Accompany EU Citizen Partner visa granted

[supattra_kate]

Hello there,

I just wanted to update the forum on my recent visa application.

I applied for a 'Accompany EU Citizen Partner visa' on the 5th of September 2013 at the Irish Consulate in Bangkok. The visa was granted on the 16th of September and we picked up the passport on the 17th of September.

The application was sent to the Irish Embassy in Malaysia who then forwarded it to the EUTR section in Dublin for processing. we were issued with a single entry type C visa, which seems to be the case for most people at the moment. It clearly states: Accompany EU citizen Partner B/O on the visa.

Dublin requested one piece of further documentation during this time, they wanted to see a utility bill or a proof of residence that was used to open a savings account that we showed evidence of in our application. We could only provide a letter from a serviced apartment confirming our address that was used to open the Bank account, due to the fact that utility bills are usually kept in the name of the landlord in Thailand.

This was an unmarried partner application and we provided the following documentation:

- Signed summary application form
- Embassy certified copy of the my partners British passport
- Copy of my partners Swiss passport (Dual EEA citizen)
- Photocopies of every entry and exit stamp in both passports
- Bank certified copy of a joint savings account (only open for 2 months)
- Affidavit of Cohabitation for a continuous 28 month period
- Letters of residence from the management from 2 serviced apartments
- Certified copy of a joint tenancy agreement
- Certified copy of a power of attorney document allowing an agent to terminate our contract at the end of the agreement in Thai language
- Power of attorney as above but translated from Thai to English
- A few photos
- A Covering letter from the applicant
- A covering letter from the EU partner

They tried to charge us for the application initially stating that it was only free for married partners. I e-mailed the EUTR section in Dublin regarding this who confirmed there should be no charge. The Consulate then confirmed this and only charged a small correspondence fee.

I have one quick question:

On our application we stated that we would travel to Ireland on the 10th of October. The start date on the visa is the 17th of Sep, and the Until date is the 15 Dec 2013. The consulate informed us that this is just for the validity of the visa, and it does not mean that our 3 months has started already. She said that as long as we enter Ireland before the 15 Dec we will get a 3 month stamp from immigration. Can anyone please confirm that this is indeed the case. I'm not sure how many EUTR applications the consulate here receive so would just like to be sure.

We very much appreciate all of the help we have received from these forums

Kind Regards

[jeupsy]

Good to know things worked out well for you.

In *theory* they are supposed to give 3 month stay and work authorisation after entry without requiring any formality.

In practise, a good number of border control guards will put another stamp (most likely one month / no work / no study with requirement to register with the GNIB within a month).

There is not much you can do but it is their mistake and nothing can happen if you don't follow what the stamp says. Just make sure you submit form EU1 within 3 months of entering Ireland.

[supattra_kate]

Many Thanks Jeupsy

I have a few further questions if that's ok

1) Eventually we will move to the UK using the Surrinder Singh route. Initially though we will apply for the residence card on the grounds that my EU partner is Residing with sufficient resources. We do understand that before applying for an EEA family permit to the UK my partner will have to be a worker or self-employed in the state for 3 - 6 months but he will find a job at a later date. He has about 65k GBP in a UK savings account, is it ok for the funds to be in a UK account when applying for the residence card?

2) Is registering with the GNIB still necessary for the non-EEA partner of an EU citizen even though an application will be made for a residence card using from EU1 within the first 3 months?

3) Is it hard to get 6 month contracts on property rentals in Dublin? Almost everything we see online is a minimum of 1 year. Are 6 month break clauses on 1 year leases common in Ireland?

4) Is it an Issue to rent a property without a PPS number, and then give the PPS number to the landlord for PRTB registration after signing the contract and getting proof of address? We will be staying in a Hotel initially so are unsure of how to get proof of address to register for our PPS numbers.

Apologies for all the questions.

Many thanks!

Regards

[jeupsy]

No worries.

1) I am not totally sure what their requirements are for being self-sufficient. Probably the best would be to email them and ask if it is ok (eutreatyrights@justice.ie). Just a piece of advice though: self sufficiency is open to interpretation and by using this route you are giving them the opportunity to deny the residence card if they want to. If possible, your partner entering employment (even party time) would make the case stronger as being employed is a clear condition and not something they can decide to interpret in their own way. I am saying that as it looks like you are not married, which opens another route for them to refuse the application as lasting relationship is also something more open to interpretation than marriage. So my advice would be to at least secure the employment route if possible.

2) No it is not required. In case they put a stamp on the passport saying registration is required, my advice would be to email the EU Treaty Right section to ask for confirmation that no registration is required. The will reply that you are correct and you will be covered in case there is any complication.

3) It is possible but indeed for most places the contract is 12 months. Worst case if you are ok to lose the deposit you can get a 12 months contract and leave before the end.

4) I think it will depend on how flexible the agent/landlord is. You will probably encounter some which are ok with this and others which are not. Also, I haven't done that in a while, but up until a few years ago as long as you knew someone with an address in Ireland it was easy to get a PPS number sent to their place (just with a copy of their proof of address and a letter from them saying you are temporarily staying with them). Not sure whether they would say about a hotel address though.

[supattra_kate]

Hi Jeupsy,

Thanks for answering our questions

I hear what you're saying about the self sufficiency route, we will e-mail the EUTR section for further clarification and see how things work out on the job front when we arrive in Dublin. We appreciate the advice.

You're correct, we are not married. I did not think this would be a potential issue anymore, due to the fact that we already had to submit the proof that we are in a 'durable relationship' for the Accompany EU partner visa. We kind of assumed that if our evidence was sufficient for the Accompany spouse visa to be granted it should also be sufficient for the Residency card. Of course we realize that we could be refused on other grounds if everything else is not in order etc...

Many thanks