Ireland has suspended the visa-free regime for refugees from most European countries to free up more space for Ukrainians.
Politico writes about it.
This decision was announced on July 18 — after the places intended for Ukrainian immigrants ran out in Ireland, because they were taken by refugees from other countries.
As a result, hundreds of people from Ukraine, mostly women and children, who arrived in Ireland, slept on the floor at Dublin Airport. From July 19, they will be temporarily settled in a tent city that the army deployed north of the capital.
In Dublin, these problems were associated with an unexpectedly strong flow of refugees arriving from other European countries. They note that now twice as many people seeking asylum come from the EU than before the pandemic.
So the Irish government decided to suspend the visa-free regime for refugees from 20 countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
They, aw well as Ireland, are signatories to the Council of Europe Visa Waiver Agreement for Refugees, a 1960 pact that allows those seeking protection in one signatory country to stay in another signatory country for up to three months without a visa.
Ireland suspended the agreement for the first time. Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney stressed that this change "will help protect Ukrainians and other nationalities fleeing war by reducing abuse of the system."
- Approximately 43,000 Ukrainians have already found refuge in Ireland.