The week of Oct 19 2020 brought about the announcement of another major lockdown for Irish society. Ireland is in affect at 'Level 5' which according to Citizens Information means:

Level 5 means that you are asked to stay at home, with the exception of exercise within 5 kilometres of your home. There will be no social or family gatherings. You can meet with 1 other household in an outdoor setting which is not a home or garden, such as a park, including for exercise.

Only essential workers can travel to work and only essential retail and essential services can remain open. Construction and manufacturing can continue to operate.

source

As of now, these restrictions are in place until December 1st. It goes without saying, but let's just hope that Covid numbers decrease, and life can return to somewhat normal as soon as possible.

A couple of people have asked me what this means for immigration applications and renewals. It's going to slow things down that's for sure.

INIS.gov.ie recently published the following update:

Further to the Government announcement on updated measures to respond to COVID-19, Registration Office, Immigration Service Delivery, at Burgh Quay, Dublin 2 will temporarily close to the public for "first time" registration appointments with effect from Wednesday 21 October 2020 at 7.00 p.m. Further updates on re-opening will follow.

All renewals in the Dublin area are now being processed online only at https://inisonline.jahs.ie. Renewal applications will continue to be accepted and processed online and passports will be returned to customers by post as normal.

source

Dig one level deeper on that website, and you'll find a lot more information related to what is happening within the immigration system.
- Working hours for Stamp 2 students
- Temporary extension of immigration permissions
- Application processing times (current expected processing time is 25 to 30 working days from the date of receipt)
- Online Registration Renewal System for non-EEA students
Find all that info here.

More info
Gov.ie information re: living with Covid, & PUP payments
Citizens info comprehensive guide to everything Covid 19, including employment rights, school info, cocooning, support for businesses, and lots more.

Playing in the background
I'm only, I'm only... Do you know the song already? Yes, it's that really catchy number, but Rag'n'Bone Man - Human. It's been out a while, but this past week I just can't get it out of my head 🙂 Available on multiple channels, but as always my go-to is Amazon Prime Music.