Join Family Visa Ireland

What is the Long Stay Family Visa in Ireland?

The Join Family Long Stay Visa is intended for foreign citizens who want to join their spouse, partner, or other family members in Ireland and want to stay there longer than three months. To be able to come to Ireland under this family visa, the relative you want to join has to be an Irish citizen or be lawfully living there.

You can only apply for the Join Family Long Stay Visa if you have a sponsor there. Individuals who can become your sponsor include:

• An Irish citizen
• A citizen of a EU/EEA country
• A non-EU/EEA citizen who lawfully lives in Ireland on an employment permit
• A foreign citizen living in Ireland on Stamp 4 or Stamp 5
• A PhD student studying in an Irish accredited programme
• A researcher under a Hosting Agreement.

When submitting your visa application, you can choose whether you wish to apply for a single entry or a multiple-entry visa to Ireland.

Who can apply for the Join Family Visa to Ireland?

UK nationals do not need a visa to join family in Ireland. However, if you are a non-EEA (European Economic Area) or non-UK national seeking to join your family member in Ireland, you may need to apply for a Join family visa.

There are several routes you can take to come to Ireland on the Join Family Visa depending on your relationship with the Irish citizen or lawful resident. Categories of individuals who can apply for the Join Family Visa are:

• Spouses
• De Facto Partners
• Civil Partners
• Adult Dependents
• Child Dependents
• Dependents of Critical Skills Employment Permit Holders.

The exact requirements you need to meet and documents you have to submit might vary depending on who you are applying as. Talk to our immigration lawyers to find out what criteria apply to your circumstances.

Eligibility requirements for Join Family Visa Ireland

There are several general requirements that all applicants, regardless of the specific route they are using to apply for the Ireland Join Family Visa, need to meet. These are:

• You can prove that your relationship with the Irish family member is genuine and pre-existing
• You have a valid passport
• You can prove that your family member is eligible to sponsor you
• You can prove that your family member lives in Ireland legally
• You can prove that your sponsor has enough money to help you financially after you arrive in Ireland
• You can provide evidence showing that you are dependent on your sponsor (if applicable).

As part of your application for the Join Family Long Stay Visa you have to submit a number of documents that prove your eligibility for it. The exact evidence needed for a successful application can vary based on individual circumstances. Reach out to IAS for tailored advice.

How to apply for the Join Family Visa Ireland?

If you want to apply for the Join Family Long Stay Visa, you have to submit your application online. In the online form you will have to provide personal details and state the reason for you wanting to immigrate to Ireland.

After you have completed the online application, you will see a summary of your application. There you will find information regarding the immigration office that you should submit the required documents to. You also have to print, sign and date the summary form and submit it with the rest of supporting documents.

The next step is to pay the visa fee, which can be done online. After that you have to send all the documents to the office mentioned on your visa application summary sheet.

Supporting documents for the Ireland Family Visa application?

To prove your eligibility for the Ireland Join Family Long Stay Visa, you have to submit the following supporting documents as part of your application:

• Signed and dates application summary sheet
• Receipt showing that you paid the visa fee
• Two colour passport sized photographs
• Your original current passport
• A signed and dated application letter in which you provide details of your sponsor, the reason for you coming to Ireland, and your full contact details
• A copy of your sponsor’s passport or other document proving that they have the right to live in Ireland
• Evidence of your relationship with the sponsor
• Evidence that your sponsor meets the minimum level of earnings required
• Evidence of having adequate accommodation in Ireland.

All documents that you submit during the application process have to be originals. Photocopies are not accepted. If any of the documents were issued in a language that is not English, you have to have them translated by an official translator.

How much does the Ireland Join Family Visa cost?

The fee for the Join Family Long Stay Visa for Ireland depends on whether you are applying for a single or multiple entry visa. If you want to get the single-entry permit, you have to pay €60. If, however, you want to be able to leave and re-enter Ireland several times throughout the duration of your visa, you have to pay €100.

How can I prove my relationship with my sponsor in Ireland?

A key requirement for the Join Family Visa to Ireland is being able to provide evidence confirming your family relationship with the sponsor in Ireland. The nature of evidence depends on the type of your relationship with them.

If you are applying for the Join Family Visa as a spouse or civil partner of a person lawfully living in Ireland, you can submit, for example, a marriage or civil partnership certificate or photographs and previous correspondence showing that you have been in a relationship for a while.

If you are submitting the application as a child of the sponsor in Ireland, you can provide the original birth certificate or adoption order.

Finally, if you are a de facto partner of the sponsor in Ireland, you can include registration certificate of partnership, a joint tenancy of property, or evidence of having previously visited your partner in Ireland.

These are examples of supporting documentation that might be required for the main types of relationships that can apply for the Join Family Visa but you might have to provide other evidence depending on your individual circumstances.

Talk to our immigration expert and they will help you prepare a portfolio of evidence with all the documents that might be necessary.

How can IAS help?

At IAS we have a team of highly-qualified consultants who have expert knowledge of Irish immigration law. They have helped many clients successfully apply for various visas to Ireland, including the Join Family Long Stay Visa.

If you hire one of our team, they will guide you through each step of the application process, making it less stressful. They will also ensure that your application has been completed to the highest standard and that you submitted all the required documents.

We can also write you a Letter of Representation to strengthen your application.

If you are in need of the expertise of an Immigration lawyer, enlist the help of one of our highly competent consultants today on +44 (0)333 414 9244.