Waiting EU1 Form and travelling abroad

tomasmv · Post by **tomasmv** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:15 am

Helo,
Here I have a question, I am Italian (EU) married to an Argentine (non-Eu) we have send our EU1 Form on november 2006, as you all know we are waiting, but her tourist visa is expiring tomorrow and in the garda office the didnt want to extend it becaus e they say that with the residence card application in progress its just fine....I dont like it very much but I can live with that.
The important thing is that in a few weeks we are flying to Argentina for aprox. 3 weeks, and my wife is returnin one week later than me alone....so what do you think about that, it will be ok for her, what can we do not to get in trouble comming back, the garda officer told as that he was going to put all the information in the sistem and with that it will be all right.....but I dont Know.
Hope to hear some good advice.
Thanks TomAs.

scrudu · Post by **scrudu** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:47 am

Hi Tomas,

I know for sure that your wife is OK to stay here after her tourist visa expires while awaiting the decision on her EU1 application. That is stated in the legislation.

But I dont know how it will be for your wife on re-entry. Her tourist visa is a single entry visa, so shouldn't allow a 2nd entry. I think you should call the Immigration office to ask this question as the GNIB seem to often give conflicting information to people regarding visas.

tomasmv · Post by **tomasmv** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:57 am

Thanks,
I did it yesterday and they told me something like is up to the immigration officer to deside in the airport if she will be able to get ina again or not, of course for me that is not a reply.....I will keep on to see what can get.

dsab85 · Post by **dsab85** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:11 am

We had the same issue.

According to Immigration It is not possible to get a tourist visa extended in Ireland while you are waiting for the EU1 application to be processed. You also cannot get a Re-Entry Permit issued.

According to them the ONLY way is for her to leave the country and to get back is to apply for a new tourist Visa in Argentina. I am not sure what's the timeline there, but in Asia a tourist visa for Ireland can take anything up to 6 weeks. So in most cases it is not feasible.

They recommended to us not to leave the country if we wanted to be on the safe side of things.

Sorry for the bad news.

Daniel

P.S. BTW... the current processing time is in excess of 7 months, so don't expect a response before June 2007. My wife is stuck here since July, without being abel to leave the country or to work.

tomasmv · Post by **tomasmv** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:27 am

Thanks again.
Unfortunatelly we need to go, so there is no way to stay and delay the flight, in two weeks we are leaving so I will keep you on with news.
The other thing is that argentineans dont need entry visa for Ireland so even if we wanted to get one in argentina they wont alow as to do it as we dont need it, so it will be all again to the desition of one, the immigration officer at the airport....of course as I told it before I think thats not a reall fact but as far as we can see now, thats it.

Platinum · Post by **Platinum** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:18 pm

I asked the GNIB the exact same thing: what to do/say when I come back from travelling? They wouldn't give me another stamp, and all they said was that they'd put a note in my file that says my situation is under consideration at the Justice Department. I assume that the immigration officer at Dublin airport would see that note, but I really don't think they'd know what it means, and I don't know what they'd do when I come back in.

Well, we're going to the Uk to visit his family in a month, and we'll see what happens when I get back!

efrenirvana · Post by **efrenirvana** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:31 pm

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Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:29 am

You always have the option of flying into Northern Ireland (effectively obtaining leave to enter for the UK) and then crossing overland into the Republic of Ireland by train or car. As I'm sure you know, there is no immigration control when crossing the border overland between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. As your wife is Argentinian she would not require a visa to enter the UK or to enter Ireland as a tourist.

Platinum · Post by **Platinum** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 11:23 am

We just came back last night from the UK. My husband and I went through the non-EU queue together and explained to them what was up. The immigration officer obviously had no idea what he was supposed to do in a case like this. He kept flipping through my passport, and I said, If you're looking for an up-to-date stamp, there isn't one. The GNIB wouldn't give me one. He asked me why not, but I told him the people at Burgh Quay just said there wasn't anything they could do until the Justice Dept. processes my application.

Supposedly, the Burgh Quay people had put a note in my file about it, but whether that was available to the immigration officer, I don't know. We showed them our marriage certificate; we showed them the confirmation receipt we got from the Justice Dept (that little piece of the application that they sent back with a date stamp). They asked us other questions like where we lived, and whether I'd ever had any trouble entering Ireland before.

They let us through, and the guys were quite nice. I think they believed us, basically (if not, we had just been to the UK for a reception with his family, so we'd have been able to show them all the cards and gifts we'd received!) but didn't know what the procedure was for a situation like this. The officer gave me another 1-month stamp and, when I asked, said that yes, basically I'd have to go through all this again if I leave the country again.

tomasmv, this might be useful for you: my husband asked them what would happen if I had to travel alone without him, and the officer said that, as long as I had the marriage certificate, that said my husband is an EU citizen, it should be okay.

But basically, it is all up to whether or not the immigration officer at the airport believes you.

k8 · Post by k8 » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:52 pm

I too have just ventured out of Ireland to the UK while awaiting an application decision. I sent in my application in November and my visitors permit expired in late December - which was found by the Immigration Officer I encountered through customs. I was informed by him that because I don't have a stamp in my passport extended (which Burgh Quay say I don't need/can't get) then I am illegally residing in Ireland and have been since December. It wasn't really a help trying to explain that I have been told I can remain until I get word from the Dept. of Justice.

The Officer was nice enough to let me go through - slipping in in conversation that it is very serious and I could be deported and that I need to sort things out with the GNIB.

Do any of these Departments know what the other is doing? I'm told so many different stories about what I can and can't do.

Plaasjapie · Post by **Plaasjapie** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:56 am

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Waiting EU1 Form and travelling abroad

Waiting EU1 Form and travelling abroad