Immigration Act 2004

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Obligation of non-nationals to register.

9.—(1) (a) A register of non-nationals who have permission to be in the State shall be established and maintained by registration officers in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(b) The register may be in a form that is not legible if it is capable of being converted into a legible form.

(c) A registration officer may amend an entry in, or delete an entry from, the register.

(2) Subject to section 2 (2), a non-national shall comply with the following requirements as to registration:

(a) he or she shall, as soon as may be, furnish to the registration officer for the registration district in which he or she is resident, the particulars set out in the Second Schedule, and, unless he or she gives a satisfactory explanation of the circumstances which prevent his or her doing so, produce to the registration officer a valid passport or other equivalent document, issued by or on behalf of an authority recognised by the Government, which establishes his or her identity and nationality;

(b) he or she shall furnish to the registration officer for the registration district in which he or she is resident particulars of any matter affecting in any manner the accuracy of the particulars previously furnished by him or her for the purpose of registration, within 7 days after the matter has occurred, and generally shall supply to the registration officer all information (including, where required by the registration officer, a recent photograph of him or her) that may be necessary for maintaining the accuracy of the register;

(c) he or she shall, if about to change his or her residence, furnish to the registration officer for the registration district in which he or she is then resident particulars as to the date on which his or her residence is to be changed and as to his or her intended place of residence;

(d) on effecting any change of residence from one registration district to another, he or she shall, within 48 hours of his or her arrival in the other registration district, report his or her arrival to the registration officer for that district;

(e) if at any time he or she is absent from his or her residence for a continuous period exceeding one month, he or she shall report to the registration officer for the district of his or her residence his or her current address and every subsequent change of address, including his or her return to his or her residence;

(f) he or she shall—

(i) subject to section 19 (3), on registration obtain from the registration officer a registration certificate;

(ii) on every subsequent alteration or addition of any entry in the register relating to his or her registration, produce the certificate to the registration officer in order that, if necessary, a corresponding alteration or addition may be made in the certificate.

(3) If a non-national has no residence in the State, he or she shall attend at the office of a registration officer and, so far as possible, supply the particulars that would be required under this section if he or she were resident in the district of that officer, and shall report to the registration officer for any other district in which he or she stays for more than 24 hours and also give notice of any intended change of address to the registration officer to whom he or she has last reported.

(4) If a non-national who is required under this section to register or report is lodging with, or living as a member of the household of, any other person, it shall be the duty of that person to take reasonable steps (either by giving notice to the registration officer of the presence of the non-national in his or her household or otherwise) to secure compliance with the terms of this Act in respect of the registration of or reporting by the non-national.

(5) A registration certificate shall be in such form and contain such particulars as may be prescribed.

(6) This section shall not apply to—

(a) a non-national who is under the age of 16 years;

(b) a non-national who was born in Ireland;

(c) a non-national not resident in the State who has been in the State for a period of not more than 3 months since the date of his or her last arrival in the State;

(d) a non-national seaman not resident in the State whose ship remains at a port in the State and who does not land in the State for discharge.

(7) A person who before the commencement of this Act obtained a registration certificate from a registration officer shall be deemed until the date on which the certificate is expressed to expire to have complied with the requirements of this section.

(8) A non-national who contravenes subsection (2), (3) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence.

(9) In this section, “register” means the register maintained under subsection (1) and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.