An Indian man has been forcibly removed from a Visa office when he tried to renew his Irish residency card

An Indian man who tried to renew his Irish residency card at the Dublin Immigration Office has been forcibly evicted.

Sagar Narang a 30 year old business management graduate, was the victim. He also said that he lost a good job he got because he could not renew the card.

Sagar said he had been trying to renew his visa since the Covid epidemic began and had sent several emails but had not received a reply from the Burg Quay office. He then went to the immigration office and made the request. But the officer cleared him out.

“So what happened was last year in September I had gone in for my first-year renewal of Stamp 1G. So technically speaking from September 2019 to September 2020 should have been my one-year renewal.” He said.

At the time, Sagar was in possession of a passport that expired on May 10, 2020. Therefore, the visa officer said that the Irish residency card will be renewed only until this time. The officer also said that the residency card can be extended till September on presentation of a new passport.

Then, in December, Sagar returned home and returned to Dublin in January. Attempts were made to get an extension of the residence card with a new passport from February but it did not happen.

“I came back to Dublin in January, and February onwards I started looking for appointments so I could go in and talk to any visa officer and get my dates extended…. But it so happened that the pandemic hit us and all the appointments were cancelled, unfortunately. Ever since then there have been continuous extensions which have been given by the government which is automatically renewed until January 2021.” Sagar said.

Meanwhile, Sagar received a job offer from a well-known multinational company in Ireland. However, the term of the IRP was till May 2020 so he didn’t get the job.

The company has announced that the stamp 1G visa, which expires on May 10, will only be available for six months if it is renewed. He was denied a job on the grounds that his visa was only valid for six months.

“Apparently, they had external advisory which would contact the INIS department and check my visa and I don’t know what communication went from INIS but they came back to me saying ‘Your visa is not valid – it’s valid until May 2021 even if you renew it for the second year and based on that we cannot employ you’.” Sagar added.

In the first lockdown in the wake of the Covid expansion, government immigration offices were closed and services were canceled.

Under the current guidelines, expired visas and residency cards are valid until January 2021. The government had promised to extend the deadline till January next year.

The young man approached the company with screenshots of the guidelines pointing out these issues but the result was disappointing.

Sagar says he sent several emails to the Burgh Quay office explaining his current situation but received no response from the authorities.

Sagar then went directly to INIS to obtain documents proving the visa extension itself and to provide evidence to the company. However, the officer ordered Sagar to be forcibly evicted without even fully listening to his problems and complaints when he arrived at the Burg Quay office.

Sagar said: “I don’t know what the situation was for them. Maybe he’d been receiving a lot of complaints like me before. But the moment I went in I told him it’s an emergency situation because I only had that day to provide evidence to the company.”

“And the moment I showed him by IRP card, stating that this is the situation, last year I’d come in and so on so forth, he just stopped me midway and said: ‘I can’t help you with this. Everything is online. Your IRP shows it’s a May 10, 2020, expiry and you should have done everything online’.” he added.

Sagar says he tried to explain his condition again but the officer did not listen.

“I stood there because I had to get something done because that was my only chance. I stood there taking out my documents, trying to show more evidence….. He didn’t let me finish my sentences – he just cut me off at every second and eventually, he just called security and told me to get out. You can understand how humiliating it is.” Sagar said.

He sent several emails back to the immigration office asking for his visa to be renewed, but no response was forthcoming. Some friends advised him to contact the Immigration Council. Sagar said he then contacted the Indian embassy in Ireland but was told that they could not interfere in Irish law and could not help.

The embassy official, realizing his helplessness, advised him to keep in touch with INIS.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said that The Department would like to offer its sincere apologies for any inconvenience or distress inadvertently caused to people who may be experiencing issues with the system for immigration registrations.

“The Department always strives to rectify any errors that may occur as quickly as possible,” he added.

Last year, the Burg Que Registration Office processed more than 105,000 applications, and the department is working to improve immigration services, he said.

He also says that maximum online services should be sought to renew registrations. Pre-clearance schemes, online forms and payments, and arrangements to avoid delays in major categories have been set up online to allow customers to apply for a residence permit before travel.

“Significant demand from people seeking to renew their immigration registration accumulated during the four months that the Registration Office in Dublin was closed earlier this year. Unfortunately, due to current Covid-19 restrictions, the Registration Office is now closed again for in-person appointments and we are conscious that this may place extra burdens on the registration system in the months ahead.” He added.

Launched in Dublin in July, the online registration system will allow people to safely interact with the registration office without having to attend Burg Que directly.

“Since the launch of the new online renewal system, the Department has received over 36,000 applications and 22,000 of these have been processed,” The spokesperson said.

He says there has been a slight delay in office operations due to the need to comply with Covid security arrangements such as social distance in the face of increasing number of applications.

“The Department recognises the difficulties that delays may cause for applicants and it is providing additional resources to the Registration Office to increase its capacity to handle current demand.” He added.