Irish/British Citizen & Non-EU Spouse. AND the UK £18,600!

irish0704 · Post by **irish0704** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:20 am

Hi all,

My partner and I have been together for a year and a half. He is non-EU and I am Northern Irish (currently with an Irish passport, but had a British passport until I was 18 – can claim dual nationality).

I reside in Scotland and he is currently visiting me again on a visitor visa (2 year multi entry). I am in my final year of a Law Degree.

With regards to the future, we want more than anything to be together. We have already maintained a year and a half, the majority of which has been apart.
If we were to marry in the next year, the main problem is that I am facing a 2 year traineeship with a law firm (In Scotland), and in the first year I will be on a salary of 17-18k, missing the £18,600 threshold. In the second year it will go up to 20k.

I just don’t know what to do. It seems every avenue I go down, the exit is blocked. I have thought of the following possibilities – but can’t seem to find concrete answers to any. If anyone could provide any guidance, that’d be greatly appreciated 

1) With an Irish passport (though born in Northern Ireland – UK) could I claim my EU nationality and then
bring my husband (once married) to live with me in the UK without the £18,600 restriction coming into force?

2) Say if I was making £17,500 a year in my first year as a trainee solicitor, would I then be able to bump this up to 18,600 for example, by privately tutoring students or in cash savings? And if so, how long would I have to wait before the UKVI would accept this? – obviously not on the day I get my contract!

3) Finally, do you know of any areas of employment in which my fiancé could apply for work in the hope they would then sponsor him/ provide him with a work visa? I’d thought of Offshore oil, but it’s impossible to get answers from the companies.

Thanks in advance!

noajthan · Post by **noajthan** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:47 am

irish0704 wrote:Hi all,

My partner and I have been together for a year and a half. He is non-EU and I am Northern Irish (currently with an Irish passport, but had a British passport until I was 18 – can claim dual nationality).

I reside in Scotland and he is currently visiting me again on a visitor visa (2 year multi entry). I am in my final year of a Law Degree.

With regards to the future, we want more than anything to be together. We have already maintained a year and a half, the majority of which has been apart.
If we were to marry in the next year, the main problem is that I am facing a 2 year traineeship with a law firm (In Scotland), and in the first year I will be on a salary of 17-18k, missing the £18,600 threshold. In the second year it will go up to 20k.

I just don’t know what to do. It seems every avenue I go down, the exit is blocked. I have thought of the following possibilities – but can’t seem to find concrete answers to any. If anyone could provide any guidance, that’d be greatly appreciated 

1) With an Irish passport (though born in Northern Ireland – UK) could I claim my EU nationality and then
bring my husband (once married) to live with me in the UK without the £18,600 restriction coming into force?

2) Say if I was making £17,500 a year in my first year as a trainee solicitor, would I then be able to bump this up to 18,600 for example, by privately tutoring students or in cash savings? And if so, how long would I have to wait before the UKVI would accept this? – obviously not on the day I get my contract!

3) Finally, do you know of any areas of employment in which my fiancé could apply for work in the hope they would then sponsor him/ provide him with a work visa? I’d thought of Offshore oil, but it’s impossible to get answers from the companies.

Thanks in advance!

Dual citizenship (UK/Irish) complicates matters somewhat so I will defer to other members knowledgeable in that area.

Another option is Surinder Singh (SS) route.
Marry.
Move your (joint) centre of life to another EU country (in your case: not UK, not Ireland);
live/work there for appropriate time;
return to home country (eg UK) & then operate under EU regulations.
your spouse will then be treated (in UK) as the dependent family member of 'EEA national' & be entiltled to reside/work/study etc.
(You still retain UK citizenship).

Why do this...? Under the EU/SS route of free movement there are no financial demands, (nor language or LITUK tests, etc).

Plenty more to be found about SS in this forum, &/or on WWW, if you search.

I rest my case.
Good luck.

secret.simon · Post by **secret.simon** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 5:51 am

The most common advice to dual Irish/British citizens is - renounce your British citizenship. As a purely Irish citizen, you enjoy all the benefits of being a British citizen and also can exercise EEA treaty rights in the UK.

There is a thread dedicated to it on these forums - http://www.immigrationboards.com/eea-ro ... 3-280.html

Obie, a moderator on these forums, opines that you do not need to do it as the Belfast Agreement allows you to exercise the citizenship of your choice without actually renouncing one citizenship or another. But the UK's interpretation of the McCarthy judgment is that all dual British citizens in the UK are solely British for the purpose of EEA law. So, Option (1) that you have listed is out.

Member chaoclive has been through the process and he might advice on this thread.

chaoclive · Post by **chaoclive** » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:37 pm

irish0704 wrote:
1) With an Irish passport (though born in Northern Ireland – UK) could I claim my EU nationality and then
bring my husband (once married) to live with me in the UK without the £18,600 restriction coming into force? YES. THIS HAS WORKED FOR ME (ALSO NORTHERN IRISH) AND QUITE A FEW OTHERS. YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF INFO IN THE THREAD THAT SECRET.SIMON HAS PASTED ABOVE. I CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT MY EXPERIENCE AFTER YOU READ THAT THREAD. FEEL FREE TO POST ON HERE OR PM ME.

2) Say if I was making £17,500 a year in my first year as a trainee solicitor, would I then be able to bump this up to 18,600 for example, by privately tutoring students or in cash savings? And if so, how long would I have to wait before the UKVI would accept this? – obviously not on the day I get my contract! NOT MY AREA.

3) Finally, do you know of any areas of employment in which my fiancé could apply for work in the hope they would then sponsor him/ provide him with a work visa? I’d thought of Offshore oil, but it’s impossible to get answers from the companies. NOT SURE.

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Irish/British Citizen & Non-EU Spouse. AND the UK £18,600!

Irish/British Citizen & Non-EU Spouse. AND the UK £18,600!

Re: Irish/British Citizen & Non-EU Spouse. AND the UK £18,60

Re: Irish/British Citizen & Non-EU Spouse. AND the UK £18,60

Re: Irish/British Citizen & Non-EU Spouse. AND the UK £18,60