Right to Work in Ireland for non-EEA Spouse of UK Citizen?

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

What did they ask for?

When did you submit the application? They can not take more than 6 months to process it.

[srt]

Guru, we arrived on July 15 and the border guard put a stamp in my passport saying I had to register by August 15. I tried to register with GNIB but they said I had to file an EU1 form with INIS first. INIS got my EU1 form on August 8, according to this letter I got today.

We knew it was incomplete. There was no way to meet all the requirements in that one month. My wife found a job, but it pays monthly so it was impossible to have to pay slips. Revenue didn't get back in time with her Tax Certificate. Our landlord refused to register us with PRTB (we're moving). The utilities are pre-paid, so there are no bills for the landlord or anything else. It was a bit of a mess.

So the letter I got today says they want:
1. A rental contract (ours was printed out so it had no signature so they didn't accept it).
2. PRTB registration letter.
3. Utility bills.
4. A work contract (again, it was emailed and printed out and had no signature so they didn't accept it).
5. A tax certificate.
6. Two pay slips.

We've arranged to move to a new flat where where we should be able to get a signed rental contract and PRTB registration letter. It still has pre-paid utilities though. Maybe we'll get a landline for no purpose except to have a utility bill. Waste of money. My wife should have a second pay slip by early next month, and can get a hand-signed contract. She has a tax certificate.

[Brigid from Ireland]

If you get a utility bill make sure it is in both names.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

srt,

Complaint to solvit. Also complain to the European Commission.

[SRAQAI]

According to this official website, you dont need all these documents:

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/mo ... eland.html

[SRAQAI]

Cant you use a joint bank account statement, instead if a utility bill?

[srt]

We had to move to a new flat with a landlord willing to register us with PRTB, and get a telephone/TV package we didn't need to get a utility bill, but at last I've made some progress: I got a letter from INIS today saying I can go to GNIB and get a Stamp 4 that will allow me to live and work in Ireland through February, when they do a final review on whether to give me a residence card.

So, my advice to anyone trying to do this: When renting a flat, make sure that your landlord will give you a signed original contract (can't be emailed or photocopied) or a rent book; make sure your landlord will register you with PRTB; check whether your flat has prepaid utilities or postpaid, and figure out how you can get a utility bill in your name. We just assumed we could get all of these things done, but that turned out not to be the case.

[Cheema123]

i just want to make one thing clear..inis doesnt require pps for the applicant o 4 f eu fam card.i just got my temp stamp today on behalf of my pending application of 4eufam.they just need ur eu spouse pps number thats all.it took me three weeks to get the letter from inis after i submitted my application.

[jestew]

Hey srt, how is it going?

[srt]

We're doing okay. I've got my Stamp 4 and my wife and I are both working. Our review comes up February 8 so we're just trying to make sure the EU Treaty Rights Section at INIS has all the most up-to-date documents proving my wife's employment. We're not really sure what'll happen next. I guess sometime after February 8, we'll find out whether I get a residence card or we have to leave Ireland. Wish us luck!

[Latintraveller]

I dont think you would have to leave Ireland just like that. You say you are working. If it is over about 12 hours then you will be fine. Any problems, then you could always appeal. If the worse comes to the worse and the work you have is provable you can always SS back to the UK!

[Callum.a]

Do you need all documentation before even getting the temporary stamp?
As my wife can start working now but we will have to wait a little while before we can get pay slips.
Also we are staying in a friends sleepout so how do we get around the documentation required for residency? We can get the house owner to write a letter ( this was ok for getting pps number) but can't get utilities in our names.

Any help would be great thanks

[srt]

Hi Callum.a,

I'm American and my wife is British. I was unable to get even my temporary Stamp 4 until we had the all the proper documentation, including payslips and even a PRTB registration. This meant my wife had to leave a job that refused to provide proper payslips, and we had to move house because our landlord refused to register us with PRTB, and we couldn't get utility bills because utilities were included in the rent (it was a shared house).

So it took a long time to get my Stamp 4 because we submitted everything we could get from the first job and first house. But INIS said that wasn't sufficient. So then we moved and started again, and submitted everything on the list required for the EU1 application and I got my Stamp 4. On Friday, I got a letter saying my EU1 application had been approved. (By the way, when we first got here in July 2013 and started submitting documents, it usually took 3 weeks from when we sent INIS a letter to when we got a reply. In recent months, it's come down to 5-7 business days. So that's good.)

Let me know if I can help you at all with your efforts to figure all this stuff out. We'd be glad to meet you guys for coffee or something to chat about it all if you want.

Best,
SRT

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

Hi Callum.a,

I'm American and my wife is British. I was unable to get even my temporary Stamp 4 until we had the all the proper documentation, including payslips and even a PRTB registration. This meant my wife had to leave a job that refused to provide proper payslips, and we had to move house because our landlord refused to register us with PRTB, and we couldn't get utility bills because utilities were included in the rent (it was a shared house).

So it took a long time to get my Stamp 4 because we submitted everything we could get from the first job and first house. But INIS said that wasn't sufficient. So then we moved and started again, and submitted everything on the list required for the EU1 application and I got my Stamp 4. On Friday, I got a letter saying my EU1 application had been approved. (By the way, when we first got here in July 2013 and started submitting documents, it usually took 3 weeks from when we sent INIS a letter to when we got a reply. In recent months, it's come down to 5-7 business days. So that's good.)

Let me know if I can help you at all with your efforts to figure all this stuff out. We'd be glad to meet you guys for coffee or something to chat about it all if you want.

Best,
SRT

Complain about your treatment to the EU commission.

For an application to be accepted, all that is required is evidence that the EU national is working (letter of engagement from employer), both passports and marriage certificate. I know that INIS demand more than what's specified in directive, but if people don't complain, nothing will change.

[srt]

EUsmileWEallsmile: I don't want to complain -- I'm basically pleased with the way we've been treated! Perhaps my expectations were very low after dealing with immigration authorities in the US, India, and the UK. But I think the INIS has been responsive, fair, and decent. And, if they hadn't been, I'd be living thousands of miles from my wife now. The reason we had trouble with paperwork was an employer and a landlord who were unwilling to follow the law and provide proper payslips, PRTB registration, etc. That wasn't the INIS's fault.

[EUsmileWEallsmile]

EUsmileWEallsmile: I don't want to complain -- I'm basically pleased with the way we've been treated! Perhaps my expectations were very low after dealing with immigration authorities in the US, India, and the UK. But I think the INIS has been responsive, fair, and decent. And, if they hadn't been, I'd be living thousands of miles from my wife now. The reason we had trouble with paperwork was an employer and a landlord who were unwilling to follow the law and provide proper payslips, PRTB registration, etc. That wasn't the INIS's fault.

It is up to you whether to complain or not. You were not treated in line with the spirit of the directive. You have a legitimate complaint. Things do not get better without feedback. You can acknowledge the positive along with the negative.

[KRY]

Hi Srt,

My husband and I are soon to be in the same situation - we are arriving in Ireland tomorrow! We'd really love to meet up, and get some guidance from folks who have been through it all! Not sure what the best way to get in touch is - let me know!!

Best,
Kristina

[srt]

Hi Kristina, We'd be glad to meet up. I sent you a private message with my mobile number.

[jestew]

Hi Callum.a,

I'm American and my wife is British. I was unable to get even my temporary Stamp 4 until we had the all the proper documentation, including payslips and even a PRTB registration.

Hey srt... how did it go?

I managed to find a really friendly GNIB officer in Tralee - Deirdre Murphy - who helped me out in March. She found a way to get me a temporary 3-month stamp in my passport so that my british wife and I could travel on business together outside Ireland and so that I could return without her (my visitor stamp expired on Mar 24 and I had not yet applied for an RC). I applied for the RC on Apr 1 and because we had to travel again soon after we included a letter to the GNIB asking for our passports back and they were super friendly and helpful and we got them back after 2 or 3 days in the mail. I was really surprised visiting them in Dublin - very friendly and helpful, too...

I'll be applying for my UK FP as soon as I get my marriage certificate and other papers back from the GNIB at the end of the month...

All the best!

[welsie]

Hi Kristina, We'd be glad to meet up. I sent you a private message with my mobile number.

Hi srt and Kristina,

We are doing the same next month and this looks the best posting I can find. My wife has a UK passport while I have a New Zealand one.

From what I can gather srt, you couldn't work until you got the stamp 4? The post that said to just go and get a resident stamp from the police station by saying my wife is self employed, doesn't sound correct.

My main concern is not working for a long time. Kristina/srt, how long out of work were you? Were employees happy to employ you without the stamp maybe? We plan to work in either Galway or Dublin so can't really commit to a rental till we get a job. This looks like an issue?

Any information would be very useful. We fly out of NZ on 13th July.

Thanks

Danny

[welsie]

Hi srt and Kristina,

Ok, been on the internet all afternoon and from what I can gather...

Soon as I arrive in Ireland, I fill in the application Form EU1? Of course I won't have the payslips, utility, rental agreement, etc but I get the temporary stamp 4 Visa, which allows me to look for work. They come back to me and say the application isn't complete, no worries as by this time we have payslips and other stuff they need.

Is this about right? I hope it is!

Danny

[thepiratequeen]

RE: jestew. Yes, Deidre Murphy is lovely and very knowledgeable...but I think you will find a much warmer/helpful attitude with the rural immigration officers anyway. Phyllis Crowley in Killarney is also wonderful.So, I suppose the the overall advice is....if you can go rural for all your business, it might be easier.

[srt]

Hi Danny,

You have the right idea in general, but the problem for me was that they wouldn't give me even a temporary Stamp 4 until I had a lease agreement, utility bills, PRTB registration, and payslips.

We didn't want to sign a long-term lease before I got my Stamp 4, but couldn't get the temp Stamp 4 until we signed a long term lease. The first place we lived, where we paid by the week, wouldn't provide PRTB registration, but we couldn't get My Stamp 4 without PRTB registration.

It was quite a tangled process.

Best,
Sam

Hi srt and Kristina,

Ok, been on the internet all afternoon and from what I can gather...

Soon as I arrive in Ireland, I fill in the application Form EU1? Of course I won't have the payslips, utility, rental agreement, etc but I get the temporary stamp 4 Visa, which allows me to look for work. They come back to me and say the application isn't complete, no worries as by this time we have payslips and other stuff they need.

Is this about right? I hope it is!

Danny

[Samfraze]

Hey srt,

First of all, I found this thread very helpful. Thank you for all the follow up information you have posted about your experience.

I'm in a similar situation. Im an American and my husband is British. We plan on moving to Galway exercising his EEA rights and getting my residency card. My biggest concern is the amount of time it takes to gather all the information they need to give me one. I'm afraid I will run out of time. 90 days, or 1 month in your case, is rushing it. I'm assuming you just had to let your visa expire? If so was this an issue at the GNIB? Am I safe if we happen to take more than 3 months to gather all our information (pay slips, lease agreement, etc.)?

Thanks!

[srt]

Hi Samfraze,

I'm glad my posts have been helpful to you. When I entered the country from the UK, through Dublin airport, the guard gave me only a 30-day visa and, when I asked why, and said I could get up to 90 days, she just said, 'This is the way we're doing it now.'

And I was really, really worried that I'd run out of time before I could get all the required documents together. I spent a pile of money to meet an Irish immigration lawyer, who told me to calm down. 'This isn't the States,' he said. 'Men in uniforms aren't going to come and bang on your door on day 31 and handcuff you and deport you.'

He recommended that I just stay in communication with the INIS and said that, as long as my case was under consideration by INIS, I could stay in the country, regardless of the visa issues. As he explained it, the visa is to get in, and the INIS decides how long you can stay, so until the INIS decides you have to leave, you can stay. More or less.

Anyway, I got everything I could together before my 30 days was up and sent it to the INIS. They sent me a letter back and said it wasn't enough, please send more. So I sent more. Another letter back. Etc. They never said I had to leave because my 30 days was up, so I didn't. It all worked out in the end and as far as I can figure out, I followed the law.

Incidentally, my (UK citizen) wife is now considering switching from employment to self-employment. If she decides to do that, I'll post about how we did it and how it all went.

Best,
Srt

Hey srt,

First of all, I found this thread very helpful. Thank you for all the follow up information you have posted about your experience.

I'm in a similar situation. Im an American and my husband is British. We plan on moving to Galway exercising his EEA rights and getting my residency card. My biggest concern is the amount of time it takes to gather all the information they need to give me one. I'm afraid I will run out of time. 90 days, or 1 month in your case, is rushing it. I'm assuming you just had to let your visa expire? If so was this an issue at the GNIB? Am I safe if we happen to take more than 3 months to gather all our information (pay slips, lease agreement, etc.)?

Thanks!