US Citizen Visa After Visiting

Hi all,

I am facing another difficult situation now and need a bit of help.

I am a Chinese citizen living on stamp 1 with a critical skill permit. My wife just passed her US citizenship interview and is waiting for the oath ceremony, which will probably be in 2-3 weeks of time. After that, she is planning to get her first US passport, which will be ready in another 3 weeks of time. So basically she can travel in around 1.5 months from now on.

My stepdaughter is also a US citizen and she is longing to move here as soon as possible. I have already contacted a few primary schools and the principals are all okay with transferring students from the US.

However, we don't have the time to prepare for the family reunion visa as my wife has not got her passport yet. The kid is crying every day because she has been waiting for so long (COVID, me trying to finish my phd and looking for a job, and everything else postponed our family reunion plan).

So finally my question is: is it legal for them to travel here first and deal with their visa status while they are in Ireland? I mean US citizens can get a 3-month stay. Can you use these 3 months to apply and change the visa status?

I wish all the best to whoever can help me answer this question.

Noah

NoahZzz wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 13, 2023 11:17 am

Can you use these 3 months to apply and change the visa status?

In some situations (eg EU treaty rights/spouse) that would certainly be possible.
However, I would not expect this to fly with a CSEP holder, as it's governed by domestic laws and there are more strict.
I might be missing something and not able to do proper research, so other folks can shine more light, but I would go with the assumption of not being able to do so.
Why didn't she apply with her original nationality before that?

Hi all,

Thanks for the response. I just want to give an update here:

My wife entered Ireland using a US passport without any visa. Although she was questioned why she did not purchase a return ticket, she told them this was for a family reunion and she had the right to legally stay in Ireland for up to 3 months.

Last week, we went to the Immigration office together with all the documents requested, mainly my IRP, critical skill permit, and passports. Then she got her IRP registered immediately. There was no question at all about why she did not apply in advance.

In conclusion, if you are a US citizen who happens to have a family member working here in Ireland as a critical skill holder, you don't really need to apply for a visa in advance.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this topic.

I wish all the best to you.

Noah.