Non-EU citizen joining Portuguese spouse in Ireland

[rafo]

Hello,
I am Portuguese (EU citizen) and got married to my wife (non-EU citizen) two years ago in Ireland. As we got married, she was able to get her passport stamped for one year and a GNIB card.
We stayed living in Ireland for more 7 months and we decided to leave the country staying away for 9 months abroad (in a non-EU country).
Six months ago, I decided to return to Ireland and she arrived two months ago to join me. In the Airport Immigration, they stamped her passport with a temporary visa valid for only 1 month. We went to the Immigration office, but surprisely they did not stamp her passport, but asked us to send the EU-1 form filled out by post.
We sent the form along with all photocopies of our documents 3 months ago, but have not got any answer so far as this can take up to 6monhs.
The problem is that my wife is not allowed to work and she is getting very depressed.
I wonder if we could do anything about this as we have a particular situation: she has already lived here, we got married here, she still has her old GNIB card, a PPS number and she has even worked here legally.
Please, I would appreciate any help.
Thank you,
Rafael

[scrudu]

Hi Rafo,
Can you give a little more information please?

What country is your wife from (a required country?)? You do not mention what visa your wife has/had. How did your wife enter the country initially? i.e. what visa? Did she have a work permit/visa/auth prior to your marriage? What stamp was she given to be allowed remain in the state for 1 year? I'm curious as the process you describe doesn't exist currently.

Currently a visa required national, enters the country on the visa issued (e.g. C Tourist, D Spouse etc.). Normally the duration of that visa is entered on the visa when it is ussued (C visa's issued to a max of 3 months) If that person is a spouse of an EU citizen, the they apply via the EU1 form for the Right to Remain (Reside, Re-entry, Working rights etc.). This is a new process brought in in May 2006. Your wife could have applied via this process before she came to Ireland also.

I don't think your wifes prior history in the State will affect her EU1 application, as this is a separate claim, but more details may clarify this

also see post http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 42&start=0 for comments from zen63, mik, Static and dnt who are in similar situations.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=8925 comments from KDima

[rafo]

Hi Scrudu,
Thanks a lot for the answer and your pacience so far.
My wife is from Brazil. I think probably my wife has a D-Type Spouse visa, because her passport visa stamp says she is in the coutry to join spouse and is valid for one month (it is expired already).
Prior to our marriage (two years ago), she had a student visa valid for one year.
Please let me know if there is anything we could do as she really wants to start working. I read on one of your posts, you mentioned something about an extension of "permission to reside and work" in the GNIB. Please could you clarify if we could apply for it.
Best regards,
Rafael

[Rogerio]

Rafael,

in the UK one would be able to take this to one's Member of Parliament in your local community, to try and get a quicker answer from the Home Office (our Immigration Department).

I believe that you would be able to do the same as well in Ireland (correct me if Im wrong, anyone...). You would have to find out who your member of parliament is, when he/she runs a local clinic, book and go speak in person. Explain the situation, and ask him/her to request an update from the Dept of Immigration. This can normally speed up the response. To find out who your MP is, ring 01 618 3000 which is the switchboard of the House of the Oireachtas which should be a good place to start. You can also find their details on community newsletters, phone books, churches, local papers, etc.

Have you also thought of (or indeed have) contacting the Immigration Council? They might be a good place for help.

http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/

2 St Andrew Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Information service: (01) 674 0200
Administration: (01) 674 0202
Fax: (01) 645 8031
info@immigrantcouncil.ie

Hope this helps,

Rogerio

[scrudu]

To know which visa type your wife was issued, check out the visa sticker in her passport. While the stated "Purpose" may be to "visit spouse", the class is written on Line 3, and should be either C (Tourist visa, max 3 months), or D (Spouse visa, max 5 years).

An extension of "permission to reside and work" in the GNIB is usually granted to those who have a D-Spouse visa, or Refugee status already

http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/factsheets/en/l2r.pdf is a document by the Immigrant Council of Ireland on "Rights to ‘Leave to Remain’ in Ireland"

http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/factsheets/en/fam.pdf is another document on "Rights to Family Reunification in Ireland" which clarifies that as an EU worker who moved to Ireland for the "purpose of work" you come under EU Regulations rather than Irish Law. And according to EU law, your wife is entitled to join you here (subjec to visa requirements). But according to http://www.dfa.ie/services/visa/01.asp Brazilians do not require a visa to enter Ireland which is good so I am guessing that is how she was allowed enter without applying for a visa before entering the country?

I really think you are in the same situation as a lot of other posters on this website, i.e. you have to wait for the EU1 form to be processed by INIS to get your wife her working rights here

As Rogerio said, you could get in touch with your local TD or politician. Maybe you will have more look than I did, but I tried a few politicians and didn't get very far. One listened politely but said although he agreed with my points, there was nothing he could do. Another Green party politican wrote a letter to the Dept of Justice, but I dont think it was answered. I also tried with my local politican Michael McDowell (also Minister for Justice) but despite trying for the last 4 months have been unable to get an appointment at his clinic. Surprise surprise I have also written letters to the Taoiseach's office, the Dept of Justice, and a few others, and have yet to receive any response Anyways, give it a go, it can't hurt. You may be lucky and find a politican who will be more pro-active. Jim O'Keefe of Fine Gael is one politican who is sympathetic to Immigrant issues, so maybe worth a try (Jim.OKeeffe@finegael.ie).

Check out http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/ or their helpline (01) 674 0202 for more info. As they are in touch with a lot of immigrants, they are quite aware of how long current applications are taking and may be able to advise further. They also have a drop-in service, so your wife could call in to get further information.
** Mon,Tue,Thu,Fri: Phone-in Service 2.00 - 4.30
** Mon,Tue,Thu,Fri: Drop-in Service 10.00 - 12.30

Best of luck with it!