S.L. 217.5 Art. 7Determination of the application.

(1) The Director shall give the applicant written notification of the decision as soon as possible and, in any event, no later than six months from the date when the application was lodged:

Provided that, in exceptional circumstances which are linked to the complexity of the case, the time limit of six months may be extended by another period of six months.

(2) The Director shall notify the applicant when the period for the examination of the application is extended.

(3) The written notification shall include information about the rights and obligations of the third country national that arise under these regulations.

(4) In the event that the Director fails to give a decision within the period specified in subregulation (1), the application shall automatically be passed on for appeal to the Board.

(5) If the conditions provided for by regulations 4 and 5 are met, and the person does not represent a threat within the meaning of regulation 6, the Director shall grant the third country national concerned long-term resident status:

Provided that where the conditions concerning stable resources referred to in regulation 5 are not met by the third country national, the Director shall consider all relevant circumstances and if there are justified reasons to do so, the Director shall accept the relative amount declared by the said third country national as satisfying the conditions stipulated therein.