any way around having to get a tourist visa?

[irlandesa]

Hello everyone, i'm so excited to have found this forum, its a godsend! so, let me introduce myself. I'm a 28 year old irish girl (i hate the word woman, makes me feel old, haha!) living and working in spain. My boyfriend is Indian, and by jumping through the most incredible hoops, and having the most stressful 3 years EVER, he now has legal spanish residency. ah, being able to say that makes me so happy, even though its been almost a year now:-)
So, the exciting news is that this christmas he will finally be able to come to ireland for holidays, visa-acceptance pending of course!

now, getting to the point, i was wondering if, although we don't live in Ireland, is there any way we could get him irish...i dont want to call it residency, but some sort of right to enter ireland on the grounds of our relationship, which, by the way, is very well documented? that way he wouldnt need a visa every time he wanted to visit, and anyway, in the future we do intend to spend a year in ireland to be with family.

I have a feeling this is just wishful thinking on my part, and completely unrealistic, but having conquered the spanish system - i swear, there's very little we dont know about spanish immigration law!- i'm ready to get started on the irish one!

thanks in advance for your help,

M.

[Ben]

Hi irlandesa,

Is your partner's Residence Card issued by Spain in accordance with EU regulations (Directive 2004/38/EC)?

It should be, since you are an Irish national exercising your right to reside in another Member State, and your partner is a family member described in Article 2(2)(b) of the said Directive:

[quote="Directive 2004/38/EC, Article 2(2)(b) - "Family member" means:"]the partner with whom the Union citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the
basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State
treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the
conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State;[/quote]

If so, your partner is permitted, in accordance with the provisions of the Directive, to enter Ireland (either in your company or to join you here), bearing his passport and Residence Card alone. No visa is required. See Article 5(2):

Family members who are not nationals of a Member State shall only be required to have an
entry visa in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 or, where appropriate, with national
law. For the purposes of this Directive, possession of the valid residence card referred to in
Article 10 shall exempt such family members from the visa requirement.

In addition, the Gardaí Immigration Officers in the airport are prohibited from stamping your partner's passport. See Article 5(3):

The host Member State shall not place an entry or exit stamp in the passport of family members
who are not nationals of a Member State provided that they present the residence card provided for
in Article 10.

Which is implemented in Statutory Instrument 656 in Section 4(4):

An immigration officer shall not, at the point of entry, place a stamp in the passport of a
qualifying family member who presents to the officer a valid residence card.

Some important points to remember:

Since you are Irish, Directive 2004/38/EC would not normally apply to you. However, since you have been exercising your right to reside and work in another Member State, and wish to return (for however brief duration) to your country of citizenship - the Surinder Singh ruling applies.

You and your partner have the right to enter and reside in Ireland, for up to three months at a time, without any conditions or formalities other than the requirement to hold a valid passport each (plus his Spanish Residence Card).

For your partner to have the right to reside beyond three months, you (personally) must engage in an economic activity (according to Singh). This is usually interpreted to mean get a job, or open a business. Your partner then completes form EU1 and sends it to EU Treaty Rights Section, Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, 13/14 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2.

A Residence Card is issued within six months of submission of the EU1 form, which will be equivalent to the Spanish Residence Card which he currently holds. It is valid for 5 years and is called "Stamp 4 EUFam". Possession of this Residence Card can be used to evidence your partners existing right to reside in Ireland and to be afford the same rights and entitlements as Irish citizens, within the scope of the Treaty. Crucially, even before issuance of the Residence Card, the Stamp 4 EUFam card, your partner still has these rights. He is not afforded these rights by the issuance of the Residence Card, he gains these rights from his relationship with you. The purpose of the Residence Card is to provide confirmation of rights which he would already hold.

Note that should you cease to engage in an economic activity in Ireland, or should you leave Ireland, your partner's right to reside is usually also lost. This is unless he has acquired Permanent Residency, by living here for 5 years as your family member.

Anyway, probably too much information for you, since you only mention about coming home for short visits plus a stay of 1 year, but it's good to know how things are.

[irlandesa]

thank you so much for the information benifa, its really given me a lot of hope:-)

i'd just like to clarify one thing that i didnt mention previously: although we are registered as a couple - 'pareja de hecho' in spanish, not sure what the english translation would be- it is on a provincial level, not a national level, as this option isnt currently available...don't get me started on that one, argh!

So, he actually got his residency on the grounds of having spent 3 years living in spain illegally and then after these 3 years securing a work contract. The system here in spain is a little 'out there', not sure if this method exists in ireland. He is on his first temporary residency, renewable for 2 years in october.

Does the fact that he didnt actually obtain his residence through our relationship make a difference here?

Thanks again,

M.

[Ben]

Well, it means that he is not in possession of a valid Residence Card issued in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC. Which means he needs a visa to enter Ireland. He could try fighting his way in without one, and technically the law would be on his side, but I personally wouldn't recommend it.

Anyway, thinking about it, I don't believe Spain recognises unmarried partners as being akin to a marriage. If so, it explains why your partner does not have a valid Residence Card issued in accordance with Directive 2004/38/EC, and why he will not get one.

Nonetheless, your rights when in Ireland are unchanged. He just needs a visa to get in.

On the upside, the visa shall be issued free of charge as soon as possible and on the basis of an accelerated procedure. For more information on applying for an Irish visa, see here.

[irlandesa]

ay ay ay i suspected as much, but was just hoping for a miracle i suppose! after so long fighting through all the red tape here in spain, we're not thrilled at having to start applying for things again:-) we have to get all our documents translated and stuff... but still, no harm, it'll definitely be worth being together for christmas with all the family!

still two more questions though: does he need to apply for a regular tourist visa or is there another type we should go for? and im afraid i don't understand why it will be free and accelerated...theres no mention of this on the website i notice...

you have no idea how much i appreciate your help benifa, you rock!


M.

[irlandesa]

just to update the situation...i spoke to the irish embassy in spain, and apparently my partner isnt eligible for a visa free of charge as we arent married. oh well, never mind!