provided they: (1) filed an online renewal application before expiry, (2) carry the expired IRP, and (3) present the printed Travel Confirmation Notice plus the renewal-submission email. Airlines, ferry operators and border officials have been formally briefed.
The measure is crucial for foreign professionals rushing home for the holidays. ISD says seasonal demand and a surge in first-time registrations have created a processing bottleneck, with postal delivery adding up to two additional weeks. Last year’s pilot waiver covered roughly 12,000 residents; officials expect that figure to exceed 18,000 this season.
![Ireland Issues Holiday Travel Waiver for Expired IRP Cards]()
For employers, the notice averts costly project delays by removing the risk that staff will be stranded abroad waiting for plastic cards. Mobility teams should distribute ISD’s template letter to affected assignees, ensure renewal receipts are accessible offline, and remind travellers transiting third-country hubs (for example, via Heathrow or Dubai) to verify separate visa requirements that the waiver does not override.
Carriers have welcomed the clarity, noting that, without official guidance, frontline agents often err on the side of denial when presented with expired documents. The Department of Justice has circulated a bulletin through the International Air Transport Association’s Timatic database to reduce gate-desk disputes.
Although stakeholders broadly support the initiative, advocacy groups such as the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland argue that recurring waivers signal a need for permanent capacity upgrades within the registration system. ISD says a tender for next-generation biometric cards and automated fulfilment will be launched in Q2 2026.
The measure is crucial for foreign professionals rushing home for the holidays. ISD says seasonal demand and a surge in first-time registrations have created a processing bottleneck, with postal delivery adding up to two additional weeks. Last year’s pilot waiver covered roughly 12,000 residents; officials expect that figure to exceed 18,000 this season.
For employers, the notice averts costly project delays by removing the risk that staff will be stranded abroad waiting for plastic cards. Mobility teams should distribute ISD’s template letter to affected assignees, ensure renewal receipts are accessible offline, and remind travellers transiting third-country hubs (for example, via Heathrow or Dubai) to verify separate visa requirements that the waiver does not override.
Carriers have welcomed the clarity, noting that, without official guidance, frontline agents often err on the side of denial when presented with expired documents. The Department of Justice has circulated a bulletin through the International Air Transport Association’s Timatic database to reduce gate-desk disputes.
Although stakeholders broadly support the initiative, advocacy groups such as the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland argue that recurring waivers signal a need for permanent capacity upgrades within the registration system. ISD says a tender for next-generation biometric cards and automated fulfilment will be launched in Q2 2026.
