In This Section
Introduction
If you are the de facto partner of an Irish citizen please read below about how you may apply to live in Ireland and what you may do while living in Ireland.
The information below is intended as a guide only, all of the relevant criteria for eligibility for this programme can be found here: Immigration policy for De Facto Partnership Immigration Permission in Ireland.
What does this scheme allow me to do?
Permission to remain in Ireland as the de facto partner of an Irish national allows you to seek employment in the State without the need to obtain a separate work permit, subject to compliance with all other immigration requirements that apply in individual cases. The duration of the permission initially granted to you will be for 1 year subject to the conditions below.
To renew this permission, apply online, subject to the person meeting all the necessary qualifying criteria under this procedure.
Permission to enter the State as the de facto partner of an Irish national allows you to:
Travel abroad for short periods (for example holidays and attending conferences) and return to Ireland
Bring immediate family members (dependents) with you, meaning in this case minor children under 18 years of age (This can be extended to a maximum age of 23 where the child is in full time education and remains dependent on the parent).
With this permission you cannot:
Bring any other family members, apart from those referred to above
Remain in Ireland under this permission if your Irish partner stops residing in the country
Retain your permission if your relationship ends
Rely on public funds or resources.
How do I apply?
To apply under this scheme, you must apply for a visa or preclearance before you travel to Ireland. You can check if you are visa required or non-visa required using our travel path.
You should take into consideration the current processing times for preclearance/visa applications when making an application. You must apply from your home country or a country where you are a legal resident.
Proof of residence outside the State may be requested, and the applicant (and permitted family members under the scheme) must remain outside the State while their application is being processed.
Important: You will not be permitted entry to the State for the purpose of joining your Irish national de facto partner by an Immigration Officer at the border, nor will you be registered in the State unless you can produce the appropriate preclearance approval letter or a long stay ‘D’ Visa.
A preclearance letter and visa allows you to travel to Ireland only for a specific purpose. They do not give you permission to enter the country or to stay here. An Immigration Officer at border control can refuse you entry even if you have a preclearance letter or long stay visa.
Non-visa required nationals will apply for a preclearance letter of approval
Visa-required nationals will apply for a long stay ‘D’ visa.
Step 2
Organise your documents and pay fee
Step 1. Application form
Fill in the online application. This will generate an application summary form and declaration at the end which you must print, sign and date.
Visa required national
When you are filling in your information on the online application form:
You will need to select visa/preclearance type as ‘Long Stay (D)’
Journey Type as ‘single entry’ or ‘multiple entry’ (multiple is recommended)
And ‘Visa – Join Family (De Facto Irish)’ as your reason for travel.
A non-visa required national
You will need to select visa/preclearance type as ‘Long Stay (D)’
Journey Type as ‘single entry’
And ‘Preclearance – Join Family (De Facto Irish)’ as your reason for travel.
Important: Do not provide false or misleading information on the application form. Doing so can result in you being prevented from making further visa/preclearance applications for a period of up to 5 years.
Step 2. Organise your documents and pay your fee
You must organise your supporting documents and pay the visa/preclearance application fee. Different offices accept fees in different ways. The summary application form will tell you to which office you need to pay your fee. It is very important that you submit your documents and fee to the correct office within 30 days of completing the online application form.
Step 3. Submit your application
To complete the process, you must submit your passport and supporting documents for processing. Where you submit your application depends on where you are living. The summary application form will direct you to the relevant office.
How do I apply for my children?
Children (under the age of 18 years, up to 23 years if in full time education) apply in a similar way to you and must be sponsored by the Irish national. You must fill in your application form first, and take note of the application number. Child dependents must then fill in their application forms using the instructions below:
Step 1. Application form
Fill in the online application form. This will generate an application summary form and declaration at the end which must be printed, signed and dated. The online application form is signed by the parent or legal guardian of the child when under the age of 18 years.
A visa required national:
Select visa/preclearance type as ‘Long Stay (D)’
Journey Type as ‘multiple’
‘Join Family (Irish Nat.)(Other)’ as their reason for travel
In the text box ‘Purpose of Travel’ include the De Facto Partner’s application number.
A non-visa required national:
Select visa/preclearance type as ‘Long Stay (D)’
Journey Type as ‘multiple’
‘Preclearance – Dependents’ as their reason for travel
In the text box ‘Purpose of Travel’ include the De Facto Partner’s application number.
Important: Do not provide false or misleading information on the application form. Doing so can result in you being prevented from making further visa/preclearance applications for a period of up to 5 years.
Step 2. Organise your documents and pay fee
You must all then organise your supporting documents and pay the visa/preclearance application fee. Different offices accept fees in different ways. The summary application form will tell you to which office you need to pay your fee. It is very important that you all submit your documents and fee to the correct office within 30 days of completing the online application form.
Step 3. Submit your application
To complete the process, you must all submit your passports and supporting documents for processing. Where you submit your application depends on where you are living. The summary application form will direct you to the relevant office.
Visa required and non-visa required applicants
If you are applying for dependents, and you have visa required and non-visa required applicants in your family group, you must contact the preclearance unit at [email protected] with your details (including all transaction numbers, and nationalities) before you pay the application fee and submit your documents.
If you are asked to submit your documents by post to an office (recorded delivery only), put them into a strong padded envelope and make sure to pay the correct postage. You may send all your applications together if you are applying for dependents under this scheme.
Place each person’s application documents into separate envelopes
Write the name and application transaction number of each applicant on each envelope
Place each envelope into a larger envelope send it to the application office.
Do not use any paper clips, staples or files to attach sheets in your application.
What supporting documents are required?
Before you gather your supporting documents you must read the important information on documents available below. This will give you guidelines on supporting documents, including information on translations and rules.
If you cannot submit a document requested below, you should provide an explanation as to why you cannot provide it, and any other documents for consideration by the visa/preclearance officer.
Documents required:
This is the summary application form which you must print. It contains a declaration that must be signed and dated by the applicant. If the person applying for a visa/preclearance is under the age of 18 years, their parent or legal guardian must sign the form.
You are required to submit your current passport with a visa/preclearance application.
- For long stay visas (over 90 days) it must be valid for at least 12 months from your proposed date of entry.
- For preclearance (over 90 days) it must be valid for at least 12 months from your proposed date of entry.
- If you have held previous passports, you must also submit a good quality colour copy of all pages of these passports. (All pages including blank pages.)
- If you are unable to provide copies of your previous passports provide a written explanation along with any relevant police reports for consideration.
- If you have changed your name in the past, for any reason, you must provide full details to us.
Some applicants do not pay application fees. Information on fee exemptions can be found on the application
fees web page. If you are not exempt from paying the application fee, a non-refundable fee of €60 applies to preclearance/visa applications and must be paid
in full at the time of the application. If you are visa required and selecting a ‘Multiple’ entry visa the fee will be €100. Different offices accept fees in different ways. The summary application form will tell you to which office you need to pay your fee.
The visa/preclearance fee is a non-refundable administration fee which covers the cost of processing your application. This fee cannot be refunded even if your application is refused or withdrawn.
You may be required to pay additional charges, for example relating to the submission of your documents. The website of the office to which you must submit your documents will have details about additional charges and any local payment options. Details of the relevant office will be available to you once you complete the online application.
If your application is one where you have been instructed to apply directly to Dublin please include proof that the application fee has been paid with your application if applicable, (for example a copy of the electronic transfer receipt from your bank).
You must provide evidence of medical insurance that satisfies the criteria outlined below:
You must be covered by private medical insurance, from a company authorised by the Health Insurance Authority for the duration of your time in the State. Your sponsor may include you in their group insurance scheme if applicable.
Travel insurance may suffice, but only during the first year of your stay, provided it covers you:
- For the full period before you arrange private medical insurance
- At a minimum of €25,000 for accident and €25,000 for illness and disease and
- For any period of hospitalisation
- In addition, it is advisable that applicants have insurance to cover repatriation in the event of serious illness or unforeseen events.
Bank statements must be on headed bank paper (you may use a printed internet statement but it must be officially certified by your bank). This means that every page must be notarised by the bank and the statement must be accompanied by a letter from the bank. We will not accept uncertified internet statements.
The bank statements must show:
- The full name of the owner of the account
- Address
- The bank account number and account type
- Money paid in and out of the account over the last six (6) months immediately prior to the application (income and expenditure) and
- If you are also sending a bank statement from a deposit/savings account, you must include a letter from your bank confirming that you can take money from that account.
Please note that handwritten entries or details on a bank statement are not accepted.
Your letter of application must include the following:
- Your full name, postal address and application number
- Your reason for travelling to Ireland, and how long you plan to stay
- The date you started living at your current address, and any previous addresses you have resided at in the previous 5 years, including the amount of time in each location
- You must provide details of any passports you hold issued by any other country outside the nationality you are applying under
- Details of your family members residing in Ireland, the United Kingdom or in any EU/EEA State, (name, nationality, date of birth, relationship to you, and registration number in Ireland if applicable)
- Details of any children you have (name, nationality, date of birth, current location and whether or not they have applied to travel to Ireland with you)
- That you will obey the conditions of any permission which may be granted to you, and not rely on State funds or resources while you are in Ireland.
You must submit a Police Clearance Certificate (not more than 6 months old, to also include a criminal records check) from your country of current residence and any country you have resided in, in the 5 years prior to your application.
This must be issued by the police force of that country and must include a full check of that country’s national and local records.
Criminal record checks conducted by private companies will not be accepted.
Biometrics
Biometrics are required from residents of Pakistan, Nigeria, China, Hong Kong and India who make a visa application. (Some exemptions apply). Please ensure you read the
Biometrics information page.
If you are resident in a country outside of the country which issued your passport or travel document you must submit a full colour copy of your residence permission (if you have a residence card you must photocopy both sides).
Previous visa refusals
Documentation on previous visa refusals, and other immigration issues (including deportation, overstaying) and criminal convictions. For all visa/preclearance applications, if you have been refused a visa/preclearance in the past for any country, you must provide details to us. You must provide the original letter issued to you by the authorities of that country with your application.
In addition if you have:
- Been deported from any country
- Been refused entry to any country
- Been otherwise required to leave any country (including overstaying in any country).
You must provide original documentation issued by the authorities of that country with your application and a full explanation for consideration.
Criminal convictions or charges
You must also provide official documentation of any criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Failure to do so will result in your application being refused. Failure to disclose this information, where applicable, will result in your application being refused.
“Any State issued official documents, such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, Divorce Certificates that were issued by a State outside of the EEA or Switzerland, must be attested/apostilled as genuine by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the State that issued the document, in order that it can be accepted as evidence for Irish visa purposes. Such documents are required to be translated into English or Irish, if necessary. Translations done outside the EEA or Switzerland must also be attested/apostilled as genuine, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country in which the translation occurs. Send us both the original documents and the certified translations. Translations done in the EEA or Switzerland do not need to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Any State issued official documents, such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, Divorce Certificates that were issued by a State within the EEA or Switzerland do not require to be attested as genuine from Member States. A translation of these documents is not required where a multilingual standard form (MSF) is also provided. Such MSF forms are available from Member States on request. If an MSF is not provided by you then those documents are required to be translated into English or Irish, if necessary in order that it can be accepted as evidence for Irish visa purposes. Translations done outside the EEA or Switzerland must also be attested/apostilled as genuine, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country in which the translation occurs. Translations done in the EEA or Switzerland do not need to be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will also accept the Extract of a European marriage certificate, issued in accordance with the “Convention on the issue of multilingual extracts from civil status records“, as proof of a marriage within the EEA or Switzerland. Send us both the original documents and the certified translations.”
Required joint documents
Joint documents
- If renting: a letter from landlord or agency, rental contract or book, dated tenancy agreement
- If home owner: evidence of mortgage, house ownership (for example property deeds)
- Utility bills from both the applicant and the sponsor
- Proof of rent paid, or mortgage payments, for example dated bank statements.
As per the policy document, partners who are not living together at the time of the application will be required to give convincing reasons for this. It will still be necessary to show cohabitation for a full two year period but each application is considered on its individual merits and humanitarian reasons will be considered.
If a couple claim they have maintained their relationship during the two year period by merely visiting each other as often as they can, this will not be sufficient to demonstrate a committed de facto relationship.
You must both provide a detailed relationship history supported by verifiable documentary evidence. This must include the date you commenced the relationship and the date you commenced cohabitation. This may be supported by providing evidence of, for example, letters, messages, emails, phone calls, bookings, evidence that you were in the same country when the relationship commenced. It is your responsibility to satisfy the processing officer that your relationship meets the definition of a de facto relationship.
This can be demonstrated by providing, for example, evidence of transfer receipts, joint accounts, joint purchases, joint assets, or loans.
You must provide documentary evidence of where you will reside in Ireland. If you are seeking accommodation after your proposed date of arrival, you must tell us where you will stay while searching for accommodation and provide evidence of this.
If you or your sponsor were previously married you must provide:
- A clear colour copy of the State issued marriage certificate
- A clear colour copy of the official divorce agreement
- Separation agreement or clear evidence of separation
- Death certificate.
Documents required from your sponsor
Your sponsor must provide a full colour copy of all pages (including blank pages) of their current Irish passport. If they have held previous passports, they must also submit a good quality colour copy of all pages of these passports, (all pages including blank pages).
If they are unable to provide copies of their previous passports, a written explanation must be provided along with any relevant police reports for consideration. If they have changed their name in the past, for any reason, they must provide full details and supporting documentary evidence.
The letter of sponsorship must include:
- The sponsor’s name, postal address and the applicant’s application number
- If applicable, details of all accompanying family members including their application transaction numbers
- Confirmation that they are acting as the sponsor of this application
- The date they started living at their current address, and any previous addresses they have resided at in the previous 5 years, including the amount of time in each location
- Details of any passports they hold issued by any other country
- If they have resided in Ireland in the past their PPSN
- If they have any criminal convictions or pending criminal charges in any country
- If they have sponsored a prior spouse/partner permission before
- If they have children in Ireland or in any other country, their details.
Your sponsor must provide 6 months bank statements to us, following the requirements for bank statements. Bank statements must be on headed bank paper (you may use a printed internet statement but it must be officially certified by your bank). This means that every page must be notarised by the bank and the statement must be accompanied by a letter from the bank. We will not accept uncertified internet statements.
They must show:
- The full name of the owner of the account
- Address
- The bank account number and account type
- Money paid in and out of the account over the last six (6) months immediately prior to the application (income and expenditure)
- If you are also sending a bank statement from a deposit/savings account, you must include a letter from your bank confirming that they can take money from that account.
Please note that handwritten entries or details on a bank statement are not accepted.
Your sponsor must provide evidence that they meet the financial criteria as set out in the Immigration policy for De Facto Partnership Immigration Permission in Ireland. This figure may rise where applications are made for additional family members.
If employed, they must provide:
- A clear copy of their employment contract
- Clear colour copies of 3 recent payslips
- Their tax returns from the previous 3 years
- A letter from employer to state the dates of their employment, and their salary per annum.
If your sponsor has 3rd level qualifications, they must include clear colour copies of their qualifications.
Student
If your sponsor is a current student, they must provide:
- Their transcripts
- A letter from college to confirm year of study
- Their tax returns for the previous 3 years
- They must also provide evidence of how they intend to support the applicant and any dependents, if applicable, in Ireland without relying on public funds.
Unemployed
If your sponsor is not working, they must provide:
- Evidence of previous work experience (letters from previous employment confirming role, salary, dates of employment and reason for leaving)
- Evidence of any qualifications they hold
- Tax returns for the previous 3 years
- Evidence of any state benefits they are claiming, engagement with employment services or other similar services
- They must also provide evidence of how they intend to support the applicant and any dependents, if applicable, in Ireland without relying on public funds.
Residing with sufficient financial resources
If your sponsor is residing with sufficient financial resources, they must provide:
- Documentary evidence of the financial resources (for example the amount, the source)
- Tax returns for the previous 3 years.
Self Employed
If your sponsor is self-employed, they must provide:
- Tax assessment from the Revenue Commissioner/Tax authorities of the country in which they live for the previous 3 financial years
- Bank statements of the business for the last six months
- They must also provide evidence of how they intend to support the applicant and any dependents, if applicable, in Ireland without relying on public funds.
Credit cards are not accepted as evidence of finances.
Documents required from dependent children
If your children have applied to travel with you to Ireland, they must provide:
This is the summary application form which you must print. It contains a declaration that must be signed and dated by the applicant. If the person applying for a visa/preclearance is under the age of 18 years, their parent or legal guardian must sign the form.
Submit a current passport with a visa/preclearance application.
- For long stay visas (over 90 days) it must be valid for at least 12 months from your proposed date of entry
- For preclearance (over 90 days) it must be valid for at least 12 months from the proposed date of entry
- If they have held previous passports, you must also submit a good quality colour copy of all pages of these passports (all pages including blank pages)
- If you are unable to provide copies of their previous passports, a written explanation must be provided along with any relevant police reports for consideration
- If they have changed their name in the past, for any reason, you must provide full details to us.
Some applicants do not pay application fees. Information on fee exemptions can be found on the application fees web page. If you are not exempt from paying the application fee, a non-refundable fee of €60 applies to preclearance/visa applications and must be paid in full at the time of the application. If you are visa required and selecting a ‘Multiple’ entry visa the fee will be €100. Different offices accept fees in different ways. The summary application form will tell you to which office you need to pay your fee.
The visa/preclearance fee is a non-refundable administration fee which covers the cost of processing your application. This fee cannot be refunded even if your application is refused or withdrawn.
You may be required to pay additional charges, for example relating to the submission of your documents. The website of the office to which you must submit your documents will have details about additional charges and any local payment options. Details of the relevant office will be available to you once you complete the online application.
If your application is one where you have been instructed to apply directly to Dublin please include proof that the application fee has been paid with your application if applicable, (for example a copy of the electronic transfer receipt from your bank).
Some visa applicants are exempt from the requirement to pay the visa fee.
Nationalities exempt from visa/preclearance fees:
• Bosnia
• Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
• Ecuador
• Indonesia
• Jamaica
• Kosovo
• Kyrgyzstan
• Montenegro
• Morocco
• North Macedonia
• Peru
• Serbia
• Sri Lanka
• Tunisia
• Uganda
• Zambia
Please provide evidence of medical insurance that satisfies the conditions outlined below:
They must be covered by private medical insurance, from a company authorised by the Health Insurance Authority for the duration of their time in the State. Your sponsor may include them in their group insurance scheme. Travel insurance may suffice but only during the first year of their stay provided it covers them:
- For the full period before you arrange private medical insurance
- At a minimum of €25,000 for accident and €25,000 for illness and disease and
- For any period of hospitalisation
- In addition, it is advisable that applicants have insurance to cover repatriation in the event of serious illness or unforeseen events.
Children under 18 years, living with their parents are assumed to be automatically dependent.
If you are making an application for a child under 18 years, you are required to provide:
- The child’s original Birth Certificate/Adoption Certificate with their application documents
- Evidence of the child’s current location (for example, school attendance record).
If you are applying for a child where a parent is deceased:
- You must include the original Death Certificate of the deceased parent
- If you are applying for more than one child, include the original Death Certificate in one application and a photocopy in each other application
- You must provide evidence of where the child is residing.
If you are applying for a child where one parent has sole custody:
- You must include the original Court Order that granted sole custody to the parent concerned
- If you are applying for more than one child, include a separate Court Order for each individual child (as appropriate).
If there are any other custody (shared/joint) arrangements in place:
- The original Court Order must be submitted
- Evidence that the child is permitted to travel outside of country of origin/residence to reside in the State
- The consent of the other parent is required, which should also show that they understand if the child’s application is granted, the child’s presence in the State gives no rights to visit or reside in the State to them
- A clear colour copy of the parent’s biodata page of their passport or, in the absence of a passport, national ID which displays their photo and signature.
You must submit:
- The Birth Certificate/Adoption certificate of the child
- Evidence of current address
- Any other source of income they have
- Details of any other family members in their country of origin/residence
- Documentary evidence that they are in full time education, and remain dependent on their parent. For example, letters from school/college/university, transcripts, exam results, attendance records, evidence of financial dependency.
- Biometrics – biometrics information
- If they are resident in a country outside of the country which issued their passport or travel document you must submit a full colour copy of their residence permission (if they have a residence card you must photocopy both sides)
- For all visa/preclearance applications, if they have been refused a visa/preclearance in the past for any country, you must provide details to us. You must provide the original letter issued by the authorities of that country with the application. In addition if they have:
- Been deported from any country
- Been refused entry to any country
- Been otherwise required to leave any country (including overstaying in any country).
- You must also provide official documentation of any criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. Failure to do so will result in your application being refused.
Important: Failure to disclose this information, where applicable, will result in your application being refused.
I am already in the State on a valid permission
The preclearance/visa procedure does not apply if you are already in the State as the de facto partner of an Irish national (stamp 4) or if you are here on another valid permission (stamp 1, 2, 3, etc.) and hold a valid GNIB/Irish Residence Permit.
For any queries relating to changing your permission to that of a de facto partner of an Irish national or renewing your existing de facto partner of an Irish national permission, please contact us through the dedicated Customer Service portal. You can register for an account or log in to your existing account.
Or by post:
De Facto Relationship Application
Domestic Residence & Permissions Division
Immigration Service Delivery
PO Box 12695
Dublin 2, D02XK70
Frequently asked questions
You may apply as a de facto partner of an Irish national if you:
- Are aged 18 or older
- Are a non EU/EEA and non-Swiss citizen
- Are being sponsored by an Irish national
- Are of good character and good standing, that is, that you can provide a police clearance certificate or equivalent not more than 6 months old for any country you have resided in in the past 5 years
- Are in a position to show dated documentary evidence of your relationship
- Have resided with your de facto partner for at least 2 years prior to your application
- Intend to live together permanently with your de facto partner in Ireland
- Have medical insurance from a company authorised by the Health Insurance Authority of Ireland to cover you and your dependent children (if applicable) in place on your arrival in the State for the entire duration of your stay in Ireland (further details below).
You must be invited to Ireland by an eligible sponsor.
An eligible sponsor must:
- Be an Irish national
- Intend to be resident in the State and be self-sufficient, that is, not on social welfare benefits, and must be able to support the applicant and any dependents financially without relying on public funds
- Not have sponsored (or have not been sponsored by) anyone else in the 7 year period prior to the preclearance/visa application
- Not have been completely or mainly reliant on benefits for a continuous period of two years or longer immediately prior to the application
- Have earned a gross income over and above any state benefits of the equivalent of not less than €40,000, over the three-year period prior to application. Please note this figure will rise for Irish nationals seeking to be joined by multiple family members.
After we receive your application and documents, we will check that you have:
- Selected the correct reason for travel on your application form
- Attached supporting documentation
- Paid the application fee.
Applications are generally processed in the order they are received.
Please note it is the responsibility of the applicant to supply the relevant documentation to us and to satisfy the processing officer that the visa or preclearance sought should be granted.
The current processing times for visas and preclearance are updated each Tuesday.
Non Visa Required Nationals:
We will notify you if your application is approved, and will send you a preclearance letter of approval. It is important that you check your details on this letter for any errors.
Your preclearance letter is an important document. You will need it to present to an Immigration Officer at border control and, if granted entry, for immigration registration. The preclearance letter is valid for 6 months. If you do not use it to travel to Ireland within the validity period on the letter, you must restart the process and submit a new application.
Do not travel to Ireland with an expired preclearance letter of approval. It is also recommended that you have clear evidence of your medical insurance cover with you when you arrive at the border.
Dependents (Children) if applicable:
Your children (if non visa required) will appear on your letter of approval. If they do not appear on your letter, they will receive a separate decision letter. They should not travel if they do not appear on your letter of approval.
Visa required nationals:
We will notify you if your application is approved and a Long Stay ‘D’ visa will be placed in your passport by the relevant office. You will need this to travel to Ireland. You will need it to show it to an Immigration Officer at border control and, if granted entry, for Immigration Registration.
It is important that you check your visa for any errors. Your visa will be valid for 6 months. If you do not use your visa during the validity period, you must restart the process and submit a new application.
You will not be permitted to travel to Ireland unless your visa is valid. It is also recommended that you have clear evidence of your medical insurance cover with you when you arrive at the border.
Family members (children) if applicable:
Your children (if visa required) will receive their own visa in order to travel to Ireland. If they do not receive a visa, they will receive a separate decision letter. They should not travel if they do not have the appropriate visa in their passport. You can find out more information on travelling to Ireland.
We will notify you by letter if your application is refused. This letter will outline the reasons why your application was refused. The refusal letter will also tell you if you are permitted to appeal the decision. In some cases you may not be permitted to appeal (for example if you provide false or misleading information in your application).
The appeal process is free of charge. You can request an appeal of this decision by responding to the refusal reasons with extra supporting documents if required. This appeal must be received by us within 8 weeks of the date of the refusal letter. You must submit appeals by post only. We cannot accept faxes or emails. Be sure to pay the correct postage for large packages.
Non visa required nationals
If your appeal is approved, we will send you a preclearance letter as described above. If your appeal is refused, we will send you a letter outlining the reasons. You cannot request another appeal.
Do not attempt to come to Ireland without preclearance approval as you will not be allowed enter the country. If your appeal is refused, you cannot request another appeal. Only one appeal is permitted per application. In most cases it is open to you to make a fresh application.
Visa required nationals
If your appeal is approved, a Long Stay ‘D’ visa will be placed in your passport by the relevant office as described above. If your appeal is refused, we will send you a letter outlining the reasons. You cannot request another appeal.
Only one appeal is permitted per application. Do not attempt to come to Ireland without a visa as you will not be allowed enter the country. In most cases it is open to you to make a fresh application.
Return of documents
We will return marriage, birth and death certificates to you after your application is processed. If there are other documents you want returned, type or write a list of the documents you want and then you should:
- Include the list with your visa application
- Include the original documents from the list (we will return these after processing)
- Include a photocopy of each document (we will keep these).
Note: You must include the original documents. Do not send photocopies only. Your application may be refused if you do not submit all documents. Even if you submit everything required, there is no guarantee that a visa will be granted.
Immigration permission and registration
If you have travelled to Ireland as the de facto partner of an Irish national with preclearance approval or on a Long Stay ‘D’ Irish visa after you arrive you must visit a registration office before your landing stamp expires to register your permission to stay for longer than 90 days (as the de facto partner of an Irish national)
If your visit is successful, you will be given immigration permission to stay as the de facto partner of an Irish national for an initial 12 month period based on immigration stamp number 4.
Renewing your immigration permission
You must visit a registration office to renew your permission and registration about 6 weeks before they expire. If you have questions about renewal contact:
Email: [email protected]
Or by post:
De Facto Relationship Section
Unit C – Domestic Residence and Permissions Division
Immigration Service Delivery
Department of Justice
13-14 Burgh Quay
Dublin 2, DO2 XK70
Accompanying Family Members (if applicable)
Any children over the age of 16 years will also have to extend their permission and register. You can find out more information information on children under the age of 16 years.
