Spouse Of American UCD Graduate Student

RobDude · Post by **RobDude** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:02 am

I've been trying to figure this out searching the various websites; but I'm just overwhelmed by all of it. I thought maybe someone could help me out.

My fiancÃ©e and are intending to get married in the next month or so. She's been accepted to attend Vet School at UC Dublin....but we are having trouble figuring out whether or not I can go to Ireland with her. We are both US citizens.

I've read that Study Visas typically do not apply to spouses; but I've also read that US citizens don't need a study visa to attend school. Just a passport, and then registration with the GNIB, but registration with the GNIB requires documents saying that the student is, in fact a student. I won't be a student, and I can't find anything that talks about the spouse of a student.

I have similar problems with insurance. The UCD website says to become registered with the GNIB you need private health insurance and provides a link to a company offering said health insurance. Once again, that program seems to apply only to actual students. Will my spouse's insurance cover me as well, or will I need separate insurance?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I've never traveled before so this is all very new to me. We have some other educational options too, if it turns out we can't attend Dublin together, but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

Thanks!

zafarzafar80 · Post by **zafarzafar80** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:07 pm

Hi RobDude,

You have couple of questions i would try try to answer them separately,

She's been accepted to attend Vet School at UC Dublin....but we are having trouble figuring out whether or not I can go to Ireland with her

If she is doing PhD in UCD than you can apply to DOJ as her spouse & u would be accepted. If ur fiance is doing a course lower than PhD level than you wouldn't get a spouse visa.

Will my spouse's insurance cover me as well, or will I need separate insurance?

You need your own comprehensive medical insurance,
check Quinn health insurance, Aviva health insurance, VHI health insurance.

zafarzafar80 · Post by **zafarzafar80** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:10 pm

I've also read that US citizens don't need a study visa to attend school. Just a passport, and then registration with the GNIB

You are wrong here, For sure US citizen do not visa for the purpose of visit in ireland for 90 days, but if they want to be enguaged in any economic activity than you would need a visa & registration with GNIB means visa.

agniukas · Post by **agniukas** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:42 pm

your future spouse will probably be issued with stamp 2 as a student. she will not be permitted to have her dependant spouse with her unless she is studying for PhD. You can come to ireland as a tourist/visitor, no visa necessary, but you will have to register with GNIB if staying for more than 90 days. If you can prove that you can support yourself (not sure how rich you should be to support yourself in ireland without working) you could get stamp 3, not allowing you to work.
what are you planning to do in ireland yourself?

RobDude · Post by **RobDude** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:36 am

agniukas wrote:your future spouse will probably be issued with stamp 2 as a student. she will not be permitted to have her dependant spouse with her unless she is studying for PhD. You can come to ireland as a tourist/visitor, no visa necessary, but you will have to register with GNIB if staying for more than 90 days. If you can prove that you can support yourself (not sure how rich you should be to support yourself in ireland without working) you could get stamp 3, not allowing you to work.
what are you planning to do in ireland yourself?

As it turns out, her program isn't the NFQ Level 10 that would all her spouse/children to tag along. Instead, it's an NFQ level 8. So, that's too bad.

My plan is still to 'tag-along' and hope for the best. I'm still reading/trying to understand, but like you said, I should have 90 days before I need to register with GNIB, and I believe I would qualify for a tourist visa that could extend that another 90 days. That would give me six months to stay in Ireland and legally search for a job.

With some luck, I'll be able to get either a work permit or a green card (I'm still not perfectly clear on the difference, but it sounds like a green card would be preferred).

I've also heard that, after my 90 or 180 days (if that tourist visa works out), I only need to return to my country of origin and then I'd be eligible to return for another 90 days. Still, at some point, I'd run out of money; if I haven't found a job by that point - I'll just have to return to the US and let my wife finish her degree in Ireland. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a job. I still haven't looked into issues with taxes (I know I have to still file US taxes as well as whatever taxes are required by Ireland; but I don't know exactly how much that will hurt my income).

agniukas · Post by **agniukas** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:56 am

Sorry to disappoint you, but the chances for getting a work permit are practically zero. finding a job is pretty hard as well. if you haven't heard unemployment is around 13 % with huge emigration elsewhere.
green cards are issued to only highly qualified, highly skills workers.
at the point of entry to the state you will be asked for the reason as to why are you coming to ireland. if you state as a tourist, that permission will not be renewed at the end of 3 months.

RobDude · Post by **RobDude** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:34 pm

agniukas wrote:Sorry to disappoint you, but the chances for getting a work permit are practically zero. finding a job is pretty hard as well. if you haven't heard unemployment is around 13 % with huge emigration elsewhere.
green cards are issued to only highly qualified, highly skills workers.
at the point of entry to the state you will be asked for the reason as to why are you coming to ireland. if you state as a tourist, that permission will not be renewed at the end of 3 months.

Yeah - if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But at the worst, I'll enjoy a three month vacation in Ireland

Are companies penalized for hiring foreigners with additional taxes or would I have pretty much the same shot as anyone else applying?

sideshowsue · Post by **sideshowsue** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 5:47 pm

Effectively, 'Community Preference' applies for all non-Green Card level jobs. This means that before an employer can hire a non-EU national for any position, they'll have to demonstrate they've been unable to hire a suitably qualified Irish or European candidate for the job. And how is this demonstrated? By advertising the position in local and national newspapers for a week, and posting the position in national and European job banks for a minimum of 8 weeks.

I don't want to take the wind out of your sails, but to be frank, the chances of finding a job -- **any** job -- in Ireland right now are quite grim. So unless you have cutting-edge IT skills or can speak another European language (Irish-based European call centres are crying out for staff), I'd kinda put paid to this idea of finding a job here. There's a reason why 1000 people a week are leaving Ireland. There are no jobs here.

Wisco · Post by **Wisco** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:56 pm

I think I read that work permits are generally only given for jobs in which you would earn more than 30k (euro) per year, which is significantly more than a minimum wage type job, and needless to say, with such high unemployment here, competition for jobs is fierce. Also in order to hire you, and Irish firm would have to show that they have advertised locally/nationally and not found anyone suitable qualified. And if hired, you are tied to that employer for at least a year (as far as I know). The permit, if you get it, isn't cheap either.
I wouldn't try to hide that you may stay longer than your 90 days when you come over as they might not look as kindly at you when you try to extend your stay.
The vet degree in Ireland is an undergraduate degree, so it's a shame you can't take advantage of the PhD stuff.
Good luck. But if I were you, I'd probably be giving serious thought to going somewhere that it would be easier for you both to go to, especially since non-EU citizen tuition isn't the cheapest and the economy is so bad here right now.
About taxes- you don't get taxed twice on the same income, so if working in Ireland, while you still have to file a US tax return, you probably won't have to actually pay anything (unless you have a very high income) to the IRS as there is a foreign earned income deduction.

RobDude · Post by **RobDude** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:13 am

Thanks for all of the information.

We are still hoping for a US acceptance; but it's not looking very good. I will certainly be honest about my intents about staying when I come over....and maybe, with some luck, I'll be able to find a job.

Realistically, it sounds like I'll just be visiting Ireland, seeing some sights, and helping my wife get settled. It's a little disappointing, but we'll manage.

podge_celt · Post by **podge_celt** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 12:27 am

your wife should maybe consider a uk uni to do her studies, there are a lot of US accredited schools there. my wife is studying vet medicine in glasgow, I am from Ireland so were not in the same situation as you but we know 2 other married couples who are from the US and 1 is studying and the other working, The uk is also a good option as they offer free health care. am notsure on all the details but it might be worth looking into.

9jeirean · Post by **9jeirean** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:25 pm

podge_celt wrote:your wife should maybe consider a uk uni to do her studies, there are a lot of US accredited schools there. my wife is studying vet medicine in glasgow, I am from Ireland so were not in the same situation as you but we know 2 other married couples who are from the US and 1 is studying and the other working, The uk is also a good option as they offer free health care. am notsure on all the details but it might be worth looking into.

Nice point. As an addition, in the UK you would be allowed to work if you are the spouse of a full time student.

Good luck in your considerations

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Spouse Of American UCD Graduate Student

Spouse Of American UCD Graduate Student