The Department of Justice and Equality announced the temporary closure of the Dublin Area Registration Office as well as the local Registration Offices operated by An Garda Siochana outside Dublin starting 20 March. As appointments for renewals of expiring permissions will be unavailable during the closure period, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that all permissions due to expire between 20 March 2020 and 20 May 2020 will automatically be renewed for a period of 2 months. The automatic renewals are on the same basis as the existing permission and the same conditions attach.

Once the Registration Offices reopen, the permission holders will receive a written decision with respect to their permission renewal. In the meantime, holders of expiring/expired permissions ma provide their employers with a copy of their current permission document (either a decision letter or Irish Residence Permit) together with a copy of the Notice issued by the Department of Justice.

The closure of the Registration Offices will not impact the processing of employment permit applications in Ireland, which are handled by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI).