B. RESIDENCY APPLICATIONS FOR NON-EEA
SPOUSES OR PARTNERS OF IRISH CITIZENS WHO
HAVE RESIDENCY IN ANOTHER EU MEMBER STATE
1. I am an Irish citizen living in another EU Member State. My
spouse or partner is a non-EEA citizen. I have exercised my
right to movement within the EU and s/he is registered. We
would like to move to Ireland to live there. How can my
spouse or partner apply for residency in Ireland?
If your spouse or partner is from a visa-required country then s/he may
have to apply for a visa to enter Ireland as the spouse or partner of an
Irish citizen who is exercising their EU Treaty Rights in another Member State.
See STEP 1: Entering Ireland.
NOTE: The ‘Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen’
(Stamp 4 EU FAM) is also an Irish re-entry visa.
If your spouse or partner is from a non-visa required country then s/he
can present to immigration control without a visa.
IMPORTANT: It is advisable for your spouse or partner to inform the
Immigration Officer at the point of entry of his intention to apply for
residency on the basis of marriage or partnership and that you are
exercising your EU Treaty Rights in another EU Member State. Evidence
of this should be produced to the Immigration Officer.
Your spouse or partner should download and complete FORM EU1
(available in pdf format from
www.inis.gov.ie) and submit it to the EU
Treaty Rights Section of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law
Reform. See Appendix 1 – Contact Organisations.
When your spouse or partner receives the receipt from the EU Treaty
Rights Section s/he must register temporarily with the Garda National
Immigration Bureau. S/he should register with the GNIB within
90 days of arriving in Ireland even if s/he has not received this receipt.
You should send a cover letter explaining that you have exercised your
EU Treaty Rights as an EU citizen in another Member State with the
application form. You should also include evidence that you were living in
the other EU Member State for a certain period of time,
e.g. payslips, rental agreements or household bills.
NOTE 1: You should send the application form and supporting
documentation by registered post.
NOTE 2: The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) look for
evidence that a partnership (same-sex or opposite-sex) has existed for at
least 2 years prior to the application in order to issue the relevant card.
NOTE 3: If your spouse or partner’s application is successful s/he will be
issued with a Stamp 4 EU FAM (family member of an EU national). This
certificate of registration (GNIB card) can be used in place of an Irish re-
entry visa.