Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 1st April, 2011.

I, ALAN SHATTER, Minister for Justice and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 17 of the Immigration Act 2004 (No. 1 of 2004) (as adapted by the Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2010 ( S.I. No. 216 of 2010 )), hereby order as follows:

1. (1) This Order may be cited as the Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) Order 2011.

(2) This Order comes into operation on 25 April 2011.

2. In this Order-

"Convention travel document" means a travel document issued in accordance with Article 28 of the Geneva Convention;

"Directive of 2004" means Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to

move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States¹ ;

"family members" has the meaning assigned to it by the Regulations of 2006;

"Geneva Convention" has the meaning assigned to it by the Refugee Act 1996 (No. 17 of 1996);

"permanent residence card" has the meaning assigned to it by the Regulations of 2006;

"residence card" has the meaning assigned to it by the Regulations of 2006;

"Regulations of 2006" means the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. No. 656 of 2006 ).

3. It is hereby declared that the following classes of non-nationals are specified as classes the members of which are not required to be in possession of a valid Irish visa when landing in the State:

(a) nationals of a state or territorial entity specified in Schedule 1;

(b) non-nationals who are holders of-

(i) a valid Convention travel document issued by Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, or Switzerland and where the intended purpose of the travel to the State by the holder of such a travel document is solely for a visit of up to a maximum period of 3 months,

(ii) a valid permanent residence card, or

(iii) a valid residence card;

(c) non-nationals who are family members of a Union citizen and holders of a document called "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen", as referred to in Article 10 of the Directive of 2004.

4. It is hereby declared that non-nationals who are nationals of a state or territorial entity specified in Schedule 2 are specified as a class the members of which are required to be in possession of a valid Irish transit visa when arriving at a port in the State for purposes of passing through the port in order to travel to another state.

5. The Immigration Act 2004 (Visas) (No. 2) Order 2009 ( S.I. No. 453 of 2009 ) is revoked.

SCHEDULE 1

SCHEDULE 2

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

28 March 2011.

ALAN SHATTER,

Minister for Justice and Law Reform.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order specifies the classes of non-nationals who are exempt from Irish visa requirements and those who are required to be in possession of a valid Irish transit visa when transiting within a port within the State. The principal change effected by this Order is that non-nationals who are family members of a European Union citizen and holders of a document called "Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen" as referred to in Article 10 of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, are not subject to an Irish visa requirement.

1Official Journal L 158, 30.4.2004, p. 77-123