Ireland’s Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) has granted a last-minute reprieve to thousands of non-EEA residents caught in the Irish Residence Permit (IRP) backlog. A fresh Travel Confirmation Notice, published on 4 February, means that anyone whose IRP card expired in recent weeks may continue to leave and re-enter the State for the rest of the month—provided they submitted a renewal application before the card lapsed.
The measure is more than a seasonal courtesy. Registration offices are still working through unprecedented volumes, and postal delivery of new IRP cards can take a further two weeks after approval. Faced with half-term school breaks, urgent business trips and post-Christmas family visits, many residents risked being grounded or asked to abandon travel plans at airline check-in desks. By instructing carriers to honour expired cards (together with a printed Travel Confirmation Notice and the e-mail receipt of the renewal application), the Department of Justice has removed that immediate barrier.
For mobility managers the extension buys time—but not complacency. Employers should remind assignees and dependants that they must still satisfy visa rules of any transit country, carry proof of their renewal submission and, critically, be back in Ireland before 28 February. Overstaying abroad could invalidate permission and trigger re-entry problems. ISD also urges applicants to file renewals up to 12 weeks in advance; doing so neither shortens the permission period nor affects Stamp categories, yet it can avert stressful, last-minute scrambles.
![Ireland Extends Travel Confirmation Notice, Letting Non-EEA Residents Fly on Recently-Expired IRP Cards Until 28 February]()
If you need extra help navigating renewal paperwork, emergency re-entry visas, or onward travel documentation, VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers step-by-step guidance, live support and document checks, making it easier to meet Irish and third-country requirements while avoiding costly delays.
Airlines operating into Dublin, Cork, Shannon and the State’s regional airports have been briefed on the new protocol. Nevertheless, staff rotation and code-share operations mean front-line agents may still query expired cards. Travellers are advised to budget extra time at departure gates and carry hard-copy documents rather than rely on phone screenshots, especially where Wi-Fi is patchy. Those with unavoidable travel beyond the 28 February cut-off should consider applying for an emergency re-entry visa or, in exceptional humanitarian cases, request an urgent appointment via the ISD contact form.
From a policy perspective, the repeat extensions highlight structural pressure inside the registration system. Processing times for first registrations in Dublin regularly exceed eight weeks, while renewals can hover around three to four. Business groups have long argued for a fully digital IRP, similar to Estonia’s e-residency card, to reduce printing bottlenecks and courier delays. The Department has signalled interest but no firm timetable. Until then, Travel Confirmation Notices will remain a critical—if temporary—tool for keeping Ireland’s international workforce moving.
The measure is more than a seasonal courtesy. Registration offices are still working through unprecedented volumes, and postal delivery of new IRP cards can take a further two weeks after approval. Faced with half-term school breaks, urgent business trips and post-Christmas family visits, many residents risked being grounded or asked to abandon travel plans at airline check-in desks. By instructing carriers to honour expired cards (together with a printed Travel Confirmation Notice and the e-mail receipt of the renewal application), the Department of Justice has removed that immediate barrier.
For mobility managers the extension buys time—but not complacency. Employers should remind assignees and dependants that they must still satisfy visa rules of any transit country, carry proof of their renewal submission and, critically, be back in Ireland before 28 February. Overstaying abroad could invalidate permission and trigger re-entry problems. ISD also urges applicants to file renewals up to 12 weeks in advance; doing so neither shortens the permission period nor affects Stamp categories, yet it can avert stressful, last-minute scrambles.
If you need extra help navigating renewal paperwork, emergency re-entry visas, or onward travel documentation, VisaHQ can streamline the process. Their online platform (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) offers step-by-step guidance, live support and document checks, making it easier to meet Irish and third-country requirements while avoiding costly delays.
Airlines operating into Dublin, Cork, Shannon and the State’s regional airports have been briefed on the new protocol. Nevertheless, staff rotation and code-share operations mean front-line agents may still query expired cards. Travellers are advised to budget extra time at departure gates and carry hard-copy documents rather than rely on phone screenshots, especially where Wi-Fi is patchy. Those with unavoidable travel beyond the 28 February cut-off should consider applying for an emergency re-entry visa or, in exceptional humanitarian cases, request an urgent appointment via the ISD contact form.
From a policy perspective, the repeat extensions highlight structural pressure inside the registration system. Processing times for first registrations in Dublin regularly exceed eight weeks, while renewals can hover around three to four. Business groups have long argued for a fully digital IRP, similar to Estonia’s e-residency card, to reduce printing bottlenecks and courier delays. The Department has signalled interest but no firm timetable. Until then, Travel Confirmation Notices will remain a critical—if temporary—tool for keeping Ireland’s international workforce moving.
