Can Non-EEA spouse go to Ireland?

[harrisonfi]

I wish to get clear answers, because i couldn't find them from official sites.

Background

I'm a finnish guy, married with an argentinian woman. She has a residence card in Finland at the moment. I'm employed she is not. She wish to relocate to Ireland, because she thinks she could find a job there for her profession much better than in Finland.

We were planning that if she could go to Ireland and could find job there i will join her later, because we both can't be unemployed.


Open questions


1. Can she go to Ireland alone and apply a residency-permit in Ireland?
if not and if only way is that she should join me,
2. What are possible requirements for me (permanet address, work perhaps), until she or me can make an application?
and if section 2 is only possible,
3. Which one of us makes an application...she or me behalf?

[ca.funke]

Sorry for not being sure, maybe the "usual" experts will be more detailed later.

As far as my understanding of 2004/38/EC is concerned, it's only possible to move / live together.

But as you say you are planning to move to Ireland after your wife, you can -at least officially- set up shop here already:

• as a Finnish person you need to do nothing before coming to Ireland.
• your wife has to apply for a "join spouse" visa at the Irish post in Finland.
• this will only be granted if you are already in Ireland, or planning to move at the same time.

Due to some illegal interpretations of 2004/38/EC here in Ireland (you can read about this in this forum), you should make sure your wife was officially registered in Finland. This will make life much easier for you here.

So I'd suggest you both come here for a week, and you both officially register under 2004/38/EC. (Look for an EU1 application)

This way you should both be set-up in no-time, and as the job-market here is very flexible I'm sure you'll have a job in no-time.

If you want to stay sane in the long run, however, I'd recommend moving to the UK - you will probably want to secure an EU-citizenship for your spouse ASAP. In Ireland this process is so screwed up - it fills several threads.

In the UK it is relatively easy to become "british", and it only takes 3 years.

Good luck - rgds from Dublin, Christian

[John]

In the UK it is relatively easy to become "british", and it only takes 3 years.

Well maybe, maybe not. harrisonfi, your wife is here on a Residence Card issued under EU regulations? If so it will take 5 years, or even 6 years, before she can apply for Naturalisation as British. 5 years if you have become British in the meantime, or 6 years if not.

But if you already had PR status, and your wife applied for a 2-year spouse visa using UK immigration law, then she can apply for Naturalisation after 3 years, if you have become British by then, or 5 years if not.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

She has a right of free-movement and work, but she has to do it with you.

You can both work right away and with no formality for 90 days, but I would strongly suggest you apply for a work visa (NO CHARGE) from the Irish embassy before you leave so that she can immediately start work.

If it works out, then you can stay for longer. It is also fine to come and go (effectively to be resident in 2 places). But if it is for more than 90 days, then the EU citizen need to be working or needs to be self sufficient (by whatever means).

[harrisonfi]

Thank you all for answering my question.

She has a right of free-movement and work, but she has to do it with you.

You can both work right away and with no formality for 90 days, but I would strongly suggest you apply for a work visa (NO CHARGE) from the Irish embassy before you leave so that she can immediately start work.

Sounds quite flexible if my wife can work for 90 days without formalities. In other words, if we go to Ireland together today, my wife could start working in Ireland tomorrow, or must she register herself before she can start working? Do you mean that a work visa could be needed even for 90 days period?

What documents has she to show to the employer to receive a work?

If this 90 days period are free from formalities, how to show evidences between of two periods? Is it possible to keep a contract job for more than 90 days, and to visit a native country (or outside of Ireland) forexample during the weekend, before the termination of 90 days?

Can my wife work during this 90 days, if I come back to finland to visit or to work in Finland?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

You should definitely print off and read through Guide on how to get the best out of Directive 2004/38/EC and the Directive itself. Links are at http://eumovement.wordpress.com/directive-200438ec/

Thank you all for answering my question.

Watch carefully as I open more questions than I answer.

Sounds quite flexible if my wife can work for 90 days without formalities. In other words, if we go to Ireland together today, my wife could start working in Ireland tomorrow, or must she register herself before she can start working? Do you mean that a work visa could be needed even for 90 days period?

What documents has she to show to the employer to receive a work?

In theory there are no additional formalities. No registration. She has the right to work from the minute you both step off the plane tomorrow. But proving her right to work is the challenge.

You can try, but I do not think you will get accurate information from the Irish embassy or their (Awful!) central email information service.

Contact the embassy in writing and ask them how your wife can prove in her initial 90 days that she has the right to work in Ireland. Force them to write back to you by not including a phone number. If they can not give you an easy no-cost solution, then I would suggest you contact Solvit. http://eumovement.wordpress.com/help-eu-solvit/

If that does not work out, I might also tend to apply for a work visa (do not pay any fee!) while clearly indicating that this is for the spouse of an EU citizen (and including both your passports and your marriage certificate). If they refuse, again contact Solvit.

If this 90 days period are free from formalities, how to show evidences between of two periods? Is it possible to keep a contract job for more than 90 days, and to visit a native country (or outside of Ireland) forexample during the weekend, before the termination of 90 days?

Can my wife work during this 90 days, if I come back to finland to visit or to work in Finland?

Once you and your wife are Resident in Ireland, you and she can work. You can also travel into and out of Ireland at will.

After 90 days they can require her to apply for a Residence Card (the Irish call it 4EUfam and you apply with form EU1). She does not need to quit her contract or change any other part of her life.

After 90 days you (EU citizen) will need to be looking for a job, employed in Ireland (part time is fine), self-sufficient with medical insurance (if your wife makes enough money), or be a student. These are required for her Residence Card application.

It may be possible for you to commute to another EU country for work, but it is a long weekly flight to finland and I would not encourage it.


If you want to do the same thing in the UK, it is a lot simpler. She simply applies for the UK entry visa (called an EEA Family Permit). If you have that in your passport, you have the right to work.