Hi all,
First time poster. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread-I've benefited tremendously from hearing all of your stories.
I would love to get a little bit more information on members' experiences with the Stamp 4 timeline. Myself (an Irish national) and my soon-to-be spouse (U.S. national) will be relocating from the States to Ireland in July.
Am I right in thinking that people have had very varied timelines for stamp 4 work permits being processed? It would be amazing to have a better idea of what kind of processing times we can expect for the stamp 4 i.e. if we go to my local Garda Station in Dublin with all of the relevant documentation (marriage cert etc.), is it possible that her passport could be stamped on the spot or is it true that this process could take "up to 12 months" as specified on the inis website?
Also- Seeing as the U.S. is a non visa-required country, will she be able to travel out of Ireland without a reentry permit?
Really sorry if I've missed a similar question. This site is amazing and has been very helpful. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks in advance for any info you can give.
Erich
Hi Erich, and welcome to the site 🙂
From what I've seen (not personal experience) the timeline can vary, but in recent times the approval is pretty quick. One recent post here indicated it took 10 days. I haven't heard anybody mention it took up to 12 months, but if that's what's on the INIS site, then maybe it is possible. The experiences we have here though, tell a much brighter story.
You should also check out this article from the Migrant Project. You'll find it useful, I'm sure.
I haven't had people ask about a re-entry permit before. I think it's due to the fact that the process is so quick, most people would never need to look into getting one. If you find out more on that one though, please update us here.
Let me know if you have other questions 🙂
Liam
Hi everyone,
My name is Claire and I'm new to the site although I've been following the forum for a while. A heart felt thank you to all the contributors, it really does help people with both information and knowing that they are part of a moving community with great support. Here is my question.....
My fiancé is Tanzanian, I am Irish. We met and lived over there for a couple of years and now I have come home. We are getting married in July and having another wedding bash here in August. He's been here twice before and we always apply for a short term visiting friends and family visa which he gets. We need to apply for his visa now again and as he's not my spouse yet we will have to apply for that short term one again. We want to live in Ireland and I have recently taken up employment here. When we come in August, we'll be arriving together from Tanzania. Do we declare at immigration our intentions for him to stay as my spouse and then proceed to the immigration officer in my home town? Is that the correct path? He is a visa required national. Any help would be much appreciated because sometimes the INIS documents make my head burst 🙂
Míle buíochas,
Claire
Hi Claire and welcome to the site,
Generally that process is reserved for spouses/dependents of EU citizens. If the wedding that you mention in July is recognized by Irish law then you would declare upon arrival that he is your spouse, produce the relevant info, and then proceed to register with the GNIB within the given timeframe (90 days if I'm not mistaken, but sooner rather than later is best).
Does this help? Let me know if you have other questions.
Liam
Hi Jennifer. Welcome to the site!
It's easiest to apply upon arrival (see last post above), especially if you are planning to move anytime soon. The documents they require are originals and you may not want to be without them for an extended period of time. I'd suggest reading the info here also: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/wp07000024
Liam
Thanks so much Liam for your reply. That is most helpful as we were hesitant to send off our passports. This is a great site btw!
Hi. My Irish husband and I are moving to Ireland in June. I'm trying to wrap my head around if there is a difference between permission to remain and registering. Are these both happening at the same time? I guess I was thinking permission to remain and registering were done at the same time but the more I read I'm starting to wonder if we have two different steps to take care of. I've been reading the guide for Family Reunification, which seems like we need to follow, and there is a bit regarding making 40k over the previous 3 years. This isn't an issue, but we have been in the States making that money. Will they request to see how taxes to confirm we made over that 40k? Sorry for all the questions, just getting closer and I want to make sure we don't drop the ball. TIA
Hi. Thank you for this amazing resource and community. It's been so helpful and reassuring 🙂
I would love some advice on my situation regarding border counties situation: I am an Irish citizen from Donegal, and have lived in New Zealand from 2008-2015. Lived in UK to study from 2015-2016 and am now back in New Zealand. I would like to move back home to Donegal but I fear my Kiwi husband will have a better chance of getting a job in Northern Ireland.
My question is: can we get an EU FAM 4 stamp/card rather than a Stamp 4? This will mean, to the best of my understanding, that he can work in Northern Ireland, and I could work in Republic. Or is our best bet simply for both of us to move to Northern Ireland as he will have the right to cross the border regularly in that case. As a Donegal native crossing the border is a normal thing for me and I think I'm correct in thinking if he gets a Stamp 4, he will need a visa to cross the border?
Any help/experiences appreciated. Thanks a million 🙂
Hi Liam,
I meant to reply to you sooner, forgive me 😉
So I went and met with the GNIB officer. The issue was that I couldn't apply for a long term visa initially when we would have been coming. We could only have a short term visa.
The GNIB was very nice but he said my partner would have been in breach of his visa if he arrived on a short term visa and then applied for the long term one as my spouse. It also says that on the INIS page.
This means I'll have to return without him and go through the long process of joining spouse visa whilst living in different countries 🙁
Thank you for your reply and for helping everyone.
You're great,
Claire