IEC Canada Question Northern Ireland

jjbrien

Dunno if anyone will know this. I applied for the IEC today and now am trying to sort my friends one out. Issue is he is from Northern Ireland but has an Irish passport now i dont know if her applies under the irish one or the uk one. He will not get a UK passport so where does he stand can anyone help?

red menace

Hello,

My wife is from the North but has a Republic of Ireland passport.
She applied through the southern program last year with no problems, we are both in Canada since october.
She had been living in Dublin for the 3 years previous so our garda certs are from there.
Not sure what would happen with certs though

beano345

found this on the british ex-pats forum when someone asked the same question

1. Be an Irish citizen and be able to demonstrate permanent residency prior to your application to the IEC;

2. Be holding an Irish passport that remains valid throughout the period of stay in Canada.

In order to apply for the Irish program, you have to meet the residency requirements which say you must have habitual residence in "Ireland" for at least 3 years. I assume that they mean the Republic here. It's worth checking it out and contacting the program directly for a definitive answer.

I had the same problem when I was applying under the old Bunac scheme. The UK program would accept NI applicants with a British passport and the ROI program would accept NI applicants with an Irish passport, but not if you lived north of the border. So I have ended up with passports coming out of my ears

its not much of an answer but its worth investigating,i can't see why they would have a problem if he holds a valid passport and a clean police cert.i think usit accept applications from the north aswell so maybe try contact them and see what the story is.best of luck

maire61

I have been in Toronto now for a month and had such confusion when it came to this...so hopefully I can help. I am from Northern Ireland with an Irish passport. I applied throught the Irish programme as I didn't have a brit passport. When it came to the garda/police check I obviously had to apply for a british police check. On the irish IEC form, on the check list, it asks for a "garda" certificate, which I just ticked and put a not at the front of my application stating..."I live in northern ireland which entitles me to duel citizenship and the right to hold an irish passport, therefore I am applying through the Irish programme, however have included a British Police certificate"... And I had no problem.

At the end of the day all the applications from Ireland and the UK go straight to Paris then London...so it doesn't really matter.

Hope this helps!

stephencillian

maire61 wrote: »

I have been in Toronto now for a month and had such confusion when it came to this...so hopefully I can help. I am from Northern Ireland with an Irish passport. I applied throught the Irish programme as I didn't have a brit passport. When it came to the garda/police check I obviously had to apply for a british police check. On the irish IEC form, on the check list, it asks for a "garda" certificate, which I just ticked and put a not at the front of my application stating..."I live in northern ireland which entitles me to duel citizenship and the right to hold an irish passport, therefore I am applying through the Irish programme, however have included a British Police certificate"... And I had no problem.

At the end of the day all the applications from Ireland and the UK go straight to Paris then London...so it doesn't really matter.

Hope this helps!

Same here and Im going to canada in august :-)

beflanagan

My girlfriend has just been refused on the basis she is an Irish Citizens (born in the South) living in Northern Ireland. Pretty ridicules considering you apply to the same office in London as the people from Norther Ireland with an Irish Passport.

Anyone know any way round this? I don't think she is eligible for a British passport.

stephencillian

She needs to apply to the IEC Ireland, as she has an Irish passport, then sends it to the london office.

beflanagan

stephencillian wrote: »

She needs to apply to the IEC Ireland, as she has an Irish passport, then sends it to the london office.

That's exactly what she did but they seam to consider living north of the border not to be habitiual resedency. Harsh I think.

rojorolo

Oh my god your post has scared the life out of me beflanagan. I was very confused at this also and as a Dubliner living the last 7 years in the North I applied through the Irish system thinking well I have an Irish passport so....?
So I may be refused based on this? What has she done about it? There is no other way to apply surely? She is not British because she has an Irish passport? I was tempted to fudge my addresses and just say I mainly lived in Dublin but thought hosesty the best policy.

citytillidie

I did it.

From Derry, have an Irish passport and got the PSNI cert, no issues at all.

rojorolo

And you are originally southern? Yeah I have a PSNI and a Garda cert to cover me. Lol mini panic attack starting to fade

citytillidie

rojorolo wrote: »

And you are originally southern? Yeah I have a PSNI and a Garda cert to cover me. Lol mini panic attack starting to fade

Me no lived in Derry whole live apart from time in Montreal

rojorolo

Oh dear, so its not looking good. Its the strangest thing. Surely this is worth complaing to someone about. It seems odd that having an Irish passport and living in Northern Ireland should be no different from having an Irish passport and being a citizen of Northern Ireland. Oh dear at this rate I will have to go to australia after all

rojorolo

beflanagan wrote: »

That's exactly what she did but they seam to consider living north of the border not to be habitiual resedency. Harsh I think.

At what point was she refused? I'm hoping if this is to happen it will be sooner rather than later, did she get as far as the payment request.

I emailed USIT and got this off them.
"Thank you for your email. We are excited about your interest in Canada!

Below we have provided the link to our Work in Canada Program which will further outline how to apply, our programme details, and eligibility requirements.
http://www.usit.ie/work-abroad/canada/work-and-travel-canada-visa

You are in a unique situation as technically the IEC in London would view you as a habitual resident of the UK for the previous 7 years. Although as the Canadian Embassy view Ireland as a whole, and you hold an Irish passport, we believe this will not affect your application. If you choose to apply with our programme you will need to include an Irish Garda clearance form and an ACPO (UK) police clearance form with your application. Please keep in mind, all decisions in regards to whether an applicant will receive a visa are made at the discretion of the IEC in London.

We hope this information has been of help to you. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. "

Is it worth persuing more? Technically the Embassy view Ireland as a whole so why do the IEC see it differently?