During the period while you are an asylum seeker and your application for a declaration as a refugee is being processed you have certain rights and obligations as follows:

Your Rights:

• You will not be removed from the state until you have been given the opportunity to present your case fully, your application has been properly examined and a final decision has been reached on it. However, if it is agreed with another Dublin Convention country that, in accordance with the provisions of the Dublin Convention, it is appropriate for your application to be dealt with in that country, you may be transferred to that country
• Every effort will be made to provide you with an interpreter, where necessary and possible.
• You are entitled to consult a solicitor. The Refugee Legal Service is an independent body that provides legal assistance to individuals applying for a declaration as a refugee.
• You are entitled to consult with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who has an office in Dublin.
• You are entitled to accommodation, welfare support and health care while your application is being processed.
• All details provided in connection with your application will be treated in confidence. Information may, however, be disclosed to other bodies that may be dealing with you, such as Irish government departments and agencies, local authorities and the UNHCR, to enable these organisations carry out their functions. Some information may also be provided to other Dublin Convention countries for Dublin Convention purposes.
• You will be notified in writing, at the most recent address given by you, of any appointments you must keep and any recommendations made or decisions taken in connection with your application for a declaration as a refugee by the Refugee Applications Commissioner, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the Minister for Justice (as appropriate).

Your Obligations:

• You must comply with the laws of the state.
• You must notify, in writing, the Refugee Applications Commissioner of your address and any change of address. Failure to do so could result in you being found guilty of an offence under the Refugee Act, 1996, as amended. Failure to do so could also result in you not receiving important notifications in relation to your applications and consequently failing to meet time limits for lodging documentation, appeals, and so on.
• You must not leave or attempt to leave the state without the consent of the Minister for Justice while your application is under consideration.
• You are not entitled to seek or enter employment, unless you sought asylum in the state on or prior to 26 July 1999. If you sought asylum prior to this date and are still awaiting a decision on your application and wish to enter employment, you should contact the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.
• You are not entitled to carry on any business, trade or profession.
• You must be truthful at all times in the information you provide in connection with your application.
• You must co-operate fully with the investigation of your application. Failure to do so will damage the credibility of your application and could result in your application being deemed to be manifestly unfounded.
• You should make all information relevant to your application available to the Refugee Applications Commissioner. If you do not do so and seek to bring forward additional information at appeal stage, you will be required to explain why this information was not made available to the Refugee Applications Commissioner.
• In all correspondence with the Refugee Applications Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Tribunal you must clearly indicate your name, address, nationality and the reference number shown on your Temporary Residence Certificate or your Asylum Card. Asylum Cards held by existing asylum seekers will be replaced with Temporary Residence Certificates in due course. Existing asylum seekers should continue to use Asylum Cards in the meantime.
• You must provide the Refugee Applications Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (as appropriate), with details of your solicitor and any change of solicitor (name, address, phone number, and so on).
• You or your solicitor must retain all copies of documentation given to you by the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal. Only in exceptional circumstances will additional copies of the documents be made available.

Asylum Seekers - Work Permits.
If you are in the process of seeking refugee status, you are not, in general, entitled to work. If you can find a job and the employer applies for, and gets a work permit, then you can withdraw your application for asylum and become a resident non-national with a work permit. If you applied for refugee status before July 26th 1999 and your application is already more than a year being processed. In such circumstances, you may be granted a work permit.