Join Family Long Stay Visa
The Join Family Long Stay Visa to Ireland allows foreign citizens to join their family members in Ireland and stay in the country for longer than 3 months.
For assistance with your application, call Total Law on +353 061 518 025.
Page Contents
- What is the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
- Who is eligible for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
- What is the application process for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
- What supporting documents do I need to submit?
- What is the processing time of applications for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
- How can Total Law help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
The Join Family Long Stay Visa allows foreign citizens to come to Ireland to join their spouse, partner, or another family member who is an Irish citizen or is lawfully living in Ireland. For example, if your family member is a citizen of an EU/EEA country and is exercising their EU Treaty Rights in Ireland, you might be able to come live with them in Ireland.
There are several routes available for those wanting to apply for the Join Family Visa. Depending on your relationship with the Irish citizen or person lawfully living in Ireland, you might be able to apply as:
- Spouse
- De Facto Partner
- Civil Partner
- Adult Dependent
- Child Dependent
- Dependent of a Critical Skills Employment Permit Holder.
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Who is eligible for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
The exact eligibility requirements for the Join Family Long Stay Visa vary depending on which route you decide to venture down. Nevertheless, all applicants have to meet the following general criteria:
- Have a valid passport
- Be able to prove that their relationship with the family member in Ireland is genuine
- Be able to prove that the family member is living in Ireland legally
- Be able to prove that the family member has enough funds to support them after they come to Ireland
- Be able to provide evidence confirming the family member’s eligibility to become a sponsor
- Can submit information about any other family members living in Ireland or the EU.
Additionally, if you are applying as a dependent, you have to submit evidence showing that you rely on the family member for financial or another type of support.
As part of your application, you have to submit extensive evidence confirming that you meet the eligibility requirements.
Our experts can assess your individual circumstances and explain to you in detail what requirements you have to meet. They can also help you gather documents that prove your eligibility for the Join Family Long Stay Visa.
What is the application process for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
Applications for the Join Family Long Stay Visa have to be submitted online. In the application form, you have to provide personal details of you and your family member in Ireland. You also have to indicate what the reason for your journey to Ireland is.
After submitting the online form, you have to start preparing your portfolio of evidence with documents that prove your eligibility for the Join Family Visa. You have to ensure that you submit enough evidence to convince immigration officials that your relationship with the family member in Ireland is pre-existing and genuine.
The required documentation varies depending on the type of your relationship with the family member in Ireland. For example, if you are applying as a spouse or civil partner, you have to provide marriage or civil partnership certificates, as well as an account of your relationship history. If, however, you are applying as a dependent, you can include a birth certificate.
After you gather all the documents, you have to pay the visa application fee and include the receipt in your document file. Then, you have to send all the evidence you prepared to the relevant immigration office for processing. You can find out what office to send them to by checking your application summary sheet.
What supporting documents do I need to submit?
All applicants have to submit a number of documents that prove their eligibility for the Join Family Long Stay Visa in Ireland. These include:
- Printed, signed, and dated application summary sheet displayed after submitting the online application
- Payment receipt for the visa application fee
- Two passport-sized photographs in colour
- Application letter explaining why the applicant wants to come to Ireland
- Contact details
- Evidence of the family member’s right to live in Ireland
- Proof of having adequate accommodation in Ireland.
All supporting documents have to be originals and, if they were issued abroad, they need to be translated into English by an official translator.
Depending on your situation, you might have to submit additional documents as well. Hire one of our consultants and they will help you prepare a complete portfolio of evidence.
What is the processing time of applications for the Join Family Long Stay Visa?
There is no specific timeframe for the processing of applications for Join Family Visas to Ireland as they are reviewed in chronological order on a case by case basis. If your circumstances are complex, you might have to wait longer than most applicants. Similarly, if a lot of people are applying at the same time as you, the waiting time will be longer.
An additional factor that affects how long you will have to wait for your Join Family Visa is the immigration status of your sponsor in Ireland. If they are an Irish citizen, you will receive the decision within 6 months. If they are a non-EEA citizen but are legally living in Ireland, the processing of your application can take up to 12 months.
It is advisable that you submit your application at least 6 months before your intended date of arriving in Ireland. If you do so, you will allow enough time for corrections and submitting additional documents should it be requested.
How can Total Law help?
Applying for the Join Family Visa to Ireland can be complex as there are many possible routes and each of them comes with a different set of requirements. Luckily, at Total Law, our consultants have helped many clients join their family members in Ireland and they can guide you through each step of the application process.
Your experts will assess your eligibility for the Join Family Visa and will tell you what documents you have to obtain to prove that you meet the requirements. They will be around to answer any questions you might have and will keep you posted about the progress in the processing of your application.
Your experts can also write you a Letter of Representation to strengthen your application and, even if your application is unsuccessful, they can help you find a solution.
Call Total Law on +353 061 518 025 to find out more about how our highly-qualified consultants can help.
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Frequently Asked Questions
As with all Long Stay visas to Ireland, for the Join Family Visa, you will have to pay either €60 or €100, depending on whether you are applying for a single or a multiple entry visa. You need to pay the visa application fee before you submit your application for processing. Make sure to include the receipt proving that you paid the fee in your portfolio of evidence.
If you came to Ireland on the Join Family Visa as a De Facto partner, Spouse, or Civil Partner, but your relationship ended, you have to notify the Garda National Immigration Bureau Registration Officer about it. You have to do so within 7 days from the end of your relationship. You have to tell them why your circumstances changed and you have to ask for permission to remain in Ireland.
They will assess the information you provide about the break-up and will take into consideration factors such as your employment status in Ireland. Based on that, they will decide whether you have the right to stay in the country.
If your application for the Join Family Visa to Ireland is successful, you will be able to stay in Ireland for more than 3 months. Keep in mind that after you arrive, you have to register with an immigration office to receive permission to remain in Ireland for longer than 90 days.
You can only apply for the Join Family Long Stay Visa if your family member in Ireland agrees to become your sponsor. The following categories of individuals are eligible to sponsor you:
- Irish citizens
- Citizens of EU/EEA countries
- Non-EEA citizens who legally live in Ireland with an employment permit
- Foreign citizens who are in Ireland on Stamp 4 or Stamp 5
- PhD students who are enrolled in an Irish accredited programme
- Researchers who are in Ireland under a Hosting Agreement.
If you are not sure whether your family member in Ireland is eligible to sponsor you, consult our experts.