Hey all. 

Thanks for so much great information on this site! 

I'm an American and about to marry my fiance, and we'd like to move to Ireland to be close to his mother. He was born in Northern Ireland, so should be 'officially' an Irish citizen as far as I understand, but only has his UK passport. 

So, my big question is, would this change anything (particularly with the whole Brexit thing) as far as our ability to get me a stamp 4, or whatever might be needed as far as getting residency? 

Hello all.

I urgently need information about my situation.

I am a Venezuelan citizen (Male) married to my partner which is an Irish citizen (Female) since February 2017. When I enter the country under a marriage visa we had a date for our ceremony which then was postponed due to a family emergency. After we asked for a new date there wasn't anything available inside the time length of my visa but I couldn't leave ireland to apply for a new visa and return for.the ceremony as we couldn't afford it. So we went ahead with our ceremony with my visa out of date. Now I would like to apply for permission to reside in the country (stamp 4) or register with the garda as I am undocumented at the moment. 

I would like any advise that you can give me related to my situation. 

Thank you.

Antonio

Antonio, Sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. In your case I really don't think you should rely on information you will find online. This website is primarily to help people plan ahead of time, and not solve emergency situations. You probably need to consult with an immigration professional as soon as possible. I wish you the best. Liam

Hi Ronnie,

Im also South African, as of course is my family, but we will be traveling there with me on my Irish passport, husband and 2 kids on South African passports.

What i wanted to ask is, did your wife ever live and work in Ireland before you moved there? And when you went to register did you automatically get your stamp 4 that day that allowed you to work or did she have to show that she could support you?

What about private medical insurance and all that?  

We will also be traveling there with two minor children. Do they have to be registered too? and if so do you perhaps know what stamp they would have to get to be able to go to school and so forth?

Let me know please of any hiccups you might have had going through customs and getting permission to work there ASAP.

Hoping you can help and thanks in advance 🙂

Hi Mairead, 

I noticed that you wrote this post a while ago, but I'm interested in how you got on, because I'm now in the same situation. Was the process smooth for you? Also; how were you able to provide evidence of a joint address? I thought that in order to open a bank account, you have to be a resident in Ireland. Sorry for so many questions. Would really appreciate any info/experience you've had. 

Tara

Hi Tara,

I'll leave Mairead get back to you if shes still active on here, but I can answer the banking question for you for now.

Up until recently the banking requirements have been very restrictive. An address in Ireland was required. BOI have now made that part of the move process a little easier. Check out this post. 

Regards,

Liam

Hi Steve/Mairead,

This is Alex, I have quick and easy question for you. Which mail did you show that has both of your names? Electric?, Internet bill? gas? phone bill? Let me know. My case is exactly like yours. I'm the American my wife is Irish and we're about to move and register.

Thanks

Hi All,

I am hoping someone can give me some advise.

I am an Irish citizen (born in Ireland) and currently living in England. My wife is Ukrainian and lives with me in England. My wife has a UK residence permit and has previously had Irish short term visas. We plan to move to Ireland in early 2018 and I was wondering what the process will be. As my wife is a non-EAA national, do I need to apply for a visa for her prior to going to Ireland or can we apply when we get to Ireland? 

Thanks in advance.

Conor 

Posted by: Kate Reagan

Hi @Carrie, same question as Ronnie - what nationality is your husband? The EU1 form only applies to spouses/dependants of EU Nationals. Also, the turnaround time will defer depending on his nationality, from what our immigration officer told us. Basically, if he is a UK citisen, it will take longer as Irish Immigration is swamped with UK citizens applying for their Irish citizenship. Since I am an Italian/American the process was a lot quicker as there are not many Italians coming to Ireland at the moment.

You mentioned that you have been splitting your time between here and the US - I believe you will need to show that you have been in Oreland consistently before your application will be accepted. All in all, after we applied, Joe received his temp Stamp 4 3-4 weeks later - but we had every single document required and in the order requested. The Guard actually didnt stamp his passport with the temporary stamp because he knew the permanent one was well on its way based on the letter provided by the immigration bureau. Joe recieved his GNIB card 2 weeks later. It was very fast, considering we were told the process can take 6 months to a year. I will say that if you are dealing with the main office in Dublin, it will take considerably longer.

Let me know if you have further questions! Sorry I have been MIA from the board for the last few months...new baby, less sleep, moved houses and was without internet for over a month.

Hi all,

I thought i would share my recent experience with this. Myself and my husband were married on 28th December 2017. He is American, I am Irish. We were back and forth between the two countries until now. We gave our notice to marry in September where we both had to be present to give notice (you have to give 3 months notice in Ireland before the marriage date). We then had to have an interview as he is a non EU national. The lady in the office was very accommodating and booked us in just a week before our marriage date so we could ensure both of us would be in Ireland. We were interviewed separately, asked about our relationship, our families, jobs and plans for the future together etc. It was a little intimidating but they are essentially making a judgement that your relationship is real...so we passed!

We then were married on the 28th of December, picked up our marriage certificate on the 29th and had an appointment for the 2nd of January in the garda immigration bureau for my husbands visa. This needs to be booked online  if you are in Dublin and they open up appointments 9/10 weeks in advance. You must have an appointment if applying in Dublin. It took me a few days of trying  online to get an appointment.

You need to bring the following

• Your marriage cert, proof of joint address and passports

My husband only flew in on the 22nd of December so we didnt have proof of joint address. Instead i had my dad write a letter to say we were residing with him and i brought along a utility bill in my dads name, a letter in my name addressed to his address and my husband got a job offer he recently received made out to my dads address also. The man in the Garda Immigration Office took a look at them and didn't even question it, he was very nice and congratulated us on our marriage.

When you (the non irish national) enter Ireland at the airport it is important you state that you are here to get married because they will stamp your passport with a different permission to remain visa. My husband actually didnt even have this even though he stated his intention to get married at the airport but i think the guy at the airport made a mistake as it was 6am! I was worried when i realised but it wasn't a problem though and we were able to proceed with the visa application.

It was all very straight forward and simple, no questioning or problems and we left (4 hours later, it was very busy!) with a stamp 4 on my husbands passport. This gives him automatic entitlement to work in ireland for 3 years. They then post the GNIS card to you within 10 days. 

I wanted to share this with everybody as we were finding it very difficult to get information online and i was worried sick about things not working out, but it really is all very straightforward once you are a legitimate couple.

Wishing you all the best 🙂 Any questions i would be happy to help 

Ps. bring a book and snacks to the GNIS appointment, you may be there a long time!