Irish citizens can apply for residence permission or a visa for their legally married spouse or civil partner to live with them in Ireland. While the courts recognize the strong entitlement of Irish citizens to be joined by their spouses or civil partners, this right is not absolute. According to the INIS Family Reunification policy of December 2013, the sponsoring Irish citizen must meet specific financial requirements: they must not have received social welfare payments in the two years prior to the application and must have a cumulative gross income of at least €40,000 over the preceding three years.

Successful applicants are typically granted Stamp 4 permission to reside, initially for one year, which can be renewed at the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) with the attendance of the Irish citizen spouse.

Applications require a specified form and supporting documentation. Such applications are subject to the discretion of the Minister for Justice and Equality.

Irish citizens in a de facto relationship with a non-EEA citizen may apply for residence permission for their partner if specific criteria are met. These applications fall under an administrative scheme by INIS and require the applicant to hold current immigration permission.

A de facto relationship is defined by the Minister as a mutual commitment akin to marriage or civil partnership, where the couple shares a life to the exclusion of all others and lives together continuously for at least two years.

Financial requirements include that the Irish citizen sponsor must not have accessed social welfare in the two years preceding the application and must have a cumulative gross income of at least €40,000 over the past three years. The sponsor must also not have sponsored another partner or obtained residence through a different partner within the last seven years.

Applications are made to the De Facto Applications Section of INIS, with a full assessment conducted during processing. If all criteria are met, the applicant is generally granted Stamp 4 permission for either one or three years.

Following a landmark European Court of Justice ruling in March 2011 (Ruiz Zambrano v Office National De L’Emploi), the Irish Minister for Justice created a scheme allowing non-EEA parents of Irish citizen children to apply for Stamp 4 residence permission.

Non-nationals with lawful residence in Ireland can go to their local immigration office with their passport, GNIB card, and their child’s passport and birth certificate to obtain Stamp 4 permission immediately without a written application. Those without lawful residence must apply in writing to the Minister, who evaluates the relationship between the parent and child.

There are no financial requirements; the focus is on the parent’s active involvement in the child’s life. According to the INIS Family Reunification Policy of December 2013, this policy grants permission to parents who provide continuous emotional and/or financial support to their children. 

Non-EEA nationals residing legally in Ireland may apply for visas or residence permissions for their spouse and immediate family members, based on guidelines from the INIS Family Reunification Policy Document of December 2013. Immediate family members include spouses and children under 18, and can also include children up to 23 if they are full-time students and dependent on the sponsor. Sponsors are divided into three categories:

• Category A:

  • Includes green card holders, investors, business permission holders, researchers, INIS, and intra-company transferees.
  • Eligible to sponsor applications for their family members immediately upon entry to the State.

• Category B:

  • Includes employment permit holders not in Category A, Stamp 4 holders not covered by more favorable schemes, and ministers of religion.
  • Eligible to sponsor immediate family members after 12 months of lawful residence and other family members after five years.
  • Must have a gross income exceeding the threshold set by the Department of Social Protection, currently at €30,000 for the two years preceding the application.

• Category C:

  • All other non-EEA nationals.
  • Not eligible to sponsor family reunification.

Additional requirements include that the sponsor must not have sponsored another spouse within the last seven years or acquired residence through a different spouse in the same period.