My Russian Girlfriend - Living Together in Ireland - VISA / Marriage Advice Needed

Dantonio

Hi,

I'm hoping someone here can help me.

I've been going out with a 29 year old girl from Russia who I met in Ireland some time ago. It's become a long distance relationship as she had to return to Moscow. But we still meet up in Europe for long weekends etc when we can. She works for a large airline so travelling is not a problem for her. Also, we spend about 10 hours a week on Skype and another 10 hours sms messaging on whatsapp.

We would ideally like to live together in Ireland for 6 months or more before getting married. Neither of us wants to marry just to be able to live together, even though marriage is what we both want for before the end of this year anyway.

The problem is she has been advised that getting a Visa, while not impossible may be difficult. The advice she was given was more relevant to the EU in general, so I'm not so sure about Ireland yet.

I've looked for jobs in Moscow, but without the language its not really an option for me. Also, I'd have the same Visa issues on her end.

She has something roughly equivalent of a degree and speaks fluent English. I had hoped she would be able to get a job in eBay or Facebook or some other call center where I know there is definite demand for Russian Speakers but they all seem to require work authorisation prior to even interviewing. They don't seem to be interested in Russians with no Visa.

I'd be infinitely grateful to anyone who can offer help or advice, what I'm wondering is:

1) Is it hard for a Russian citizen to get a work permit in Ireland?

2) Are there any potential issues if we do decide to get engaged and marry? I mean from the Irish state, not the obvious relationship pitfalls. lol. I know you need to give 3 months notice before the big day.

3) Are there any other options, things I should be considering? We hope to be able to start working on a family next year.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

cailinoBAC

I suppose you’ve tried Google as well? I know there are quite a few Russians there. Maybe you could try the website www.virtualireland.ru, well actually maybe better for your girlfriend, as it’s all in Russian.
Check out this thread re de facto visas:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055529883
A Belarusian friend of mine married an Irish guy and I know there was a lot of paperwork. They were getting married in Belarus though, I’m not sure if it makes it easier of more difficult. I would say be prepared for a lot of documents needing to be officially translated etc. but maybe somebody else has a better idea.
An American guy got married to another Belarusian, it took almost a year afterwards for her to be able to go to the US, I don’t think it’s so bad in Ireland. You obviously are able to show that it is a genuine marriage, not just for the visa. However, obviously you don’t want to rush into marriage and if you can get her to come to Ireland without that it would be much better, then you could choose to get married if you wanted!

Dantonio

Thanks cailinoBAC, really appreciate the link. I sent it on to her, she got the impression from it that; again that visas are difficult to get but we'll keep looking at options.

tatli_lokma

a visa is not easy to get, but it can be done. From my experience (not de-facto but spouse) the more simple you make things for the INIS the smoother things go. So when you send in forms, make it into an actual file, label each section, put a cover letter saying exactly what you are applying for, why, and what documentation you have enclosed and why. Even go so far as to label each thing, and of course, make sure you put her and your name on each piece of paper. The more concise and clear you make it, the less chance of things going missing or of them looking for more info.

Also, I think the big thing for them is proof you can support yourselves. You say she works for a large airline - is there any possibility of her transferring to their Irish operations (if they have one)? or maybe applying to another airline who operate routes out of Dublin? If she had a job lined up or at least an offer pending visa approval it would stand to her.

Proof that you both have enough money, or that you earn enough money, to support both of you indefinitely. Yes, indefinitely! because there is no guarantee she will get a job, so they want to know that neither of you will seek social welfare benefits in order to support yourselves. Things like health insurance also help, so if you have that mention it, as it shows that in the case of a medical emergency you have insurance to help with the costs.

Another option for work would maybe to sign up with the likes of lionbridge or one of the translation companies. She can do this in advance of arriving here. Of course there is no guarantee she will get work, but it won't harm your application to mention that she has signed with several translation agencies and upon approval of her visa and stamp 4 being granted she will be able to accept assignments from them. Also, get her to sign up with some of the language recruitment agencies in advance of her application. Same thing as the translation companies - even a letter from the recruitment agency saying she has a good cv and that there are a number of jobs they would be able to put her forward for were she to have a stamp 4. You will need to ask them nicely for this! some might not give you a letter, but we found that 2 of them were really helpful in doing this.

As for paypal and ebay etc - as you say, they require proof of eligibility to work before even interviewing. So she will need to get her stamp 4 before she can even apply.

And with the application, things like photos of you, and even better of you with each others families or at family occasions is a good help. Keep all your flight bookings and hotel bookings to show that you have been meeting in Europe regularly. All these things really do help to show that you have an ongoing and strong relationship and that she is not just going out with you for a visa. Mention in your letter that you met in Ireland and exactly what you have said above - in order to be together one or the other needs to move, and you do not have the language skills to allow you to go to Russia so the only reasonable solution is for her to come here.

One final thing - you must give at least 3 mths notice to the registrar to marry. One other possibility is that you get engaged, and book a date with the registrar for 6 or 9 mths time (which would be a reasonable period of engagement). This can then be given as proof that you intend on marrying, and she might be granted a tourist visa to come here for that purpose. If she is granted a visa on this basis, she won't get a stamp 4, so you would need to be able to support yourselves for that period of time. At the end of the 6 or 9 mths, when (if) you do get married, then it is a much simplier process for her to apply for a spousal visa and when granted it will be given with a stamp 4. If after a few months you realise that it is not going to work out, there is no obligation for you to get married and you can just cancel the registrar.

This might not be a bad route to go - it will be tough for her not working for 6 mths, but it is the tough times that prove the strength of a relationship. When I moved abroad my forst 3 mths were tough as I was only learning the language, hadn't got my work permit yet and was living with my then partner for the first time. It was a stressful time, we had a few rows and there was tension and frustration at times but despite that it just made us more certain that we wanted to be together.

Best of luck with the application. It is a lot of work to get it sorted, but the more effort you put into it the more chance it will be successful.

Dantonio

Little Ted,

I can't thank you enough for all the time you must have spent putting this message together for me. I'm so very grateful. A lot of what we have seen so far has left us feeling a little dis-heartened so anything at all positive to work towards is great news for us.

Her airline is Russian and they do fly to Europe, London included but not to Ireland. So maybe we could do something about living in the UK for a while. We are not dead-set on living in Ireland, but it seems like a good choice. I do also have a US passport too and she has applied for a Visa there but neither of really want to live in the states.

I have health insurance and I'm sure we could get her on a policy too. Makes good sense anyway.

As for the translation and language agency applications, great idea... I'll say that to her.

The 6 months not working is my greatest fear for her, it could get very boring, but at least it's an option.

Thanks again for all the advice about the application. I'll start collecting any sort of proof of our relationship that I can and get her to do the same, just in case we need it someday.

Little Ted, I really do appreciate all the advice!!!!

rodbarreuy

Hey Dantonio,

I would love to hear about your story. I'm in the same situation and while looking for info I stumped upon your post. Any chance you can contact me so we can talk?

Thanks,
Rodrigo