American buying and using a holiday home in Ireland

[Ximon]

I know that Americans can purchase houses in Ireland without restrictions. I also know that Americans are entitled to stay in Ireland for 90 days. This appears pretty straight forward but I still have the following questions:

1. If I buy a holiday home in Ireland, can I freely travel to Ireland and use the home for 90 days at a time?
2. If I stay in Ireland for the full 90 day period, how long must I remain out of Ireland in order to re-enter for another 90 days?
3. Will INIS have any concerns with my purchasing a home in Ireland with the intent to visit only for the periods permitted under my visa or could they stop me from visiting if they see a pattern of such stays?

Are there any other concerns?

[Ximon]

I know that Americans can purchase houses in Ireland without restrictions. I also know that Americans are entitled to stay in Ireland for 90 days. This appears pretty straight forward but I still have the following questions:

1. If I buy a holiday home in Ireland, can I freely travel to Ireland and use the home for 90 days at a time?
2. If I stay in Ireland for the full 90 day period, how long must I remain out of Ireland in order to re-enter for another 90 days?
3. Will INIS have any concerns with my purchasing a home in Ireland with the intent to visit only for the periods permitted under my visa or could they stop me from visiting if they see a pattern of such stays?

Are there any other concerns?

Reposting as hoping someone will respond.

[littlerr]

There is no requirement whatsoever to purchase a home in Ireland, as long as you pay everything upfront by yourself. (If you need a mortgage provided by an Irish bank, things would get much more complicated.)

However, there is also no entitlement to residence here regardless of whether you have a home here.

Just like most of the countries, there is no formal requirement as to how long you need to stay out of Ireland before you come back. This is all at the discretion of the immigration officer. If you stay here for 3 months, go out for 1 months and come back, the immigration officer might have some suspicion as to whether you are abusing the short-term visit policy.

Legally speaking, a person is regarded as a 'resident' of Ireland if he/she stays for at least 183 days in this country, i.e. 6 months, so you probably won't want to stay for 6 months as that would invalidate your status as a short-term non-residence visit.

The safest way is to apply for a Stamp 0 permission once you arrive in Ireland. This allows a person with self-sufficient funds to legally reside here. You just need to write a letter to the department, explaining that you have sufficient funds to cover yourself, and the reason that you want to stay here for more than 3 months is because you have a holiday home here. The only setback would be a 300 euro registration fee and a painful online appointment system (which every single non-EU resident has to endure every year or so).
Details here: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Stamp%200

[Ximon]

littlerr, with respect, the Stamp 0 process is far from easy and I believe requires more than a simple letter. It requires proof of health insurance, income of at least €50,000 per person and liquid assets of at least €150,000. And I do not want to spend a year in Ireland, only 3 months per visit as suggested by visa guidelines. Ireland is not part of the Schengen area so is different from most other EU countries which permit 90 days in, 90 days out by rule. I agree that immigration officers have discretion but Stamp 0 is not a reasonable solution IMO.

[littlerr]

littlerr, with respect, the Stamp 0 process is far from easy and I believe requires more than a simple letter. It requires proof of health insurance, income of at least €50,000 per person and liquid assets of at least €150,000. And I do not want to spend a year in Ireland, only 3 months per visit as suggested by visa guidelines. Ireland is not part of the Schengen area so is different from most other EU countries which permit 90 days in, 90 days out by rule. I agree that immigration officers have discretion but Stamp 0 is not a reasonable solution IMO.

3 months a year is definitely fine. Nobody would ever question you about that. It's more to do with whether you want to leave and come back within a short period of time. Nobody knows the threshold for this "short period" - it could be a day, a week, a months, 3 months etc. It depends on the immigration officer, and can create uncertainty for you (if you get rejected at the entry point once, it would be very difficult for you to ever come back again within the next few years).

Stamp 0 is the safest bet. Yes the requirements are not that easy, but there are merely a guideline. Plus it is a free service.
You just need to write a compelling letter to the immigration office to explain that you have a house here and you want to stay here for 4-5 months a year for example. In addition, you should mention that:
- You won't touch any public funds;
- You have a reasonable amount of asset/money (a property here would be a sizeable asset) already;
- You can explain that your job in the US does not offer 50,000 Euro a year but you may have a lower tax rate and your salary gives you a comfortable lifestyle in the US, and your savings can give you a comfortable 4 month stay in Ireland;
- Health insurance. There is no way around it. You can use a combination of travel insurance and additional insurance provided by your credit card for the first 3 months (therefore for your application). You can purchase additional health insurance locally if you get an approval.
Worst scenario, they reject you, but that's not going to leave any negative image in your immigration file if you want to visit Ireland again for the purpose of tourism.

[max307]

littlerr, with respect, the Stamp 0 process is far from easy and I believe requires more than a simple letter. It requires proof of health insurance, income of at least €50,000 per person and liquid assets of at least €150,000. And I do not want to spend a year in Ireland, only 3 months per visit as suggested by visa guidelines. Ireland is not part of the Schengen area so is different from most other EU countries which permit 90 days in, 90 days out by rule. I agree that immigration officers have discretion but Stamp 0 is not a reasonable solution IMO.

Ireland isn't in the Schengen area but it is in the EU and the same immigration rules apply to all the states members of the EU. Your stay should be “no more than 90 days in any 180-day period" but if you only intend to visit the country once a year for 90 days or less then you will be fine, no problem at all.

[Ximon]

Not 90 days once a year. 90 days every 180 days so 180 days total for each year. Otherwise, no point to buy a holiday home.

[PasadenaTom]

Ireland isn't in the Schengen area but it is in the EU and the same immigration rules apply to all the states members of the EU.

There is an EU regulation on visas which mentions the 3 months in six months limit under "Objective and scope". But in paragraph 37 at the beginning of the regulation, it states that Ireland is not bound by or subject to it:

"This Regulation constitutes a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in which Ireland does not take part, in accordance with Council Decision 2002/192/EC of 28 February 2002 concerning Ireland’s request to take part in some of the provisions of the Schengen acquis (5). Ireland is therefore not taking part in the adoption of the Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application."

Short of finding a published Irish law or regulation, I don't think the original poster's question has been settled. Ireland may follow the 3 months in 6 rule. But I'd hate to invest in a holiday home without more certainty.

[Ximon]

PasadenaTom, yes I think the question has not been answered but maybe there is no answer other than Irish immigration authorities have discretion that Schengen authorities may not.