UK-Irish resident need advise please

[englishirish]

Hello, I am a UK citizen but reside in Ireland (family are Irish). I met my fiance online 8 months ago (something I myself never thought would happen online) but we are so inlove its beautiful. We discuss marraige & our future & in January we are going to start the visa process. The problem I have is I cannot visit him as I have a brain condition, which means I cannot go on planes esp any over a couple of hours due to pressure. So our relationship has been purely internet based everyday (hours daily) for 8 months. I need advise on what visa to apply for? do I exercise my EU treaty rights? He also has a 2year old child that he has had full custody of since she was months old & her biological mother has no contact with her through her own choice. This is the main reason why I did not want him to come visit me previously is I felt it would be unfair to visit me leaving his child behind & we decided together we would wait till we could all be together as a family residing in Ireland (I stupidly had no clue about the visa process). He has asked me to move to his country but again due to my inability to fly I cannot, he would be sacrificing his farm & family to come Ireland but we love eachother so much. Financial concerns are not a problem, its just the fact that we would love for him & his daughter to come on a visa then us get married then him & his daughter reside in Ireland. We do not want him to have to go back & forth as I personally do not think this proves anything to immigration. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

[max307]

Hello, I am a UK citizen but reside in Ireland (family are Irish). I met my fiance online 8 months ago (something I myself never thought would happen online) but we are so inlove its beautiful. We discuss marraige & our future & in January we are going to start the visa process. The problem I have is I cannot visit him as I have a brain condition, which means I cannot go on planes esp any over a couple of hours due to pressure. So our relationship has been purely internet based everyday (hours daily) for 8 months. I need advise on what visa to apply for? do I exercise my EU treaty rights? He also has a 2year old child that he has had full custody of since she was months old & her biological mother has no contact with her through her own choice. This is the main reason why I did not want him to come visit me previously is I felt it would be unfair to visit me leaving his child behind & we decided together we would wait till we could all be together as a family residing in Ireland (I stupidly had no clue about the visa process). He has asked me to move to his country but again due to my inability to fly I cannot, he would be sacrificing his farm & family to come Ireland but we love eachother so much. Financial concerns are not a problem, its just the fact that we would love for him & his daughter to come on a visa then us get married then him & his daughter reside in Ireland. We do not want him to have to go back & forth as I personally do not think this proves anything to immigration. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Let me start off by saying that your situation isn't an easy one so buckle up for a bumpy ride! In order to give you a better advise can you please answer the following questions:

Are you currently working in Ireland and able to support yourself? What's your fiance nationality?

As per the information provided above you won't be able to apply for De Facto Partnership because in order to establish a genuine long-term relationship, it will be necessary for the couple to provide dated documentary evidence of cohabitation for at least the preceding two years immediately prior to the date of application and INIS does not consider online relationship as a genuine long-term relationship.

Depending on your fiance nationality and because of your medical condition the best choice might be to get married in Ireland and then apply for EU Treaty Rights.

In order to get married in Ireland you will need to give the state 3 months notice and yourself and your fiance will need to attend an interview to determine that this a "bona fide" relationship, ultimately the registrar will grant or not a licence based on the opinion of the genuineness of an application. I know that you don't want him to visit you because his child will be left behind but him coming to visit you will certainly help prove that you are in a genuine relationship.

[englishirish]

Hello and many thanks for your reply. I do not work but I am not financially dependent on any state. I have money saved and its plenty to prove that I could support us all financially. I have seen different sites state different amounts of money that are meant to be in your account. My partner wants to work but obviously he wouldn't be able to until Ireland stated. Would him just coming over once prior prove to INIS we are genuine which would then allow marraige on the next visit or would we still need an interview? Other option- Would it be a short stay visa with his daughter and then us apply for marraige and if that was granted we would then exercise EU treaty rights.

[max307]

Hello and many thanks for your reply. I do not work but I am not financially dependent on any state. I have money saved and its plenty to prove that I could support us all financially. I have seen different sites state different amounts of money that are meant to be in your account. My partner wants to work but obviously he wouldn't be able to until Ireland stated. Would him just coming over once prior prove to INIS we are genuine which would then allow marraige on the next visit or would we still need an interview? Other option- Would it be a short stay visa with his daughter and then us apply for marraige and if that was granted we would then exercise EU treaty rights.

What’s your fiancé nationality?

If you can prove that you can support all of you without work then I don’t see any issues with INIS. If you are able to get married in Ireland when applying for EU Treaty Rights INIS will require details of your monthly expenses against the amount of funds you have available to determine eligibility or not.

The interview with the registrar is mandatory regardless of the amount of time you have visited each other or lived together so no way to get around that.

[englishirish]

Oh wow I did not know the registrar interview was mandatory, I think it is good though to stop those who are playing the system, however, they make it harder for us sincere people in other ways. My fiancès nationality is Jamaican, which means visa applications do not need to be paid for. We really are just wondering the easiest way round this considering we both have a daughter each and we want to minimise as much disruption for them. The girls already have such a beautiful bond through FaceTime. Its incredible how they play through FaceTime and they cannot wait to live together as they already see themselves as sisters. If he came without his daughter for a couple of weeks (due to her schooling) on a short stay visa could we then apply for a marriage visa? Or can you apply for marriage on a short stay visa & if granted then get it extended & apply for him and his daughter to remain? This is a minefield. The interview with the registrar is it just to see body language and ask us questions separately about how we met & how we feel about eachother & our future? So sorry for all the questions. I am concerned that if he doesn't get the visa then we will have to move to a different European country to be together which I do not want for us & the girls. He wants me to move to Jamaica if not and I really do not want to due to the education & crime in the city (thankfully he's in the countryside) plus as previously mentioned I am unable to do long haul flights. Any advise is gratefully appreciated.

[max307]

Oh wow I did not know the registrar interview was mandatory, I think it is good though to stop those who are playing the system, however, they make it harder for us sincere people in other ways. My fiancès nationality is Jamaican, which means visa applications do not need to be paid for. We really are just wondering the easiest way round this considering we both have a daughter each and we want to minimise as much disruption for them. The girls already have such a beautiful bond through FaceTime. Its incredible how they play through FaceTime and they cannot wait to live together as they already see themselves as sisters. If he came without his daughter for a couple of weeks (due to her schooling) on a short stay visa could we then apply for a marriage visa? Or can you apply for marriage on a short stay visa & if granted then get it extended & apply for him and his daughter to remain? This is a minefield. The interview with the registrar is it just to see body language and ask us questions separately about how we met & how we feel about eachother & our future? So sorry for all the questions. I am concerned that if he doesn't get the visa then we will have to move to a different European country to be together which I do not want for us & the girls. He wants me to move to Jamaica if not and I really do not want to due to the education & crime in the city (thankfully he's in the countryside) plus as previously mentioned I am unable to do long haul flights. Any advise is gratefully appreciated.

As a Jamaican national he will require a visa to come to Ireland even for a short holiday to visit you.

You can apply for a marriage visa after you and your fiancé have received an acknowledgement from the registrar confirming the date of receipt of notification of your intention to marry, it will be up to the registrar to decide if you are allowed to get married or not.

I guess the best way is for him to come to Ireland on a short holiday visa to give notice of your intention to marry and apply for a license first (including registrar interview), then go back to Jamaica and if the registrar grants you a license apply for a marriage visa. Once you are legally married then the final step would be to apply for EU Treaty Rights where eventually he will get a Stamp 4 EU FAM that will allow him to live and work in Ireland legally, the EU Treaty Rights applications are taking longer these days so plan for him to be out of work for a few months while the application is being processed.

I'm not sure how the daughter will fit here, I guess that after you are legally married in Ireland that's a question for INIS. If he's the legal guardian and she's a minor my guess is that she will be allowed to come with him but that's something you will need to double check.

[englishirish]

Many thanks for your response. I think that is a wonderful idea you have advised and we are going to do this. He has confirmation that he is the sole guardian of his child. As previously stated the mother has not been around for over 2 years. Thank you so much for making it alot clearer than I had initially envisaged.