Visa Facilitation Services

14th July 2009

FAMILY REUNIFICATION FOR WORKERS

- VISA REQUIREMENTS

NOTE: These requirements are intended to act as a guideline only

and do not limit the discretion of the visa officer in determining

individual applications.

They are subject to change as we continue in our efforts to provide a

more efficient service to our customers. You should therefore

regularly check for the most recent version on http://www.justice.ie

which will have the date of implementation in the top right-hand

corner.

Please also see note under ?Employment Visa?.

The following information outlines the minimum documentation you

must submit with your application for a visa for the purposes of

family reunification with a sponsor. Please read it carefully.

Original documents are required and must be in ENGLISH or

accompanied by a notarised translation of same.

If you wish to have original documents returned to you please supply

a photocopy. If photocopies are not supplied the originals will not be

returned.

All documents must be clearly legible. The Visa Officer will need to

easily identify what they are and to whom they refer.

Any unsigned declarations, false information, forged or fraudulent

documentation will result in the refusal of your application and no

appeal will be permitted.

The onus is on you, the applicant, to satisfy the Visa Officer that a

visa should be granted.

1. In applying for a Visa for the purposes of family reunification you

must be able to show that:

o You are the spouse of a qualifying sponsor whose

marriage is subsisting on the date of your application

o You are the dependent unmarried child of the sponsor

under the age of 18 years

AND

o That the qualifying sponsor fulfils the minimum income

requirement where relevant

Definition of a qualifying sponsor

A qualifying sponsor is a non-EEA national who has a

valid work permit and has been in employment for at

least twelve months prior to the date of application.

He/she must be in full time employment on the date of

application and have an income above the threshold

which would qualify the family for payment under the

Family Income Supplement (FIS) Scheme administered

by the Department of Social and Family Affairs ?

http://www.welfare.ie

o a Green Card Permit Holder see link

http://www.entemp.ie/labour/workpermits/guidelines.htm

o a Researcher (Scientific) who holds a Hosting Agreement

with an accredited research organisation for the purpose

of carrying out scientific research

www.entemp.ie/science/technology/accreditation.htm and

www.inis.gov.ie/Scientific Researchers

Please note family members (i.e. spouse and dependants) may

accompany a Green Card holder or a Scientific Researcher on

admission into the State or join later subject to normal

immigration rules. For visa required nationals please click on

www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Irish Visa Information for Visa

application details. Family members and dependants who are

granted permission to be in the State under these arrangements

may only remain for a maximum period equal to the

Registration of the Green Card holder/Scientific Researcher.

2. There now follows an explanation of what will be accepted as

evidence for the above requirements. Please ensure you read

this carefully and submit ALL documents with your

application. Again, it is important that these are originals

(where indicated) in English, or accompanied by a notarised

translation. They should clearly indicate what they are and to

whom they refer.

Evidence of Relationship to the Qualifying Sponsor

Where you are the spouse of a qualifying sponsor you must

provide the following documents:

o Marriage certificate

If the marriage took place after the qualifying sponsor

took up residence in Ireland please provide the following

details/documents

o Evidence of your spouse having travelled to your country

of residence on a number of occasions, and any other

information you can provide to support your application

o If, while your spouse was residing in Ireland , you

married by proxy, it will be necessary for you to obtain a

declaration from the Irish Courts under Section 29 of the

Family Law Act 1995, to confirm that the marriage is

recognised in this State.

o Where the applicant is the dependent child (under 18

years) of a qualifying sponsor you must provide evidence

of the relationship such as a birth certificate, adoption

papers or the like

Parental Consent

o Where both you and your spouse are the parents of this

child, but only one of you will be residing in Ireland , the

written consent of your spouse, permitting your child to

join you, will be required

o If you wish a child (under 18 years) from a previous

marriage or relationship to travel with you, or join you in

Ireland , evidence that you have been given full custody

and access rights to this child must be shown.

(Court Order)

o Where the other parent of this child has custody or

access rights, a sworn affidavit by this parent consenting

to the child being removed from their home country is

required

3. Sponsors and Family Members may be required to present

DNA evidence, obtained at their own expense and certified to

the satisfaction of the Minister, in support of their claims to be

related. Such evidence will not be sought unreasonably.

Evidence of Finances

If the qualifying sponsor is the holder of a work permit and has

been resident in Ireland for 12 months, they must show they

have sufficient funds to support you and any dependent family

members, without recourse to the Family Income Supplement.

However, in all cases your application must be accompanied

by:

o A copy of spouse?s current Work Permit and all previous

work permits.

o A copy of the contract of employment of the qualifying

sponsor of at least one year from the date of entry of the

family member(s). The contract must also give the

annual salary of the sponsor

o Copy of P60 and 3 recent consecutive payslips

If the above documents are not provided the application cannot

be considered

Further Information You Must Consider

· Printed and signed summary from online application. All

applications must be lodged online ? see

http://www.irelandinindia.com for details.

· One recent passport sized photograph not more than 6 months

old. Please see http://www.irelandinindia.com for details of

photograph requirements. If the submitted photograph does

not meet these requirements it will delay processing on your

application.

· Original Passport valid for at least 6 months after the intended

date of departure from Ireland following visits. Passport must have sufficient

space for a visa to be inserted, at least one empty page is

required.

If your passport does not comply with the above your

application will be returned to you. A copy of all pages of your

passport is required.

· All previous passports plus one copy of each. If you have been

refused a visa for any other country, details of this, preferably

the original letter issued to you by the authorities of that

country, should be submitted. Concealment of other visa

refusals will result in your Irish visa application being refused.

· The required visa fee in the form of DD in favour of ?Embassy

of Ireland , New

Delhi ?. DD?s can be obtained from all VFS Application centres.

Details of current fees are available at

http://www.embassyofireland.in

· An up to date, recently issued Police Clearance Certificate or

Observation in your passport is required from all applicants.

· If your marriage has taken place after your spouse took up

employment in Ireland you will need your spouses name

entered into your passport.

· Your application should also be accompanied by a clear

copy of the passport of the qualifying sponsor showing his

or her permission to be in the State.

· If your spouse in Ireland has permission to reside in

Ireland under the IBC 05 scheme please submit a copy of

their permission to reside letter from the Department of

Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

· Where the qualifying sponsor is required to have been

resident in the State before being eligible to be joined by

his/her family members, a copy of their current GNIB

registration card should be included with the application.

4. Decisions

o The processing times for Visa Applications vary

depending on the volume of applications lodged in New

Delhi . You should allow as much time as possible when

applying for a visa but a minimum time of 4 weeks is

recommended

Visa decisions are published weekly on our website ?

http://www.embassyofireland.in

o . You can check a decision by entering the Visa Reference

Number that was issued to you when you made the

original application.

Right of Appeal

o If you are refused a visa you may appeal this decision

within 2 months

o Appeals must be submitted in writing and sent to :

The Visa Appeals Officer,

Embassy of Ireland ,

230 Jor Bagh,

New Delhi ,

110003.

Appeals may also be submitted through VFS.

VFS Courier charges will apply.

o Your appeal should fully address all the reasons for

which your application was refused. Any additional

supporting documentation should be submitted with

your appeal for consideration.

o You must quote your Visa Reference Number on your

appeal, along with your name and nationality

o There is no fee payable for appealing a visa refusal

decision

o There will be no appeal allowed if you are found to have

given false or misleading information in any part of your

application, or submitted false, forged or fraudulent

documentation

5. If you are granted a Visa for the purposes of Family

Reunification please note:

o A visa is a form of pre-entry clearance to the State only,

and does not guarantee that you will be permitted to

enter or remain in the State

o Immigration Officers at the point of entry are entitled to

question any person on arrival. If they are not satisfied

with the bona-fides of any person, or their reasons for

wishing to enter the State, they have the right to deny

entry to any such person, despite the fact they hold a

valid visa

o It is recommended that you have supporting

documentation related to your reason for wishing to

enter the State available to present to the Immigration

Officer on disembarkation from your flight.

Registration and Permission to Remain

o All non-EEA nationals who wish to remain in Ireland for

longer than 3 months, or beyond the period granted by

an Immigration Officer at an Irish Port of Entry are

required to register and obtain a residence permit. The

Registration Authority is the Garda National

Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

http://www.garda.ie/gnib.html

o Residency is granted by means of an endorsement stamp

on the person?s passport, and a residency document- a

Certificate of Registration - is also issued. Under current

Irish Immigration Laws children under the age of 16 are

not required to register and obtain permission to remain

o There is a charge of ?150 payable each time you register,

therefore it is advisable that your passport is valid for at

least 12 months on arrival in the State

6. Re-entry Visas

o Before a re-entry visa can be issued, you must be

registered with the Garda National Immigration Bureau

o It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct

visa (where relevant) for the country you intend

travelling to

o NOTE: A visa must be obtained from the UK authorities

prior to travelling to Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland

consists of Counties Antrim, Armagh, Derry , Down,

Fermanagh and Tyrone)

7. Eligibility for Employment

o A family member of a worker or a Scientific Researcher

who is the holder of a Hosting Agreement, issued a visa

for the purposes of family reunification will be entitled to

work subject to the issuance of a work permit by the

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, once

they are legally resident in the State. See link ?The

Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment -

http://www.entemp.ie