Join Family Visa Ireland

The Irish family visa is, in principle, based on the universal family reunification concept. If you are an Irish citizen or a legal resident in the Republic of Ireland (also called the ‘State’), you can apply to bring your eligible non-Irish family members to Ireland to live together with them as a family, provided you and your concerned family member(s) meet the eligibility criteria.

Not everyone needs a visa to live with their family in Ireland. EEA (the EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) or Swiss nationals do not need a visa or immigration permission to live, work or study for more than 90 days in the Republic of Ireland (also called the ‘State’).

Third-country nationals must seek permission from Immigration Service Delivery (ISD), the Irish immigration authority, to live in the State with their family. If they are citizens of a visa-required country for Ireland, they will first have to obtain a Long Stay ‘D’-Join Family visa to travel to the country. If they are visa-exempt country nationals, they will not require a visa but must go through other relevant immigration procedures once they are in the State.

Page Contents

• Overview of Join Family Visa for Ireland
• Join Family in Ireland From the UAE
• Policy on Non-EEA Family Reunification
• Who Can Apply for Ireland Join Family Visa?
• Who Is Eligible to Sponsor an Ireland Family Visa?
• Eligibility Requirements for Join Family Visa Ireland
• Financial Requirements for Sponsoring a Family Member in Ireland
• Family Reunification for International Protection Beneficiaries
• Supporting Documents for Ireland Join Family Visa
• Ireland Join Family Visa Application Process from UAE
• Irish Family Visa Applications on Behalf of a Child
• Ireland Join Family Visa Application Fee
• How Long Does it Take to Get an Irish Join Family Visa ?
• Immigration Permissions and Activities on Ireland Family Visa
• What Happens After I Arrive in Ireland?
• How Can Total Law Help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Given that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a visa-exempt country for Ireland, UAE nationals will not need to apply for a ‘D’ visa. Instead, they will have to present their passports and other relevant documents to the Irish immigration officer at their port of entry. Once in Ireland, they will have to make an application to ISD to live with their eligible family member in the State.

You must make your application to ISD within 90 days of your arrival in Ireland. If your application is successful, you will then need to visit the registration office in Dublin (or a local Garda station if you are living outside of Dublin), along with your sponsoring family member, to register your details.

Moreover, UAE nationals (or citizens of other such visa-exempt countries for Ireland) moving to Ireland to live with their Irish de facto partner, their UK spouse/civil partner, or their Critical Skills Employment Permit holder spouse/civil partner, will have to apply for preclearance.

To be able to move to Ireland via the family reunification route, the family member you want to join has to be an Irish citizen or a legal resident of the State. A Long Stay ‘D’-Join Family visa or similar immigration permission for visa-exempt country nationals will need sponsorship.

We will discuss the different types of sponsorship for family visas later in this article, but first let’s understand the policy of Non-EEA family reunification in Ireland, which the Irish family visa framework has been built upon.

ISD published the ‘Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification’ in December 2013 (later updated in December 2016) as a comprehensive statement of Irish national immigration policy around family reunification. The document clearly states that Ireland is not a party to the EU Directive on Family Reunification, and as such, family reunification in Ireland is solely a matter of its national immigration policy, subject to the jurisdiction of the Irish courts.

Based essentially on the universal right to respect for family life, the document views family reunification in a wider context of public policy. ISD can refuse an application if they have enough reason(s) to believe that an approval can pose a threat to public security, public policy or public health in Ireland, or lead to an undue burden on the public purse.

However, if the family member residing in Ireland is themselves a beneficiary of international protection, family reunification will be dealt with according to Sections 56 and 57 of the International Protection Act 2015. In any case, ministerial discretion will be a major factor when it comes to decision making, like most other Irish long-term visas or residence permits.

Not all your family members are eligible to apply for a Long Stay ‘D’-Join Family visa. The ‘Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification’ specifies that individuals belonging to the categories mentioned below are permitted family members for a Long Stay ‘D’-Join Family visa:

• Spouse or civil partner
• De facto partners (a cohabiting relationship similar to marriage and which is duly confirmed for a period of more than two years)
• Children (of the sponsor/spouse/civil partner/de facto partner) below 18 years of age
• Children (of the sponsor/spouse/civil partner/de facto partner) below 23 years of age if they are full-time students, and are financially dependent on the parent(s)
• Parents of the sponsor/spouse/civil partner/de facto partner
• Other dependent family members of the sponsor/spouse/civil partner/de facto partner

Children over 18 years of age with any serious medical or psychological problems may also be permitted to apply, if they are dependent on the care of their sponsoring parent and where independent life in the home country is impossible for them due to the aforementioned illnesses.

Adopted children will enjoy the same rights as the biological children provided that:

• The adoption process was either carried in Ireland or, in case of foreign adoption, is recognised under the concerned Irish law
• A genuine and complete transfer of parental responsibility took place during the adoption process

Individuals belonging to any of the categories listed below are eligible to act as sponsors for their eligible family members seeking to join them in the State:

• An Irish citizen
• An EEA, Swiss or UK national
• Category A non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals (qualifying family members may accompany them to Ireland or join them on an immediate basis):
  • An international protection beneficiary whose family reunification case is not covered by the International Protection Act, 2015
  • Critical Skills Employment Permit holders
  • Investors (subject to conditions including no recourse to State funds)
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Business Permit holders
  • Researchers (including Hosting Agreement holders)
  • ISD approved scholarship programme students
  • Intra company transferees
  • PhD students (subject to conditions including no recourse to State funds)
  • Full time non-locum doctors in employment
  • Ministers of Religion (permitted exception to the policy document)
• Category B non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals (eligible family members can join them after they have been legally working in Ireland for at least a year):
• • Non Critical Skills Employment permit holders
  • All Stamp 4 holders not covered by other more favourable arrangements

Apart from being an eligible family member sponsored by an Irish citizen or other qualified residents in Ireland, you will have to meet the below requirements in general to come to the State via the family reunification route:

• You are a non-EEA or non-Swiss national
• You are ordinarily a resident outside of the State
• You are of good character and good standing
• You have documents to prove your relationship with your sponsor
• You intend to live together permanently with your sponsoring family member in Ireland
• You have medical insurance from an authorised company

According to the International Protection Act 2015, a Convention Refugee, a Programme Refugee or a Beneficiary of Subsidiary Protection can apply for family reunification in Ireland. Such an application must be made within 12 months of the receipt of any of these declarations.

Eligible family members in this case consist of:

• Spouse/civil partner (if the marriage/civil partnership commenced before the international protection beneficiary applied for refugee status in Ireland)
• Unmarried children under 18

If the international protection beneficiary themselves is under 18 and unmarried, they can apply for family reunification with their parents as well as unmarried siblings below 18 years of age.

We have listed below the supporting documents that you will need to submit as part of your application process for a Long Stay ‘D’-Join Family visa (ISD may ask for additional documents depending on your personal circumstances):

• Passport
• Photographs
• Signed and dated summary form from the online application system
• Letter of application
• Proof of finances
• Previous visa refusals and criminal convictions
• Medical/travel insurance
• Fees
• Translations (if the original documents are not in English)
• Letters of support from business, company or other organisations including educational institutions
• Proof of sponsor’s eligibility:
  • For an Irish citizen sponsor residing in Ireland, copy of their passport or other documentary evidence attesting to their Irish citizenship
  • For an Irish citizen sponsor residing in a country other than Ireland, copy of their passport showing evidence of their residency in the country of current residence
  • For a non-EEA/non-Swiss citizen sponsor, copy of all pages of their passport, copy of their certificate of registration issued by the Irish immigration authorities, copy of their current employment permit/researcher (scientific) hosting agreement, or any other evidence of eligibility to sponsor
• Proof of claimed relationship with the sponsor (e.g. marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate, birth certificate/adoption order for children etc.
• Proof of financial and social dependency (where applicable) on the sponsor
• Police clearance certificate(s) or equivalent for any country where the applicant has resided in the last five years (the documents must not be more than six months old)

An Irish family visa application is an online process. Once you have confirmed your eligibility, and have arranged for the supporting documents required in your case, start with filling in the online application form via the AVATS online application facility (link available on the ISD website).

Do read all the instructions provided in the form and on the Department of Justice website diligently beforehand. Once complete, take a printout of the summary form from the online application system, and sign and date the same.

The signed and dated summary form, along with all supporting documents relevant in your case, must be submitted within 30 days to the relevant visa authority processing your application.

The address and contact number of Irish embassy in UAE is provided below:

Embassy of Ireland

Atiq Bin Majid Al Muhairi Street

Al Bateen, P.O. Box 61581

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Tel: +971 2 4958200

Fax: +971 (0)2 6819233

A parent or legal guardian can apply for an Irish family visa on behalf of a minor (i.e., under 18 years of age). You must submit the below documents (in addition to the supporting documentation mentioned in this article before) along with the application form:

• The child’s birth certificate
• If the child is travelling to Ireland alone or with a person who is not their parent or legal guardian:
  • Letter of consent from both parents or legal guardians
  • Copies of the consenting parents or guardian(s)’ passports or national identity cards clearly showing their signature
• If the child is travelling with one parent or legal guardian:
  • Letter of consent from the other parent or legal guardian
  • A copy of the consenting parent or legal guardian’s passport or national identity card clearly showing their signature
• If one parent has sole custody of the child concerned, a copy of the court order bestowing sole custody of the child on the said parent

A fee of €60 for a single entry visa will have to be paid at the time of an Irish family visa application. This is an administrative fee to cover the processing cost of your application, and as such cannot be refunded even if your application is refused or withdrawn.

Visa fees are, however, exempted if you are:

• Family member of an Irish citizen
• Family member of an EEA/Swiss citizen
• A Programme Refugee

Processing time of Long Stay ‘D’-Join family visa applications vary between six to 12 months, depending on the types of sponsors.

For visa applications sponsored by Irish citizens, the processing time is usually six months. For a sponsor residing in Ireland and entitled to immediate family reunification, the application is expected to be completed within six months as well. For all other sponsors, the applications are expected to be completed within 12 months.

What you can or cannot do on an Ireland family visa depends on the immigration permission ISD grants to you once you are in the State. Spouses/partners and children of Irish citizens usually receive a Stamp 4 immigration permission that allows them to work without an employment permit, or set up and operate a business, among others.

Immediate family members of non-EEA sponsors and non-immediate family members of Irish citizens will require valid employment permits before they can work or do business in Ireland.

Once your visa application is approved and you have arrived in Ireland, visit the registration office in Dublin (or at a local Garda station if you are living outside of Dublin) within 90 days of your arrival to register your details.

Non-EEA/non-Swiss foreign nationals will have to pay a registration fee of €300, first time as well as renewals, to get their Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card. You are exempt from paying a registration fee if you are:

• Below 18
• Spouse, civil partner, or widow/er of an Irish citizen
• Spouse/dependent of an EU national, and have a residence permit
• A Programme Refugee
• Joining a recognised refugee family member in Ireland

Additionally, you are also exempt from paying a registration fee if you have received:

• Refugee Status under Section 47(1) of the International Protection Act 2015, or
• Subsidiary Protection under Section 47(4) of the International Protection Act 2015, or
• Permission to Remain in Ireland under Section 49(4)(a) of the International Protection Act 2015