Girlfriend without Visa, pregnant, options?

Dennis the Stone

Hi,

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this….

A friend of mine has a problem and he contacted me looking for advice because I’m studying law but I have no knowledge on the subject.

His girlfriend is Canadian and doesn’t have a VISA. He is Irish. They recently learned that she is pregnant and he was wondering what consequences this has and what their options are?

I would appreciate any help or advice,

Thank you,

biko

Marriage? Does she want to keep the child and to stay with him?

PeakOutput

unless they were thinkin of marriage beforehand i wouldnt personally consider this an option.........

is it hard for canadians to get irish visa's??? i would of thought if she has any skills she would get one no bother

as far as i know from the kids point of view it will get duel citizenship anyway. i dont think its very hard to stay in this country assuming your not a refugee

sorry didnt help much

metrovelvet

Guess again.

First of all, he will need guardianship and then that only guarantees the child will be a citizen, and that is if he chooses to cooperate.

Unless they marry, she should go back to Canada. Better health care and she wont have to pay for it. Obviously then the baby wont be born in Ireland which will complicate citizenship even further. Even if the baby is born in Ireland, she wasnt nor is she a citizen, so the baby's citizenship wont be guaranteed, which means no health benefits or residential rights.

They should go to Las Vegas, marry so that all legal bases are covered, but then can also get a quicky divorce after the baby is born if they need to.

PeakOutput

metrovelvet wrote:

Guess again.

First of all, he will need guardianship and then that only guarantees the child will be a citizen, and that is if he chooses to cooperate.

Unless they marry, she should go back to Canada. Better health care and she wont have to pay for it. Obviously then the baby wont be born in Ireland which will complicate citizenship even further. Even if the baby is born in Ireland, she wasnt nor is she a citizen, so the baby's citizenship wont be guaranteed, which means no health benefits or residential rights.

They should go to Las Vegas, marry so that all legal bases are covered, but then can also get a quicky divorce after the baby is born if they need to.

if born in ireland is the baby not guaranteed citizenship BUT the mother is not guaranteed to get to stay just because of that fact alone?

metrovelvet

No. Birth in Ireland does not guarantee citizenship. It does if your parent is a citizen already.

She may get to stay, but that does not mean she can work,get free maternity or benefits.

PeakOutput

ok ignore me den op

Dampsquid

metrovelvet wrote:

No. Birth in Ireland does not guarantee citizenship. It does if your parent is a citizen already.

She may get to stay, but that does not mean she can work,get free maternity or benefits.

But the father is Irish. So the baby can get citizenship without a problem

metrovelvet

Yes if he becomes a guardian and names himself on the birth cert.

LegacyUser

OP here..

thanks a lot everyone, I sent an email to the FLAC as well, they want to stay here with it as far as I know.. guess the grey area is whether or not she can stay here, it's a necessity now I suppose

biko

metrovelvet wrote:

Yes if he becomes a guardian and names himself on the birth cert.

So he must acknowledge fatherhood when the child is born? Is that what guardian means?

metrovelvet

She must give him guardianship and he must accept it. He has no legal status over the child until this is done. It is more than the name on the birth cert. There are special forms for it and it must be submitted to the state. Otherwise he has no legal connection to the child and has no rights to obtain citizenship for the child.

The state will require the Irish parents birth cert as well as the baby's. And the proof of guardianship as there will be no marriage certificate submitted.

Victor

Pregnant women are entitled to a certain minimum level of free pre-natal care - I think 3 GP visits, ultra sound, etc. You should make enquiries.

LundiMardi

I don't know why you'd want to stay to be honest... They could move to Canada and he'd probably be entitled to a visa via the common law partner thing...

metrovelvet

Victor wrote:

Pregnant women are entitled to a certain minimum level of free pre-natal care - I think 3 GP visits, ultra sound, etc. You should make enquiries.

I think that's Irish or EU women or those with refugee status. Not all pregnant women who are illegal residents or students or on holidays.

bored and tired

biko wrote:

So he must acknowledge fatherhood when the child is born? Is that what guardian means?

I went through a bit of family law few years ago,

you have to apply through district court for guardianship, this is made easier if the fathers name is on the birth cert, if both parties are in agreement then there is no need to hire lawyers or solicitors as the district court clerk is usually happy to help filling in the forms,

Guardianship will then entitle the father to the same rights of decision making as the mother re religion, education, health, ie major decisions in life,

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR YOUR FRIEND, THE MOTHER CANNOT GET A PASSPORT FOR THE BABY WITHOUT GUARDIAN FATHERS CONSENT.

If he is not the childs legal guardian then she can go to the guards and get a form, have it signed by a commisioner of oaths saying the childs father has no guardianship rights and sends this off to the passports office with passport application, without ever needing to tell the father she is doing this.

Perhaps they should contact canadian embassy, re medical rights for mother while in ireland, and extending her stay, and how to apply to get married, if that is what they want. Or how does op's friend apply for visa to stay in canada for while if that is an option,

Dub13

metrovelvet wrote:

No. Birth in Ireland does not guarantee citizenship. It does if your parent is a citizen already.

A small point on this and I am by no means an expert but I think the law is if one parent is a legal resident in Ireland then the child is guaranteed citizenship.So the parent does not have to be a Irish citizen.

For example if a Polish couple were to have a child here then the child would be entitled to become a Irish citizen.

This is my understanding of the current law,again I could be wrong and sorry for going slightly off topic.

metrovelvet

bored and tired wrote:

I went through a bit of family law few years ago,

you have to apply through district court for guardianship, this is made easier if the fathers name is on the birth cert, if both parties are in agreement then there is no need to hire lawyers or solicitors as the district court clerk is usually happy to help filling in the forms,

Guardianship will then entitle the father to the same rights of decision making as the mother re religion, education, health, ie major decisions in life,

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR YOUR FRIEND, THE MOTHER CANNOT GET A PASSPORT FOR THE BABY WITHOUT GUARDIAN FATHERS CONSENT.

If he is not the childs legal guardian then she can go to the guards and get a form, have it signed by a commisioner of oaths saying the childs father has no guardianship rights and sends this off to the passports office with passport application, without ever needing to tell the father she is doing this.

Perhaps they should contact canadian embassy, re medical rights for mother while in ireland, and extending her stay, and how to apply to get married, if that is what they want. Or how does op's friend apply for visa to stay in canada for while if that is an option,

Except she cant get the Irish passport without the father since he is the Irish citizen.

She can get the Canadian one and will not need his consent if there is no guardianship established.

Citizenship is only automatic to those children born in Ireland to already Irish citizens. Should the father not be a guardian, then the child has to apply through her and then is only entitled to it if she can prove that she was a resident for three of the four years prior to the birth.