British + US (Non-EEA) immigration nightmare.

[Allegrif]

Hello, I'm going through an immigration nightmare with my pregnant wife. I'm British, she's American. I'm 18, she's 19 (I know, I know). We're currently both in the UK, with baby being due in early April. Wife's visa waiver runs out in April, but the return flight she has is in February. She also isn't eligible for NHS care, which is causing problems. We cannot go back to the US for private reasons.
In short, we want to live in the ROI and have our little boy there. We would travel around the 26th February on the ferry to Northern Ireland, then drive down to the ROI in order to cross the land border, which I feel would be less risky.
I need to know what to apply for, everyone is giving me such conflicting answers. "You just turn up with passports and marriage license", "You need an EEA family permit", "You need a residence permit", "You won't get in at all" etc...

We both have mental health issues and this is causing us a great deal of stress and lowering our quality of life.

I posted this in a Facebook group and had a lot of positive response, but I still have a lot of holes in my knowledge. These are my questions:

What should I say to the IO at the border? For financial reasons my wife isn't going to have a ticket booked to the US. I know a major part of getting into any country as a visitor is showing that you're going to leave. But then, the INIS website says if you're coming to live as the non-EU partner of an EEA citizen, you should get a short term "C" visa (my wife would not require one, but the principle is the same: come as a visitor then apply for residence from within the state). This to me contradicts. Do we have to show that she will "leave", or not? Some clarification on this would be ace.

Healthcare. What is free and what is not, and what should I apply for and where?

We aren't bazillionaires. Is there any government funding we would be entitled to just while we get our feet on the ground. I.e. Child support, jobseekers etc?

Would it be risky to secure a lease in Ireland on a property before we actually get there. Will it be beneficial or a hindrance when passing the border?

Would my wife be eligible to work/study/volunteer if she wished?

I read somewhere that the Irish government were deporting non-EEA nationals who came into Ireland via their EEA spouse, and that the ECHR were investigating them for it. Does anyone know of this, and if so, would it affect us?

Thank you very much in advance, we really need some help on this one

[Brigid from Ireland]

It is simple and it is mostly good news.

1. You need to travel together, and you need to say if asked by immigration that your non-EU wife is travelling with you, and that you (the British citizen) will be looking for work in Ireland. You must have your EU/British passport, as proof of EU citizenship for you. She must have her (US) passport as proof of identity and she must have an original (not photocopied) marriage certificate (as proof that she is married to an EU citizen). With these three documents you can travel together to Ireland at any time, and EU law gives you both a right to enter the country. She does not need to show that she will leave Ireland, and in fact she should avoid suggesting this. She should say that you want to work here on a permanent basis and she is staying with you.

2. She can go to any GP practice and register as a pregnant mother, she may need to pay for the first visit (usually 50 euro) but all other visits and delivery in a public maternity hospital should be free (delivery of baby is free to all in Ireland, citizens and non-citizens, it is seen that the child has a right to a safe birth,regardless of the financial status of the parents, so there is no cost for the hospital, so long as you say 'public patient'). The family can register for something called the Drugs payment scheme, which means any medicines needed cost a maximum of 144 euro per month, you also pay 50 euro for each visit to the GP. If you are coming from the UK you should bring your proof of NHS entitlement, as this may help if you need hospital care. You can apply for a medical card also, send a copy of your first payslip with the medical card application, if you get this it means free medicine and free GP, it is for low income households.

3. You are a UK citizen, so the child gets UK citizenship from you, and Irish citizenship as the child of a UK citizen born in Ireland. It is almost impossible for the mother of a citizen child to be deported from any EU country if she stays in the country from the date of birth. She can apply to remain as the mother of an Irish citizen, this is called an application under Zambrano OR if you get a job she can apply to remain as the wife of an EU migrant worker (this is called EUFAM visa). Either is fine, I think EUFAM is better. Once she gets either visa she can work/study or volunteer. She can volunteer before getting a visa if she wishes. Edited to add that if she wishes to study at university level she will need to reside in Ireland for at least three years and probably get Irish citizenship first, if she wishes to avail of cheap fees, she could go to university earlier than that but they would charge high non-EU fees, so very hard to afford it.

The bad news is that you need to get a job. The good news is that any job is likely to be ok, and if you get a job that is 20 hours or more per week then you can claim a state support payment for parents (after baby is born) called Family Income Supplement. This is based on your earnings and the number of children in the family, and you must work 20 hours per week to get it. If either parent has a job (any number of hours per week) there is also child benefit, which is 130 euro per month, you send a copy of your payslip with the birth cert to get this if there is any query, as proof that you work here.

It is almost impossible to deport your wife if you are working - so if you get a job she is fine.
It is almost impossible to deport the mother of an Irish citizen child - so if she gives birth to an Irish citizen in Ireland she is fine.
It is almost impossible to deport a heavily pregnant woman, as it risks the health of the baby.

The problem is money - you have limited access to social welfare, but if you get a job your access to social welfare improves a lot. If you get a job that is low wage, you can apply for a 'top up' from social welfare, it will be called either casual jobseekers allowance or supplementary welfare allowance. If you get a job you can apply for both of these, the staff are required to take the application form, they can refuse the payment if they wish and you can then appeal, you can win or lose the appeal depending on circumstances, so there is no guarantee of money using this process, but there is a possibility. There are many payments available to people who are in work, so that is the important part for you. If you work for one year (52 weeks) then you have almost full access to Irish social welfare, on the same basis as an Irish citizen.

There is no need to get accommodation before you come to Ireland - this is likely to be difficult anyway, especially if money is limited.

Best of luck.

[Allegrif]

Thank you very much, Brigid from Ireland. Your clear, simple information has helped out a great deal. I don't feel quite as stressed out now.

We are probably going to be okay for money whilst we are in Ireland and most likely won't need any government funding, but I wanted to know what was available if we ever needed it. I really don't like taking money from the state. If we don't need to claim anything, would a simple part-time Saturday job suffice to activate my treaty rights?

Many thanks,
Alex

[Latintraveller]

Normally 10 to 12 hours minimum a week is needed to be viewed as a worker under EU law. A court case apparently took place where the person worked 5 hours and they were not viewed as a worker as the hours were insufficient.
You will need to work 19 hours minimum per week for Family Income Supplement which is probably the best scheme for families with children.

[Latintraveller]

How did things work out in the end? Did your wife give birth in Ireland or the UK? How is the baby? Would love to know!