Moving around EU with Irish de-facto partner visa

belgianwaffler

Hi there,

I am an Irish citizen currently living in Belgium, my girlfriend is non-EU and is currently studying a masters here. She currently has a Belgian student visa and will get an 18 month "work permit" visa to stay in Belgium once finished the masters. So effectively, she is able to stay here for the next 2 years no problem.

We would also currently qualify for the Irish de-facto relationship visa on paper as we have been living together, have a shared bank account etc.

I have been exploring taking a job opportunity in Holland later this year but am aware that should we move my girlfriend would lose the 18-month work permit and could find it difficult to get a new job/visa in Holland.

I have found a page which states that EU countries must facilitate the entry and residence of de-facto partners even if non-EU:
I can't post links but google "europa unmarried couples (cohabitation)", it should be the first result at europa.eu.

However, I am worried this might not apply explicitly to our case as:
- Can we get the Irish de-facto partnership visa even if we do not live (and currently don't plan to live) in Ireland?
- We would be using the Irish de-facto visa to move between two other EU countries, is this permitted?
- Ireland not being part of Shengen might complicate things, but the link given seems to state EU-wide rights

It's probably complicated enough to warrant talking to an immigration lawyer but I was just wondering if any red flags immediately stood out to save me the consultation fee. We would be perfectly happy staying in Belgium, the Dutch opportunity would just be an interesting option for me career-wise.

Cheers

Victor

Surely you need to be looking at a Schengen de-facto partnership visa?

belgianwaffler

Victor wrote: »

Surely you need to be looking at a Schengen de-facto partnership visa?

Thanks Victor,

By that I take it you mean the Dutch de-facto partnership visa which would be probably the most applicable in this case given it would be where we would be residing in this scenario. I think I read that this was open for Dutch citizens looking to reunite with their long-term partners which in turn gave me the notion that effectively EU citizens had to go through the process of their home country.

Marcusm

belgianwaffler wrote: »

Thanks Victor,

By that I take it you mean the Dutch de-facto partnership visa which would be probably the most applicable in this case given it would be where we would be residing in this scenario. I think I read that this was open for Dutch citizens looking to reunite with their long-term partners which in turn gave me the notion that effectively EU citizens had to go through the process of their home country.

Nothing to do with Ireland in this case. A tactical issue arises as to whether you should first make an application in Belgium to establish the status/nature of the relationship. The fact is, however, that the Netherlands has to make provision for the unmarried partners of an EU national seeking residence as a family unit in its country.

belgianwaffler

Marcusm wrote: »

Nothing to do with Ireland in this case. A tactical issue arises as to whether you should first make an application in Belgium to establish the status/nature of the relationship. The fact is, however, that the Netherlands has to make provision for the unmarried partners of an EU national seeking residence as a family unit in its country.

Excellent, thank you. I'll check out the Belgian requirements and time frames to see if that is manageable as whatever happens we will likely be here for a good few more months at least.