fatty patty wrote:
You do raise a very valid point scrudu. But medical cards are issued by HSE it is not linked to DSW (told by an acquaintance in DSW). Its like a child being called to the health centre for screening and other stuff while in school, that is also relying on govt dont you think, but its provided free by the govt in conjunction with education ministry?
scrudu wrote:If your application is based on other (e.g. spouse of Irish, refugee etc.) it may not be an issue.
I don't know anything about whether the DSW and HSE are connected but it'd be pretty crazy if they weren't. How else would they verify the details on the Medical Card application form regarding Income. Both Medical Card and GP Visit card are granted after means testing and are only granted if an applicant applies for one and shows that their income is low and within the limits described in either
Medical Cards or
GP Visit Cards. They are not like other state entitlements such as child vaccines as you mention. The general public are not entitled to a Medical Card or GP Visit card, only those who satisfy a means test are entitled. The reason this may cause an issue with a citizenship application is that the bearer has shown that he/she cannot afford to cover their own medical expenses due to low income and requires state support. If you are applying for citizenship based on 5 years residency, some of the checks are to ensure that you have been self sufficient during your time in Ireland and have not had recourse to public funds (some Social Welfare, Medical Card etc.). I don't know if a GP Card is viewed the same way as a Medical Card but there have been people on this forum whose application was refused due to having a medical card (do search to find threads). GP are likely to be treated differently for citizenship as they are granted to the individual and not the family, and are often granted in cases where the applicant has an ongoing medical condition and not just related to income.
fatty patty wrote:How come work permit holders are affected by it and not the spouse of irish/refugee? Do you think that EUFAM4 ones be affected by this too?
Honestly given the lack of clear guidelines it's hard to be sure of anything, but spouses of Irish citizens applications are not based on income and I'm not sure the same Social Welfare requirements exist. When I asked before, I was told for example, that an applicant could apply for Jobseekers Benefit (given on the basis of PRSI stamps paid) but not Jobseekers Allowance (given on the basis of need, i.e. no/low income). The same does not apply to people applying on ground of 5 year residency. Refugees have much lower criteria for acceptance for citizenship because if they have already been accepted as a refugee, it's a natural step to progress to citizenship. If their previous country of nationality is no longer a safe place for them to live, they'd need citizenship of the country that recognises them as a refugee to be allowed to leave the country.