"Durable relationship" without living together

[ryuzaki]

I'm looking to move to Ireland and exercise treaty rights. I'm not married to my partner yet. The Irish immigration site seems to imply that a "durable relationship" requires living together for some time, but we have not. I have visited many times but only shared a residence for a week or so.

Otherwise we have been together for 10 years and taken trips together. She is my dependent, I pay all her bills etc. I can get letters from friends confirming the relationship. Is that enough?

[secret.simon]

Is your question specifically about Ireland's interpretation of "durable partner"? If so, this question will be moved to the relevant forum.

The UK's interpretation of a durable partner is that it is "a relationship akin to marriage", with at least two years of residence together, shared bank accounts/bills/tax statements, etc. The UK does tend to relax this requirement if there are children born to the couple, but even then, a few months residence together is expected.

[ryuzaki]

Yes, about Ireland specifically. The intention is to move there, get a temporary visa under FoM/EEA rules and then get married before applying for a residency card.

Please move it to the correct place. Sorry for the hassle.

[ryuzaki]

I've taken legal advice and basically it's easier, if a lot more expensive, for me to just go to China and marry her there. Then we are on the fast track and should be okay.

[TaliaHuang]

HI ryuzaki,

I am basically in a similar situation. My boyfriend is Irish and I am Chinese. We applied EEA EFM residence card for me but because we cannot prove we lived together for at least two years, our application has just got rejected. We are thinking to get married as well, but do we have to go to China to get married? Or is it OK to just register in UK?