Question about SS route in Ireland

Hi all, still quite new to this site, so please be gentle C:

My fiance and I have finally decided to take the plunge and do the SS route in Ireland. I am in the UK currently on a tourist visa, and will be here until April 19th. We wanted to be married before leaving to Ireland, but we've been told by a lot of people that it's pretty much impossible for us to get married in the UK as I'm only on a tourist visa.

So, we can just get married in Ireland, right? But I've read that you need to first notify a registrar of your marriage, and then you must wait three months before you can marry. However, as a US citizen, I'm only allowed to stay in Ireland for three months... so if I need to wait three months before we can marry, but I'm only allowed to be in Ireland for three months, then how can we get married?

Once we notify a registrar and get all that started, is there some way I can send somebody proof that we're getting married, and I'll be allowed to stay and get married?

Alternately, is there any other way I could be allowed to stay in Ireland long enough for us to comfortably get married without worrying about my impending visa end date?

Thanks for reading, I hope some of you can offer me some advice! xx

Can your fiance and you get married in the US? Runaway marriage in Las Vegas?

I presume that you meant to put this question in the Ireland forum rather than the UK forum as it appertains to Irish immigration rules on getting married in Ireland.

secret.simon wrote:Can your fiance and you get married in the US? Runaway marriage in Las Vegas?

I presume that you meant to put this question in the Ireland forum rather than the UK forum as it appertains to Irish immigration rules on getting married in Ireland.

Not really, if we're doing SS then we'd kind of like to save money for that and not waste it on plane tickets to and from the US :\

And er, yes, looks like I suck at this site pfft. Is there any way I can move this thread or should I just re-post it there? x

I am sure the mods will move it

Sorry, but I don't know anything about Irish immigration rules. I am sure somebody in the appropriate sub-forum will be able to guide you better.

A Google search did bring up these pages

Citizens Information: Getting married
Since November 2007 anyone marrying in Ireland (irrespective of whether they are an Irish citizen or a foreign national) must give 3 months' notification before they marry. You must make this notification in person to any Registrar. The requirement to give a 3- month notice does not apply to civil partners whose civil partnership was registered in Ireland.

Find out how to notify the Registrar that you will be getting married in Ireland here.

Also see http://www.hse.ie/go/marriage/

Broadly, it seems to me that you must be in the country on a fiance visa, not a tourist visa, to get married in either the UK or Ireland. But, as I said, I have no knowledge of this.

secret.simon wrote:I am sure the mods will move it

Shit, I just re-posted it in the Ireland forum, I'm an mule D:

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out tomorrow after I wake up tomorrow. I did find a site saying that I can apply for permission to remain longer than 3 months if I have a passport and show a valid reason why I need to stay (surely marriage would be valid, if we've already registered?), but I'm scared to trust any good news and want to hear other people tell me that D: xx

sphealie wrote:Hi all, still quite new to this site, so please be gentle C:

My fiance and I have finally decided to take the plunge and do the SS route in Ireland. I am in the UK currently on a tourist visa, and will be here until April 19th. We wanted to be married before leaving to Ireland, but we've been told by a lot of people that it's pretty much impossible for us to get married in the UK as I'm only on a tourist visa.

So, we can just get married in Ireland, right? But I've read that you need to first notify a registrar of your marriage, and then you must wait three months before you can marry. However, as a US citizen, I'm only allowed to stay in Ireland for three months... so if I need to wait three months before we can marry, but I'm only allowed to be in Ireland for three months, then how can we get married?

Once we notify a registrar and get all that started, is there some way I can send somebody proof that we're getting married, and I'll be allowed to stay and get married?

Alternately, is there any other way I could be allowed to stay in Ireland long enough for us to comfortably get married without worrying about my impending visa end date?

Thanks for reading, I hope some of you can offer me some advice! xx

The point about SS is, as soon as possible after you arrive in Eire, your sponsor starts exercising treaty tights (eg working) & so you can then apply for a RC.
Once the application is filed you can stay.
Participating in that process (& eventually receiving RC) confirms your continuing right to reside & work over the initial 90 days.

noajthan wrote:The point about SS is, as soon as possible after you arrive in Eire, your sponsor starts exercising treaty tights (eg working) & so you can then apply for a RC.
Once the application is filed you can stay.
Participating in that process (& eventually receiving RC) confirms your continuing right to reside & work over the initial 90 days.

But will this all work if we're not yet married? He plans on working as soon as possible in Ireland of course, but if we have to wait three months to get married, I'm worried that he will be exercising his treaty rights and getting RC, but I will still just technically be a tourist because I won't yet be legally connected to him by marriage. Are you saying that even though I'd just be a tourist at that point and not yet married to him, I could get RC when he starts working just by being with him and planning to marry?

I was hoping we could just alert someone that we're planning on marrying as soon as the three-month waiting period is up and that I do plan on living with him under his treaty rights... basically I'm just afraid to think that everything will be fine! It seems that every time I get excited about a plan to be with him, something goes wrong

sphealie wrote:But will this all work if we're not yet married? He plans on working as soon as possible in Ireland of course, but if we have to wait three months to get married, I'm worried that he will be exercising his treaty rights and getting RC, but I will still just technically be a tourist because I won't yet be legally connected to him by marriage. Are you saying that even though I'd just be a tourist at that point and not yet married to him, I could get RC when he starts working just by being with him and planning to marry?

I was hoping we could just alert someone that we're planning on marrying as soon as the three-month waiting period is up and that I do plan on living with him under his treaty rights... basically I'm just afraid to think that everything will be fine! It seems that every time I get excited about a plan to be with him, something goes wrong

Apologies, you are correct, you won't have the family member status yet. I'd somehow overlooked that.

Don't want to put you off but see the warning here:
EU Citizens Marrying Non-EU Citizens In Ireland - A Big Warning
http://www.movetoireland.com/movepag/miscwed.htm
- you may want to dig into taht.

noajthan wrote:
Apologies, you are correct, you won't have the family member status yet. I'd somehow overlooked that.

Don't want to put you off but see the warning here:
EU Citizens Marrying Non-EU Citizens In Ireland - A Big Warning
http://www.movetoireland.com/movepag/miscwed.htm
- you may want to dig into taht.

Thanks for the link -- after having done more reading, from what I understand we can avoid marrying in Ireland if I fill out the EU1 form for a residency card with proof of our over-two-year relationship (after we get a place to live and my fiance starts working and so on), and once I have that, that will be kind of considered "as good as marriage" in terms of me living with my fiance in Ireland and being allowed to work. Then we can essentially just continue living together and working in Ireland until our SS route is over, and then we can just get married in the UK at that point when we return.

Does all that sounds correct to you? I've been reading about it on a couple sites and about what to provide to prove a 2+ year relationship and so on but for some reason I always prefer to hear the same from other people instead of just reading it on site pages D:

sphealie wrote:Thanks for the link -- after having done more reading, from what I understand we can avoid marrying in Ireland if I fill out the EU1 form for a residency card with proof of our over-two-year relationship (after we get a place to live and my fiance starts working and so on), and once I have that, that will be kind of considered "as good as marriage" in terms of me living with my fiance in Ireland and being allowed to work. Then we can essentially just continue living together and working in Ireland until our SS route is over, and then we can just get married in the UK at that point when we return.

Does all that sounds correct to you? I've been reading about it on a couple sites and about what to provide to prove a 2+ year relationship and so on but for some reason I always prefer to hear the same from other people instead of just reading it on site pages D:

Be aware as an unmarried couple you will be considered an extended family member & not a direct family member of the EEA national.
It makes a difference in terms of rights (especially automatic rights) as its governed by different EU Regulations.

And to qualify such a durable relationship must be 'akin to marriage' not just a boyfriend/girlfriend or fiance type of relationship.

You may find that for UK HO to accept it, on any return to UK, you will have to have stayed in Ireland for 2 years;
ie if you have not been together that long 'akin to marriage' already.