Near to getting passport but have to go live overseas, what can I do?

[brgf]

I'm irish, my wife is from brazil, we got married 2.5 years ago. We want to get her her passport when eligible in 6 months. However, I have just been offered a great job overseas for a year. How can I make this work? Can she come back for a few months around the time or will they question the dubai trip etc? I'm keeing my apartment etc here, will she be ok?

[max307]

I'm irish, my wife is from brazil, we got married 2.5 years ago. We want to get her her passport when eligible in 6 months. However, I have just been offered a great job overseas for a year. How can I make this work? Can she come back for a few months around the time or will they question the dubai trip etc? I'm keeing my apartment etc here, will she be ok?

If she stays out of the country for more than 6 weeks in a year will need to provide an explanation to INIS. They will definitely question her stay outside of Ireland. Also, she will need a 1 year of continuous residence immediately before the date of the application so I guess the choice of her moving abroad with you at the moment is out of the question.

Technically INIS has no way of knowing if you (Irish citizen) are living abroad, you could be travelling often for business as far as they're concerned. If you keep your Irish bank accounts, utility bills on your name here, Irish phone number and the apartment here; she could apply for citizenship in 6 months as if the two of you were still living together here.

The only problem I can see with that route is that if for some reason they check with the Revenue you will not be tax resident in Ireland. Are you being transferred by your company? If that's the case you could ask them to keep paying your salary through Ireland while your wife is going through the citizenship application.

[littlerr]

Remember you will be both required to submit 3 evidences for each year to prove that you live here. You need to *both* live in Ireland in the same address for 3 years.
Even if you keep your apartment, bank account, utilities etc, it is still inevitable that the usage on these statements/bills will be greatly reduced, unless you can get someone to use your apartment and use your bank card on a daily basis. You also have the issue of how your salary is going to come in to your bank account.
These will certainly cast a doubt as to whether you do live here. Eventually the reduction of usage is going to coincide with your travel dates to Dubai.

I just wouldn't recommend that she applies for it now. Wait for a year after you come back (assuming that you are going to be out for just a year). If the immigration officer suspects that your wife and you are using fraudulent documents or providing misleading information on purpose, they may reject the application and they may reject any subsequent applications based on the same old "not a good character" reason.