For attention: All Family Dependent applicants who are spouses and partners of General Employment Permit and Intra-Corporate Transferee Irish Employment Permit holders
The Ministers for Justice and Enterprise, Trade and Employment have announced that eligible spouses and partners of General Employment Permit and Intra-Corporate Transferee Irish Employment Permit holders, who have applied for, and have been granted family reunification, in accordance with the Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy, will now be registered on a Stamp 1G permission, rather than a Stamp 3. This will allow the holder to take up employment, without the need to obtain a separate Employment Permit, of their own.
Eligible spouses and partners do not need to acquire a new IRP to engage in employment. You can provide prospective employers the following letter, which explains this temporary administrative arrangement Stamp 3 to Stamp 1G employment notice.
For all eligible spouses and partners who currently have an application with Domestic Residence & Permissions, the new changes will go into effect immediately from the 15th of May 2024. Any grants under the Dependents Immigration strand for eligible spouses will be on a Stamp 1G basis, rather than a Stamp 3.
You do not need to reapply if your application is presently under consideration.
Further details on eligibility for this change are available on the official website notice here – Attention eligible spouses and partners of General Employment Permit and Intra-Corporate Transferee Irish Employment Permit holders – Immigration Service Delivery (irishimmigration.ie)
Currently Domestic Residence and Permissions Division is receiving very high volumes of family dependent applications. As a consequence there is currently a delay in processing post/applications. When applications are received and uploaded on our systems applicants will receive an acknowledgement. We are doing all we can to acknowledge applications as soon as possible.
In This Section
What is a Family Dependent application?
If you are a non-EEA national who is dependent on a family member who is currently resident in Ireland, you may be eligible for permission to reside in Ireland.
In order to apply for permission, you and your sponsor must be currently living in Ireland.
Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) makes decisions on a case-by-case basis.
When considering Family Dependency applications, our intention is to balance the needs of the sponsor/wider family members for reunification with wider considerations of public policy, in particular the resources of the State, the integrity of the immigration system and the welfare of all those concerned.
Who is considered a family dependent?
You may be a family dependent if the following describes you:
You are aged between 16 and 18, or
You are under the age of 23 and in fulltime education, or,
You are over the age of 18 and are dependent on the care of a parent sponsor due to a serious medical or psychological problem which makes life in your home country impossible, and
Your sponsor is an Irish national or a person married to an Irish national, or
Your sponsor is an Irish resident holder of a Stamp 1, Stamp 4 or Stamp 5 permission, and
Your sponsor has been resident in the State for the applicable period of time to permit family reunification with a dependent as per the Family Reunification policy, and
You normally live together with your sponsor as a member of a family unit, and
You do not normally live separately or apart on a permanent basis.
Am I eligible
To be eligible as a dependent, you must meet the following conditions:
If you require a visa to travel to Ireland you must have been granted an Irish ‘D’ – Join Family visa before coming to Ireland
If you are not a visa-required national your sponsor must be resident in the State for the appropriate period of time before you travel to Ireland. Critical Skills Employment Permit, Hosting Agreement, State-sponsored scholars which permit sponsorship, and Doctors on Stamp 1H are able to apply immediately for family reunification on behalf of their family members. A 12-month waiting time is applied in the case of all other categories
You must be the dependent family member of a sponsor. That means your sponsor must be either an Irish citizen, a person married to an Irish citizen or a person living in Ireland with a Stamp 1, 4 or 5 Irish Residence permission
If your sponsor is the holder of a Stamp 2 or Stamp 3 Irish Residence permission they cannot sponsor others
Your family member/sponsor must be able to support themselves and any dependents without any help from public funds
You must have entered Ireland legally. If you are unlawfully present in Ireland when you apply, we may refuse your application
We will not accept your application if you are the subject of a requirement to leave the country. This includes a notification of intention to deport or a Deportation Order
You must be a person of good character and obey Irish laws.
What categories of people are eligible to be a sponsor?
You may be eligible to sponsor a family member if any of the following describe you:
You are a person married to an Irish citizen
You are a person living in Ireland with a Stamp 1, 4 or 5 Irish Residence Permit
You are a researcher under a Hosting Agreement
You are a PhD student studying for a doctorate accredited in Ireland.
You must also have sufficient funds to support your family member.
How do I apply?
1. If you entered the State legally having been granted a Join Family Visa or entered the State without a visa following the appropriate waiting period, you must make an appointment at your local immigration office, along with the required documents for registration listed here.
2. If your local immigration office refuses to register you they will instruct you to make an application to Domestic Residence & Permissions Divisions. Complete the Application for Immigration Permission for a Family Dependent form. Only make an application if you have been refused registration by your local immigration office.
3. Gather all your required documents. These include:
- Your passport including the ‘D’- Join Family visa/Entry stamp
- Your sponsor’s passport.
- Full Birth Certificate, Adoption Certificate or Legal Guardian Order with certified translation into English if required
- Marriage Certificate
- Household bills in your name or your sponsor’s
- Proof of residence at a shared address as part of a family unit in Ireland or another country
- Evidence of your sponsor’s financial resources being available to you
- Financial statements covering the previous six months.
- Letter from a landlord or letting agency, rental contract, rent book, tenancy agreement (dated), letter of registration of tenancy from Residential Tenancies Board (dated), bank statement (dated) showing proof of rent paid
- Letter from mortgage provider, local authority or county council, house title or deeds, household bills in the sponsor’s name, bank statement showing proof of mortgage paid.
- Letter from employer showing employment terms and conditions, signed contract of employment, two recent payslips, Summary of Employment details for previous 3 years, evidence of your sponsor’s financial resources being available to you via six months of bank statements
- Agreed Tax Assessment from Revenue for previous year, Letter of Registration for self-assessment (Income Tax) from Revenue, Business bank statement for previous six months
- Letter from college or course provider including course description, start date and completion date
- Letter from Department of Social Protection detailing sponsor’s benefit claims, letter from Employment Services Office acknowledging sponsor’s registration as a jobseeker, letter from previous employer outlining circumstances of sponsor’s end of employment, summary of sponsor’s employment details for previous two years, P45 from last employer.
- To process an application we require evidence of full private medical insurance cover for both you and (if applicable) your non-EEA sponsor.
4. Send your completed application form with all your documentation by registered post to:
Family Dependent Application
Domestic Residence & Permissions Division
Immigration Service Delivery
13/14 Burgh Quay
Dublin 2, D02XK70
Please note: Your application could take up to 12 months to process.
Incomplete application forms will not be accepted and will be returned.
What happens next?
If your application is approved
You will receive a letter from Immigration Service Delivery granting you a permission to remain in Ireland
Details in respect of your registration and renewal of registration will be provided with your permission letter
You and your sponsor must make an appointment with your local immigration registration office to register this permission.
Please note: Your permission can be revoked if we later discover that you are not eligible or you have provided false information. This includes, among others:
a. Information showing you have broken the conditions of your permission
b. Information about your character or conduct, including convictions
c. Information to show that you failed to register your permission
If your application is refused?
You can apply for a review of our decision. You must do this within two months of the date of decision.
The review will take into account the information you gave in the initial application. It can also include with any further information you wish us to consider
The review will also be carried out by another officer who was not involved in the initial decision making process.
Links
Policy documents
Your application as dependent is examined in accordance with the provisions set out in the following published policy documents:
Contact details
Please contact us through the dedicated Customer Service portal. You can register for an account or log in to your existing account.
Please ensure that all correspondence includes your name, reference number and contact details.
