Some people may receive a decision by the end of the year.
Thousands of undocumented migrants and their families will soon be eligible for residency in Ireland through a new Government scheme.
The plan was shared by Helen McEntee during an interview with RTÉ Radio One's
Morning Ireland on Monday (31 January).
The Minister for Justice insisted that the new scheme was not an "open-ended" one and that criteria would still need to be met to achieve permanent residency.
"You have to fit a set amount of criteria," McEntee said.
"You're living here for four years or more, if you have children then that reduces to three years, and if you're in the international protective system or if you're seeking asylum, two years is the amount of time before you can apply.
"You have to have evidence to show who you are, essentially for your identity. So this can be a birth certificate, this can be a passport, it can be some form of identity.
"You have to show this and that you're residing in the State, of course, so again, that may be bills, it may be a bank account, it may be receipts from where you work.
"And then where you have family members, where there's a potential relation, be it a spouse or a civil partner or children, you have to have documentation as well.
"In relation to children, it could even be a letter from their school to say that they have been in the school and that they have been attending for a number of years.
"So it's open in that sense, and so if people can show proof, then we have a team of people working on this, that they will examine every application on an individual basis and make a decision then," McEntee added.
Undocumented migrants and families looking to apply for permanent residency can do so via
Government websites until 31 July.
