Need help with Partners Visa App

[mauritania]

Hi all,

My partner is from Mauritania but has resided in Spain for the past ten years and eleven months. He holds permanent residency there and full legal status to work there.
I am from Ireland and am currently residing in Ireland. My partner and I married in August this year under Muslim law. This is not a legal marriage just a religious one.
Now we are expecting our first baby in April 2011 so due to the language barriers I incurred in Spain I decided to return home to Ireland to have the baby here.
We applied for my partner to obtain a tourist visa to Ireland so he could be here for when our baby will be born. We applied in November.
We wrote down that the purpose of the visa is to join partner (not wife). I wrote him out an invitation letter. Copied all proof of pregnancy, my record of earnings here and my passport. My parents also sent an invitation letter because I reside with them so he would stay in their house. We also copied their passports.
My partner sent a copy of his residency card which he got stamped by the consul in Barcelona. His passport. His own letter detailing why he wants to visit.
I called the embassy in Madrid last week to ensure they had received all documentation and to check if they needed anything else. I spoke to a very nice man there who told me that we were lacking a few things.
One was we had a applied for a multiple trip visa and this would not be approved. He said that was okay just to e-mail and say that we agreed to accept a single trip which is fine by us.
Secondly we are lacking a reason for my partner to return to Spain. My partner is currently unemployed. He has applied for a course starting in January but hasn't received word on if he will be accepted yet. He doesn't hold a tenancy agreement because he is just renting a room from a family.
I advised the embassy that we had no intention to remain in Ireland. That once the baby was a few weeks old and in good health that we would be returning to Spain as a family. The guy advised me to add that to the e-mail which I did.
The guy asked were we married. I said yes, but religiously not legally. He told me it didn't matter that we should send in our marriage cert and a translation. Our marriage cert is in Arabic and practically impossible to read.

I have a couple of questions
a.) what valid reasons can we provide for him to return to Spain without him being in employment?
b.) Do I need a certified translation of the marriage cert?
c.) If so where can I get this done cheaply?

Does anyone have any advice as to what I can do to get this sorted. I really want my partner to be here for April.
Thanks in advance!

[agniukas]

b.) Do I need a certified translation of the marriage cert?
c.) If so where can I get this done cheaply?

you can have your marriage cert translated at the mosque in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 or the mosque at South Circular road, dublin 8

[mauritania]

b.) Do I need a certified translation of the marriage cert?
c.) If so where can I get this done cheaply?

you can have your marriage cert translated at the mosque in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 or the mosque at South Circular road, dublin 8

Really? Will they charge do you know?

[agniukas]

they will charge, but not sure how much. they provide translation services

[mauritania]

Thank you very much, very helpful of you!

[Zebrudaya]

I think a solicitor who is well versed with EU law and immigration matters can help you. If your partner who has right of abode in Spain can be assumed to be equivalent to a citizen, then he is entitled to free movement between member states ( Spain and Ireland ).

I am sure if you look properly in Spain, you will find good /qualified interpreters of Arabic ( check with the moslem communuity there etc ). I don`t think it will be costly, may be £10.00 or even free.

[mauritania]

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately his residency in Spain as far as I'm aware does not entitle him to move freely. We cannot afford a solicitor at the moment either.

To the previous poster thank you for suggesting the Mosques in Dublin. The second one provide a translation service for just €25

[Irisheddy]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but if your partner is unemployed the Department of Justice will probably not believe that he intends to return there. I do not doubt you but they only look at cold hard facts.

They also charge fees for visa applications which are still payable even if unsuccessful.

[mauritania]

Your right IrishEddy! It was mentioned to me that if I secured a job that starts in May back in Spain and had letters to prove this they might allow his visa. Anyone any thoughts on that?

[fatty patty]

Hi all,

My partner is from Mauritania but has resided in Spain for the past ten years and eleven months. He holds permanent residency there and full legal status to work there.
I am from Ireland and am currently residing in Ireland. My partner and I married in August this year under Muslim law. This is not a legal marriage just a religious one.
Now we are expecting our first baby in April 2011 so due to the language barriers I incurred in Spain I decided to return home to Ireland to have the baby here.
We applied for my partner to obtain a tourist visa to Ireland so he could be here for when our baby will be born. We applied in November.
We wrote down that the purpose of the visa is to join partner (not wife). I wrote him out an invitation letter. Copied all proof of pregnancy, my record of earnings here and my passport. My parents also sent an invitation letter because I reside with them so he would stay in their house. We also copied their passports.
My partner sent a copy of his residency card which he got stamped by the consul in Barcelona. His passport. His own letter detailing why he wants to visit.
I called the embassy in Madrid last week to ensure they had received all documentation and to check if they needed anything else. I spoke to a very nice man there who told me that we were lacking a few things.
One was we had a applied for a multiple trip visa and this would not be approved. He said that was okay just to e-mail and say that we agreed to accept a single trip which is fine by us.
Secondly we are lacking a reason for my partner to return to Spain. My partner is currently unemployed. He has applied for a course starting in January but hasn't received word on if he will be accepted yet. He doesn't hold a tenancy agreement because he is just renting a room from a family.
I advised the embassy that we had no intention to remain in Ireland. That once the baby was a few weeks old and in good health that we would be returning to Spain as a family. The guy advised me to add that to the e-mail which I did.
The guy asked were we married. I said yes, but religiously not legally. He told me it didn't matter that we should send in our marriage cert and a translation. Our marriage cert is in Arabic and practically impossible to read.

I have a couple of questions
a.) what valid reasons can we provide for him to return to Spain without him being in employment?
b.) Do I need a certified translation of the marriage cert?
c.) If so where can I get this done cheaply?

Does anyone have any advice as to what I can do to get this sorted. I really want my partner to be here for April.
Thanks in advance!

You would need certified copies of your marriage cert if not in english ... as stated above this can be done by muslim council of ireland http://islamireland.ie/ (for more details) and you can find nearest centre to where you reside. You also mentioned that this is just a religious cermony and not recognised by Irish law...i think you gonna have to check this one out again, as far as i am aware there are muslim marriage councilors who are on HSE panel. In my opinion your parents whom you reside with has to provide an affidavit stating that he will return after few months visit, as he is unemployed and that can be a little tricky...although him holding a spanish residency + you providing affidavit that you are going back to spain would help your visa case quite a lot. Also you shouldn't be paying for visa fees as he is spouse of Irish citizen, but if you paid it already then good luck on getting it back. http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Visa_Fees

[Irisheddy]

I would imagine that they should grant a short visa on the basis that you have a definite job offer commencing in May and you have a very strong attachment to your husband.
However an over zealous clerk might also consider that a few weeks is not sufficient time to recover from the birth and start working again. So they may doubt the sincerity of the job offer.

In my opinion the best solution would be a job offer from any Spanish employer for your partner. But go ahead and try. You have nothing to lose.

[mauritania]

Thanks fatty patty. We paid the visa fees as we didn't want it down as a spouse visa due to not having a legal marraige. Only the guy in the embassy complicated things! I have contacted the closest mosque and they have confirmed they can do translations but have not confirmed if they will be recognised by the embassy so just waiting to hear.

IrishEddy, I think your right. Chances are could get a fussy clerk but then our reason could be one of us needs to be in employment and the other stay at home so it was a case of whoever got a job first.

Parents have sent letter stating that he will be staying in their house and they will return him to the airport once his trip is over. We don't even want a full 90 day visa just one months visa would do!