Ireland De-Facto Visa

Bull_Boy

Hi everyone. Me (a non-Irish national) and my girlfriend (Irish) of 4 years have recently applied for de facto status. We sent in supporting documentation on 3 occasions, supplying every piece of evidence they requested. We stated outright that we are not living together (I am on a student visa, so can only work part time; she is starting a Masters soon and still lives at home). Yesterday we got a letter saying we were rejected for de-facto status because a) we did not provide proof that we co-habit, and b) we do not have financial means to support each other.

These reasons both seem very shaky to me. From what I understand, co-habitation is not a requirement for de-facto status. Secondly, I have been supporting myself for 5 years already. Granted, my quality of life is not the best, an I live in a small, dinky room and have to share a bathroom and kitchen. I am not a burden on the state, we are both law-abiding and have always been forthcoming with all our documentation.

Does anyone have any advice as to how we can go about appealing this decision? There appears to be various people working on our case (based on the letters we received), and I am worried something got lost somewhere. They sent back only about 3 of our supporting documents, out of about 50 we sent in.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again everyone!

Patrin

Hi,

Been with my girlfriend for 8 years now, she is american and I'm Irish. After 1.5 years she came to Ireland for college for 3 years and went back home since I was not working right after graduating in 2010. Now I am financially stable and saved a fair amount we are hoping to reunite. I've made half a dozen transalantic journeys since she left and her a similar amount here. Anyone know if not living together the last 3 years will hinder application?

She will be back in Ireland mid-sept. to start the process and we have an apartment now. Photos and withnesses letters should be a problem but I am worried at the lack of bills, etc legally type of evidence we dont have much of given our age.

Tara Xiao

Guofu wrote: »

Just rang the vaunted INIS helpline this morning to ask about getting a defacto visa for my Taiwanese girlfriend (I'm an Irish citizen) only to be told that it would only be considered after we'd been living together IN IRELAND for 2 years. Either the guy didn't know what he was talking about (I hope) or things have just got a lot more difficult. We've been in a relationship for 4 years and lived together in Australia and Taiwan for around 2 years all told.

hi Guofu, have you guys got your visa? how long does it take? I'm planning to get my visa sorted out soon. Thanks in advance!

debz61288

Myself (Irish) and my partner (Australian) applied for the defacto this year and got approved without any hassle. We did provide a mountain of evidence so it was hard for them to refuse however being told you need to live together for 2 years is incorrect. Myself and my partner had been together for the required 2 year period however we have only been living together since February 2012. The requirement is that you must just be in a relationship for 2 years, not that you need to be living together.

If you don't have much documentation such as a lease, bills etc, just get as much information as you possibly can. I gave them print screens of my Facebook page showing check in's, status, photos etc linked to us both and clearing showing dates. If you have any invitations with both your names on it put them in too. I also took a photocopy of each page of our passport showing immigration stamps from countries we had visited together to show we were travelling together. Might also help to get the Irish parents to make a declaration stating your genuine relationship with signatures and a copy of their passport.

Tara Xiao

debz61288 wrote: »

Myself (Irish) and my partner (Australian) applied for the defacto this year and got approved without any hassle. We did provide a mountain of evidence so it was hard for them to refuse however being told you need to live together for 2 years is incorrect. Myself and my partner had been together for the required 2 year period however we have only been living together since February 2012. The requirement is that you must just be in a relationship for 2 years, not that you need to be living together.

If you don't have much documentation such as a lease, bills etc, just get as much information as you possibly can. I gave them print screens of my Facebook page showing check in's, status, photos etc linked to us both and clearing showing dates. If you have any invitations with both your names on it put them in too. I also took a photocopy of each page of our passport showing immigration stamps from countries we had visited together to show we were travelling together. Might also help to get the Irish parents to make a declaration stating your genuine relationship with signatures and a copy of their passport.

:)Thanks very much for the post! I am going to apply for the de facto visa very soon (I'm Chinese and my boyfriend is Irish). I have a job offer at hand but the company said they couldn't sign the contract until I get my visa sorted. Would you kindly tell me when did you apply for yours and how long did it take? Thanks again!

debz61288

Processing time was 5 months but if your on to them maybe just ask what the latest processing time is, they will be able to tell you what dates they are currently looking at to give you an idea of how long it will take. But make your application really good that its hard for them to refuse, give absolutely everything you can to prove your relationship.
I am sure plenty of people have a nightmare experience applying for these visas but ours couldnt have gone any smoother.
Best of luck with it

OldNotWIse

8 months waiting for decision?? Visa due to expire soon. Helpline that supposedly opens for 2 hours once a week now closed because they are so busy? wtf

adublinguy

OldNotWIse wrote: »

8 months waiting for decision?? Visa due to expire soon. Helpline that supposedly opens for 2 hours once a week now closed because they are so busy? wtf

if you have already applied and received the confirmation letter the visa can expire no problem, only issue is that the applicant will not be able to leave the country.

you can always go down to INIS and get the visa extended, we did that. they extended it for 3 months.

OldNotWIse

adublinguy wrote: »

if you have already applied and received the confirmation letter the visa can expire no problem, only issue is that the applicant will not be able to leave the country.

you can always go down to INIS and get the visa extended, we did that. they extended it for 3 months.

Sh1t. We have holidays booked

Its so rubbish feeling like she's being treated like a second class citizen. Can't work. Constantly worrying about where we will be in a few weeks/months. Hard to make future plans etc. God knows the path of true love is hard enough lol

So we can just drop down and get the three month ext? Must do that

ps thanks

adublinguy

some advice, if you are going down, go down before it even opens

they stop giving out tickets at like 9.30 am sometimes..ridiculous.

as for the defacto phone number, waste of time, only opens for two hours each thursday and trying to get through is a waste of time.

adublinguy

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Sh1t. We have holidays booked

Its so rubbish feeling like she's being treated like a second class citizen. Can't work. Constantly worrying about where we will be in a few weeks/months. Hard to make future plans etc. God knows the path of true love is hard enough lol

So we can just drop down and get the three month ext? Must do that

ps thanks

also no guarantee they will extend it, but worth trying, when we went down the girl we spoke to acted like she had never heard of extensions...she went off to speak to a supervisor and came back ten mins later and extended it

it does mean that you will be charged for a new cards as well tho (300 euros) as you OH will need it to gain re-entry to the country. if you werent going on hols a simple stamp in the passport would suffice.

OldNotWIse

adublinguy wrote: »

some advice, if you are going down, go down before it even opens

they stop giving out tickets at like 9.30 am sometimes..ridiculous.

as for the defacto phone number, waste of time, only opens for two hours each thursday and trying to get through is a waste of time.

and its closed now anyway!

OldNotWIse

adublinguy wrote: »

also no guarantee they will extend it, but worth trying, when we went down the girl we spoke to acted like she had never heard of extensions...she went off to speak to a supervisor and came back ten mins later and extended it

it does mean that you will be charged for a new cards as well tho (300 euros) as you OH will need it to gain re-entry to the country. if you werent going on hols a simple stamp in the passport would suffice.

she's paid that a number of times now

If we come back a few days before expiry can she be detained on re-entry? I would have thought proof of a pending app would be sufficient.

Do they normally take this long? I've a bottle of imitation champagne sitting sadly looking at me for the past 6 months

adublinguy

yeah if you really need some action taken you really need to go down to the office anyway...you wont get much information over the phone

OldNotWIse

adublinguy wrote: »

yeah if you really need some action taken you really need to go down to the office anyway...you wont get much information over the phone

I dont know. When we applied, we went over with the box of documents and they refused it. Said it had to be posted. Back over to GPO to post it across the road

adublinguy

well i was more referring to follow ups,extensions etc.. not the actual application

tatli_lokma

adublinguy wrote: »

also no guarantee they will extend it, but worth trying, when we went down the girl we spoke to acted like she had never heard of extensions...she went off to speak to a supervisor and came back ten mins later and extended it

it does mean that you will be charged for a new cards as well tho (300 euros) as you OH will need it to gain re-entry to the country. if you werent going on hols a simple stamp in the passport would suffice.

They don't have to extend it, its at their discretion. What they will sometimes do is issue a non-deportation order against her file, which basically means that although her visa has expired, because there is an application pending she will not be deported. But as already said, you should not leave the country during this period as you probably won't get back in.

If there is still time on her visa and she has a re-entry visa (if she needs one) then in theory she could leave the state as long as she was back before the visa expires. However I think the problem you will have is with airlines rather than the immigration as they might not allow her to travel with so little time on her visa. They get fined if someone is refused at the boarder, so often they won't take the chance. Best to check with the airline first.

adublinguy

OldNotWIse wrote: »

she's paid that a number of times now

If we come back a few days before expiry can she be detained on re-entry? I would have thought proof of a pending app would be sufficient.

Do they normally take this long? I've a bottle of imitation champagne sitting sadly looking at me for the past 6 months

our application took 6 months to the day. Best thing to do is pay a visit to the office and ask all these questions you need answering, best to do this the right way the first time.

OldNotWIse

adublinguy wrote: »

our application took 6 months to the day. Best thing to do is pay a visit to the office and ask all these questions you need answering, best to do this the right way the first time.

She's at a point now where she is saying she just doesn't care anymore. I know she does, but she has just basically said let them do whatever they want, that she is tired worrying about it. I dont blame her. 8 months is a long time to wait for an answer.

If I go to INIS mself tomorrow without her will they entertain me? I suppose it's a joint app, being defacto.

tatli_lokma

I don't think they will be too happy to see you without her. I think technically she is the one applying for the visa, and you are her sponsor. So pretty sure they will want to speak with her. But worth a try - you might get a nice officer who will be willing to help.

It sucks having to wait so long. But at least she is here and had her own visa to begin with. We applied for a spousal visa and were 6 months waiting, and hubby had only an expired visa and notice of non-deportation. We didn't even get to go on honeymoon cos of it cos he couldn't leave the country. But it will be worth it in the end. I do sometimes wonder if they take so long to process some applications just to discourage some people - if you were not really serious about it you would probably just give up, and I think that is what they are hoping for half the time.

OldNotWIse

tatli_lokma wrote: »

I don't think they will be too happy to see you without her. I think technically she is the one applying for the visa, and you are her sponsor. So pretty sure they will want to speak with her. But worth a try - you might get a nice officer who will be willing to help.

It sucks having to wait so long. But at least she is here and had her own visa to begin with. We applied for a spousal visa and were 6 months waiting, and hubby had only an expired visa and notice of non-deportation. We didn't even get to go on honeymoon cos of it cos he couldn't leave the country. But it will be worth it in the end. I do sometimes wonder if they take so long to process some applications just to discourage some people - if you were not really serious about it you would probably just give up, and I think that is what they are hoping for half the time.

Wouldnt surprise me. I honestly don't know how it could take so long She's super qualified and can't work. They're more than happy to take money from her for exorbitant "non eu" college fees etc.

adublinguy

OldNotWIse wrote: »

She's at a point now where she is saying she just doesn't care anymore. I know she does, but she has just basically said let them do whatever they want, that she is tired worrying about it. I dont blame her. 8 months is a long time to wait for an answer.

If I go to INIS mself tomorrow without her will they entertain me? I suppose it's a joint app, being defacto.

i went down before without my partner and they spoke to me...but best to bring her with you. 8 months is certainly a long time. I would definitely pop down, you never know...the staff are pretty helpful on the whole.

OldNotWIse

Went down today. Got the impression the guy at the desk was more interested in getting rid of me than actually helping me. He started off by saying I couldn't get information at the office, and that I should call the helpline. I told him that I tried that and the line is in fact closed. He then said I would have to write to them, which I had anticipated and so had a letter to drop off. He wouldnt give any indication of any kind of average waiting time - even when I pointed out that we had been waiting 8 months and knew of people who had decisions after two...nothing. So p1ssed at this stage tbh My OH says she's booking a one way ticket home so...fuucking thanks INIS paper pushers, you've just cost me my relationship.

ay.Jul

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Went down today. Got the impression the guy at the desk was more interested in getting rid of me than actually helping me. He started off by saying I couldn't get information at the office, and that I should call the helpline. I told him that I tried that and the line is in fact closed. He then said I would have to write to them, which I had anticipated and so had a letter to drop off. He wouldnt give any indication of any kind of average waiting time - even when I pointed out that we had been waiting 8 months and knew of people who had decisions after two...nothing. So p1ssed at this stage tbh My OH says she's booking a one way ticket home so...fuucking thanks INIS paper pushers, you've just cost me my relationship.

Hey did you sorte out your problem? I was reading the post and I saw your problem. I'm pretty scared as I will apply at the end of this month for de Facto. My BF is Italian and of course I don't have an EU passport and my visa is good until midle of November. We've been living together for 2 years and in a relationship for more than 2 and half year. Any tips???

Thank you for your time.

perfectblue

OldNotWIse wrote: »

Went down today. Got the impression the guy at the desk was more interested in getting rid of me than actually helping me. He started off by saying I couldn't get information at the office, and that I should call the helpline. I told him that I tried that and the line is in fact closed. He then said I would have to write to them, which I had anticipated and so had a letter to drop off. He wouldnt give any indication of any kind of average waiting time - even when I pointed out that we had been waiting 8 months and knew of people who had decisions after two...nothing. So p1ssed at this stage tbh My OH says she's booking a one way ticket home so...fuucking thanks INIS paper pushers, you've just cost me my relationship.

ugh, this is terrible! I wonder why you are having such issues? Have you sent in updates of your info (bank statements, etc)?

perfectblue

PS- I've heard from people who got assistance from local TDs and the like... maybe try that route too?

travstrong

Hi all,
Just a quick question regarding De Facto applications.
I gather from reading threads like this one and others that private health insurance is mandatory for de facto applications, although this is not explicitly mentioned anywhere on the INIS website.
Does anybody know whether the mandatory insurance thats supplied with language school registration for non-EEA students is sufficient for this purpose, or does it have to be at the level of a comprehensive cover plan with an Irish provider such as VHI or Aviva etc. Just checking as my OH already has coverage as a student.

perfectblue

travstrong wrote: »

Hi all,
Just a quick question regarding De Facto applications.
I gather from reading threads like this one and others that private health insurance is mandatory for de facto applications, although this is not explicitly mentioned anywhere on the INIS website.
Does anybody know whether the mandatory insurance thats supplied with language school registration for non-EEA students is sufficient for this purpose, or does it have to be at the level of a comprehensive cover plan with an Irish provider such as VHI or Aviva etc. Just checking as my OH already has coverage as a student.

I have international "expat" coverage (ie, good around the world for catastrophic coverage but also most general preventative care and most prescriptions) from a carrier in the US and that seemed fine enough. I think they just want to know that you have some way of paying your hospital bills.

travstrong

Cheers, anecdotally somebody who works in my OH's school and who recently went through the process told her that the basic group insurance from schools is not accepted. Might be worth taking out some more comprehensive coverage I guess.

OldNotWIse

ay.Jul wrote: »

Hey did you sorte out your problem? I was reading the post and I saw your problem. I'm pretty scared as I will apply at the end of this month for de Facto. My BF is Italian and of course I don't have an EU passport and my visa is good until midle of November. We've been living together for 2 years and in a relationship for more than 2 and half year. Any tips???

Thank you for your time.

Nope, still waiting What paper pushers....

I hope you get yours sorted, all I can say is make sure you give them everything the first time because with ours, they waited four months to "realise" we hadnt submitted something and it's now four months since we submitted it...I dont know it the six month clock goes back to zero or somethign every time you submit more info :mad: