Call for overhaul of family reunification rules

Dave Gibney

In a submission to the Department of Justice, backed by 26 civil society organisations, trade unions and employer bodies including ICTU, SIPTU, the Restaurant Association of Ireland and Business in the Community Ireland, MRCI has called on justice minister Jim O’Callaghan to reform the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy.

The group wants all full-time workers on Stamp 1 and Stamp 4 permissions, including General Employment Permit (GEP) holders, to be granted the same family reunification rights as Critical Skills Employment Permit holders.

MRCI argues that the State sets the minimum salary for a General Employment Permit at €36,605 but requires an annual income of €50,200 before a permit holder can bring even one child to Ireland.

According to the organisation, the income threshold has risen by 52 per cent since 2020, compared with a 22 per cent increase in the minimum GEP salary and a 23 per cent rise in the Consumer Price Index.

Survey data collected from more than 200 migrant workers in April 2026 found that 99 per cent of GEP holders earn less than the income threshold required to bring a child to Ireland, while 69 per cent said they were considering leaving the country because of the current rules. More than half said they had been separated from their families for between three and five years.

Dave Gibney of MRCI said: “Ireland recruited these workers to fill roles the State could not fill domestically. It set their wages. It deemed those wages acceptable for employment. Now it tells those same workers their wages are not enough to live with their children. That is not a policy – it is a structural barrier, and it has to end.”

The organisation said GEP holders must wait 12 months before applying for family reunification and then face processing times of between 18 and 24 months, resulting in children being separated from parents for at least two to three years.

It also criticised a new requirement introduced in June requiring applicants to secure suitable accommodation before family members are permitted to enter the State, saying the rule does not apply to Critical Skills Employment Permit holders or Irish citizens.

MRCI said its analysis found that extending immediate family reunification rights to GEP holders would still generate a net annual benefit to the Exchequer of between €137 million and €255 million, with 98 per cent of surveyed spouses intending to work after arriving in Ireland.

Among its recommendations, the organisation is calling for the abolition of income thresholds and the 12-month waiting period, a commitment to process applications within six months, and the inclusion of total household income when assessing eligibility where thresholds continue to apply.