Application

Residence card for family member non-EU national

A family member who is not a national of a Member State  may, within 3 months of the relevant date, apply to the Minister for a residence card, and  shall, where an application) has not been made within the period specified, before the expiry of 4 months after the relevant date, apply to the Minister for a residence card.

The “relevant date” means  in the case of a qualifying family member, the date on which he or she  entered the State as a qualifying family member, or  having already been in the State, became a qualifying family member.

It means in the case of a permitted family member  the date on which he or she first entered the State as a permitted family member, or ) where he or she was present in the State on the date on which the Minister decided that he or she should be treated as a permitted family member, that date.

Application

An application shall contain the particulars specified in Schedule 2 and shall be accompanied by such additional information requirements provided for in that Schedule as are applicable.Applicant’s particulars and relevant documentary evidence

• Name of applicant
• Address of applicant
• Date and place of birth of applicant
• nationality of applicant
• Passport of applicant
• Where applicable, documentary evidence from the relevant authority in the country from which he or she has come certifying that he or she is a dependant of the EU citizen or a member of the household of the EU citizen, or proof that on the basis of serious health grounds strictly requires the personal care of the EU citizen
• Where applicable documentary evidence that the applicant is the partner with whom a EU citizen has a durable relationship
• Photograph of applicant
• Particulars of EU citizen of whom the applicant is a family member/dependant.
• Name of EU citizen
• Address of EU citizen in the State
• Date and place of birth of EU citizen
• Nationality of EU citizen
• Number, date and place of issue of EU citizens passport (original of document to be provided)
• Date on which EU citizen first entered the State
• Documentary evidence that the EU citizen satisfies one or more of the conditions referred to in Regulation 6(3)(a)(i) to (iii)

The Minister shall cause to be issued a notice acknowledging receipt of an application. The Minister shall, within 6 months of the date of receiving an application  where he or she is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, issue a residence card containing the particulars set out in Schedule 3 to the family member concerned, or  notify the family member concerned that his or her application has been refused, which notification—

• shall be accompanied by a statement of the grounds for the refusal, and
• may be accompanied by a specified notification, or both.

An applicant  may remain in the State pending a decision on the application.

Examination

In order to decide whether to grant such a permission the Minister shall cause to be carried out an extensive examination of the personal circumstances of the applicant and shall have regard to the following:

• the extent and nature of the dependency;
• in the case of financial dependency, the extent and duration of the financial support provided by the EU citizen or his or her spouse or civil partner to the applicant prior to the applicant’s coming to the State, having regard, amongst other relevant matters, to living costs in the country from which the applicant has come, whether the financial dependency can be satisfied by remittances to the applicant in the country from which he or she has come and other financial resources available to him or her;
• in the case of dependency on serious health grounds which strictly require the personal care of the EU citizen or his or her spouse or civil partner, the nature of the serious health grounds concerned and the duration of the period in which they have existed;
• the capacity of the EU citizen concerned to continue to support the applicant in the State in the event that the Minister were to grant a permission.

The Minister, following an examination , shall—

• where he or she decides than an applicant may remain in the State, notify the applicant in writing of the decision, or
• where he or she decides that an applicant may not remain in the State, notify the applicant in writing of the decision and of the reasons for it

Administrative

The Minister shall grant qualifying family members every facility to obtain an Irish visa and, on the basis of an accelerated process, consider an application for an Irish visa from a qualifying family member referred to in subparagraph (a) as soon as possible and if the Minister decides to issue an Irish visa that visa shall be issued free of charge.

An immigration officer shall not, at the point of entry, place a stamp in the passport of a qualifying family member who presents to the officer a valid residence card.

Where a EU citizen or a qualifying family member who is not a national of a Member State does not have a valid national identity card or passport or, where required, the necessary Irish visa, the immigration officer shall, before refusing permission to enter the State to that person, give him or her every reasonable opportunity to do any or all of the following:

• obtain the necessary documents;
• present the necessary documents to the immigration officer within a reasonable period of time;
• corroborate or prove by other means that he or she is entitled to enter the State in accordance with EU Free Movement Regulations.

Before permitting a person to enter the State as a qualifying family member, an immigration officer may require—

• documentary evidence of the relationship,
• documentary evidence of the relationship and the dependency where applicable therein.

Permission for permitted family member to enter State

The following applies to a person who irrespective of his or her nationality, is a member of the family (other than a qualifying family member) of an EU citizen and who in the country from which the person has come—

• is a dependant of the EU citizen,
• is a member of the household of the EU citizen, or
• on the basis of serious health grounds strictly requires the personal care of the EU citizen

It also applies to a person who is the partner with whom an EU citizen has a durable relationship, duly attested.

Where a EU citizen has entered or is residing in the State in accordance with EU Free Movement Regulations or is proposing to do so, this part applies may apply to the Minister for a decision that he or she be treated as a permitted family member for the purposes of EU Free Movement Regulations.

Applicant’s details

• Name of applicant
• Address of applicant
• Date and place of birth of applicant
• Nationality of applicant
• Passport of applicant
• Occupation, if any, of applicant (copy of employment permit, if applicable)
• Immigration reference number (if any) and PPS number of applicant
• Declaration of any criminal record
• Immigration history in the State
• Photograph of applicant
• Particulars of EU citizen of whom the applicant is a family member or dependant
• Name of EU citizen
• Address of EU citizen in the State
• Date and place of birth of EU citizen
• Nationality of EU citizen
• Number, date and place of issue of EU citizens passport (original of document to be provided)
• Occupation of EU citizen in the State
• Immigration Reference Number, if any, PPS number of EU citizen
• Details of relationship between applicant and EU citizen

Required Documents

The person shall, for the purposes of such an application, produce to the Minister—

• where the applicant is a national of a Member State, a valid passport or national identity card, or where the applicant is not a national of a Member State, a valid passport,
• evidence that he or she is a member of the family of the EU citizen,

The person shall also produce one of the following:

• documentary evidence from the relevant authority in the country of origin or country from which he or she has come, that he or she is a dependant, or a member of the household, of the EU citizen;
• proof of the existence of serious health grounds which strictly require the personal care of the applicant by the EU citizen;
• documentary evidence of the existence of a durable relationship with the EU citizen.

Upon receipt of the evidence referred to above  and on being satisfied that the applicant is a person to whom this part applies, the Minister shall cause to be carried out an extensive examination of the personal circumstances of the applicant in order to decide whether the applicant should be treated for the purposes of EU Free Movement Regulations as a permitted family member of the EU citizen concerned.

For the purposes of his or her decision the Minister may require the applicant to produce such additional evidence as the Minister may reasonably require.

Criteria

The Minister, in deciding whether an applicant should be treated as a permitted family member for the purposes of EU Free Movement Regulations, shall have regard to the following:

• where the applicant is a dependant of the EU citizen concerned, the extent and nature of the dependency and, in the case of financial dependency, the extent and duration of the financial support provided by the EU citizen to the applicant prior to the applicant’s coming to the State, having regard, amongst other relevant matters, to living costs in the country from which the applicant has come, whether the financial dependency can be satisfied by remittances to the applicant in the country from which the applicant has come and other financial resources available to him or her;
• where the applicant is a member of the household of the EU citizen concerned, the duration of the period during which he or she has been living within the household of the EU citizen;
• where, on the basis of serious health grounds, the applicant strictly requires the personal care of him or her by the EU citizen concerned, the nature of the serious health grounds and the duration of the period in which they have existed;
• where the applicant is in a durable relationship with the EU citizen concerned, the nature and duration of the relationship;
• whether the relationship was brought about with the objective of obtaining permission to remain in the State or a Member State;
• the capacity of the EU citizen concerned to continue to support the applicant in the State in the event that the applicant is to be treated as a permitted family member under EU Free Movement Regulations.

Decision

The Minister, following an examination shall—

• where he or she decides that an applicant should be treated as a permitted family member for the purposes of EU Free Movement Regulations, notify the applicant in writing of the decision, or
• where he or she decides that an applicant should not be treated as a permitted family member for the purposes of EU Free Movement Regulations, notify the applicant in writing of the decision and of the reasons for it.

Without prejudice to any rights or entitlements which he or she may have, on an individual basis, under EU Free Movement Regulations, a permitted family member shall not be refused permission to enter the State unless he or she—

• is suffering from a disease specified in Schedule 1, or
• represents a danger for public policy or public security by reason of the fact that his or her personal conduct represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.

Visa

A permitted family member who is not a member of a class of non-nationals specified as not requiring an Irish visa shall be in possession of a valid Irish visa as a condition of being granted permission to enter the State.

The Minister shall grant permitted family members every facility to obtain an Irish visa and, on the basis of an accelerated process, consider an application for an Irish visa from the person concerned  as soon as possible and, if the Minister decides to issue an Irish visa, that visa shall be issued free of charge.

An immigration officer shall not, at the point of entry, place a stamp in the passport of the person concerned who presents to the officer a valid residence card.

No ID

Where a permitted family member who is not a national of a Member State does not have a valid national identity card or passport or, where required, the necessary Irish visa, the immigration officer shall, before refusing permission to enter the State to that person, give him or her every reasonable opportunity to do all or any of the following:

• obtain the necessary documents;
• present the necessary documents to the immigration officer within a reasonable period of time;
• corroborate or prove by other means that he or she is entitled to enter the State in accordance with EU Free Movement Regulations.

Review of decisions

A person who has, or who claims to have, an entitlement under EU Free Movement Regulations to enter or reside in the State may seek a review of any decision concerning such entitlement or claimed entitlement.

An application for review under the Regulations shall be submitted to the Minister within 15 working days of the receipt by the person concerned of the decision and shall set out in writing the grounds for review and the particulars specified in Schedule 4.

The Minister may, where he or she is satisfied that it is warranted in the particular circumstances, extend the period referred to within which a review must be submitted.

A review under the Regulations of a decision shall be carried out by an officer of the Minister and who—

• shall be a person other than the person who made the decision, and
• shall be of a grade senior to the grade of the person who made the decision.

The officer carrying out the review shall have regard to the information contained in the application and may make or cause to be made such enquiries as he or she considers appropriate and may—

• confirm the decision the subject of the review on the same or other grounds having regard to the information contained in the application for the review, or
• set aside the decision and substitute his or her determination for the decision.

A person who makes an application for the review of a removal order may, at the same, make an application for the suspension of the enforcement of the order.

Where a person makes an application the removal of him or her from the State shall, unless the officer carrying out the review is of the view that the removal decision is based on imperative grounds of public security, be suspended until such time as that officer makes his or her decision

Co-operation with Member State authorities

The Minister may—

• within 3 months of the arrival in the State of a person to whom the Regulations apply,
• for the purposes of ascertaining whether a person represents a danger to public policy or public security, or
• when considering an application for a residence card,

request the competent authorities in the Member State of origin of the person concerned, or any other Member State, to provide information concerning any previous police record that the person may have.

Where, for the purposes of the Council Directive, the competent authority of a Member State requests the Minister to provide information concerning any previous police record that a person may have in the State, the Minister shall, within 2 months of the request being made, provide such information.

Where the competent authority of a Member State requests the Minister to allow the holder of an Irish passport who has been expelled from that Member State on grounds of public policy or public security, to re-enter the State, such person shall be allowed to re-enter the State notwithstanding that his or her passport is no longer valid or that his or her nationality is in dispute.