UK citizen permanently moving to Ireland with Non-EEA spouse

[Epic16]

Hi guys,

I hate to begin with this part of the story, but it is necessary so that you understand where I'm coming from. I've been born and bred in England, it's a fantastic country, NHS, and so on. The diverse range of cultures, the educational opportunities, and just the plain fact that this is where I feel at home.

So many benefits, except the spouse visa procedure. I just got married to my non-EEA spouse around seven months ago, and still being in higher education means that I have very little opportunity to go visit her. After finishing my studies I would have to wait a whole year before I can bring my spouse over and going through the procedure means I can only physically see her maybe a few weeks out of the entire year, and it's difficult to handle. I've been trying to look for ways that we can begin to live a life together as soon as possible, even if it means that I have to move my entire life to Ireland and stay there for a lifetime, I will. I hope to exercise my treaty rights not to bring my wife to the UK, but so that we can begin a life together in a country with a language and customs that I would not be unfamiliar with.

I have to things on my mind at the moment:
1. Either I can bear the pain of going through a very straight-forward but incredibly lengthy process,
2. Or I can exercise my treaty rights in Ireland within the next few months, bring my wife over and build my life there, for the long-term, without any intention of moving back to the UK.

I fully understand the process to the UK Spouse visa system, but my issue is with exercising my treaty rights in Ireland and the worry that the EU deal in June could mess everything up whilst we're already there.

I plan to bring my wife to Ireland in late May/early June, so that I can get her a C visa before the EU crap takes place, with the hope that if Britain stays in the EU they won't change the laws badly enough that my wife can't stay with me, or if they do leave the EU, which I hope they won't, it will take a period of at least two years for it to fully be implemented in which I can apply for a residence card in Ireland for myself and my Spouse.

What I don't want is to bring her to Ireland with me, for the laws to change, and then we become separated again and I will have no choice but to start the UK spouse visa route from scratch. I don't want to do anything in a hurry, but at the same time I want to be able to begin a life with my spouse as soon as I can, if it can be done.

Please, if you have any advice, tips, or critique of any of my thoughts and ideas, I would love to hear it as I am incredibly confused with regards to which route to take and what will happen if I move to Ireland to exercise my treaty rights before the EU referendum takes place.

[noajthan]

Hi guys,

I hate to begin with this part of the story, but it is necessary so that you understand where I'm coming from. ...
...

What I don't want is to bring her to Ireland with me, for the laws to change, and then we become separated again and I will have no choice but to start the UK spouse visa route from scratch. I don't want to do anything in a hurry, but at the same time I want to be able to begin a life with my spouse as soon as I can, if it can be done.

Please, if you have any advice, tips, or critique of any of my thoughts and ideas, I would love to hear it as I am incredibly confused with regards to which route to take and what will happen if I move to Ireland to exercise my treaty rights before the EU referendum takes place.

Where is wife from?
Does she need an entry visa? (sounds like she does)
If so, be aware Eire appears to be playing hard ball with applicants from certain countries and appears to be, ahem, delaying their visa applications.
(See thread on that elsewhere in forum).

So your mileage may vary in shooting for Eire - or you could look elsewhere in EU.
For example, Malta is an English-speaking and Anglophile country.

As for Brexit, we are all pawns in that game;
all you can do is keep abreast of developments and use your vote.

[Epic16]

Where is wife from?

She's from Afghanistan. I know that South Asian countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and India have processing delays, but I hope that Afghanistan isn't included in that because it wasn't mentioned specifically. But I don't want to be too optimistic, hopefully they wouldn't reject a short stay visa just because of that.

Does she need an entry visa? (sounds like she does)

I'm assuming that means the C visa, which is a yes. The reason why I'm in such a hurry if going to Ireland is right for me is that I don't want to arrive there with my spouse after the referendum and her be refused because she 'didn't have precious residence in this member state' and therefore bar her from building a life with me in Ireland. I'd hope that at least being on a short stay visa will give me some sort of leeway with regards to this clause specifically so that we don't become separated. But if Britain leaves the EU, then she would also have to go back as I wouldn't be able to exercise my treaty rights there, as essentially my UK passport would mean nothing anymore. Am I correct in saying these things?

So your mileage may vary in shooting for Eire - or you could look elsewhere in EU.
For example, Malta is an English-speaking and Anglophile country.

If it gets to this, I'm just going to do the UK spouse visa route. Ireland is amazing for me because even if I stayed there permanently, my family in the UK can always come and visit for a measly £25 flight. Malta is far, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

As for Brexit, we are all pawns in that game;
all you can do is keep abreast of developments and use your vote.

So what would you advise: to move to Ireland asap with a short stay visa and risk the law changing enough that we get separated again, or just wait and see what happens after the referendum and if worst comes to worst do the UK spouse visa route?

[noajthan]

Life is too short so by all means go for it.
Just listen out for the creak of goalposts moving.

fyi - a Z|imbabwe member recently posted of his frustration with delays through Ireland;
being a gung ho kind of guy he proactively pulled his Irish application and went to France instead tout suite.

[Epic16]

Does that mean that if I am able to get my spouse a short stay visa, she comes to Ireland and on June 23rd the EU referendum situation goes balls up, will I still be able to apply for a residence card for the both of us even though my first two months will only be up around August time, meaning I can't submit a residence application until after the referendum (we both need it right)? Will they allow her to extend her visa in Ireland if the residence card takes longer than a few months?

[Epic16]

Does that mean that if I am able to get my spouse a short stay visa, she comes to Ireland and on June 23rd the EU referendum situation causes difficulties:

1. Will I still be able to apply for a residence card for the both of us even after the referendum, seeing as I can't apply before June 23rd, or will that cause problems? How likely is it that my spouse will have to leave and won't be issued one because of the tighter immigration rules? Or can I expect a positive outcome if I were to deal with solicitors as they know the ins an outs of the law?

2. Will they allow her to extend her visa in Ireland if the residence card takes longer than a few months?

Edit: Sorry for the double post I didn't realise there was a limit on the number of times you could edit it.

[Joggy90]

Hi there,

Hope that you are doing well and everything went well in the end!

I know it's a long shot after two years, but I thought I would message to see how you got on with your plans for Eire? I ask as I am in the exact same position as you now and would love to know how it all worked out?

Any tips/advice would be so helpful!

Many thanks!
James

[Epic16]

I haven't really been keeping on top of the news with regards to the process of settling in Ireland as a British Citizen, but I remember that the last time I checked (which was during the Brexit referendum, 2016), Ireland's immigration services really started putting a hold on the flurry of applications they began receiving and there was a huge waiting list. I decided against it in the end and realised that it would be even more long-winded to find a way to settle in Ireland than to just bring my spouse over to the UK. Again, this is just according to my own research, and there may be many developments since 2016. I would say look into it yourself, read about others' experiences of settling in Ireland and if you find that it is something you are willing to work with, then by all means go ahead. Look into processing times such as for the visa application (C, I believe) which would be for your spouse, look into possible jobs, rent, and general expenses in order to get a rough idea of what your standard of living would be like. Best of luck.

[Epic16]

Hi there,

Hope that you are doing well and everything went well in the end!

I know it's a long shot after two years, but I thought I would message to see how you got on with your plans for Eire? I ask as I am in the exact same position as you now and would love to know how it all worked out?

Any tips/advice would be so helpful!

Many thanks!
James

I just replied to your post above. Best of luck.