No Visa required Non EU Girlfriend

[DamnIRL]

Hi Just a few questions on the above.
So my Girlfriend is from a no visa required country in asia , she has visited here once already this year.
The future goal is that she will eventually come here with me as my spouse.

We have planned for her to come here on an 8 month english language study holiday next year sometime, everything will be in place with the required documentation, funds and school place in order.

So the fact that she doesn't need a visa to arrive in the country means she will be coming here without actually knowing whether they will let her stay.
So my question is what is the likelyhood of being turned back at immigration at the airport?
What will be asked of her at the airport bar the required stuff on the INIS website?
Will they question her about our relationship and deny her the right to stay for the 8 months/entry on that basis?
We don't want to do anything to jeopardise our future plans so don't want to be misleading.

I was thinking we could also forget the school and come on the 90 day holiday/general visit stay instead?
No worries about getting in but obviously the time is shorter, how many times a year can she come on that 90day Visit?
I was thinking come for 90Days go back home for a month or 2 and then come back again for another 90days?

Can anybody give any information or opinion on the above ?
Are there any pitfalls we can run into here with both scenarios?

Thanks.

[Vorona]

So the fact that she doesn't need a visa to arrive in the country means she will be coming here without actually knowing whether they will let her stay.
So my question is what is the likelyhood of being turned back at immigration at the airport?

She must know why she's travelling here. Regardless of the actual reason. If she couldn't answer this clearly/behave suspiciously she could be refused entry. Border officer can also ask her to show her return ticket and money. If the date on her return ticket is longer than 90 days from her arrival date, she'd better have an explanation. If she says "I don't know", it's not going to look good.

[DamnIRL]

I don’t get your point?
If she is coming to do an English language course that’s the reason she is coming. And will have all associated documents , required funds and school letter and stuff.

Where did you get that she doesn’t know why she is coming?

If she is coming on a 90 day general visit/holiday then she is coming to visit me and holiday?
Why would the return ticket be for more than 90 days?
She will have a return ticket , a bank balance of funds and a place to stay.

[Vorona]

I see. Sorry, I had a busy day at work

I was just confused a bit as you've been throwing everything into the pot - her previous visits, your plans to get married and her English language courses next year. It just left me with an impression that you both don't know what your actual plans are.

Whether she's allowed in or not has very little to do with her nationality and visa requirements. Even if she needed a visa, it is up to the border officer to decide to allow her in or not.

You said that she will have everything on hand. I was wondering why would you be concerned about this if everything is ok. The likelihood of her being turned away is very little.

As I said she will most likely be asked about purpose of her visit, proof of her courses, accommodation and money.

[littlerr]

The officer at the border will ask her the purpose of coming to Ireland.

If her intention is study, she must have already been admitted to a course and has paid the tuition fee in full. Of course, the officer will use their judgement to determine whether this is her true intention and her primary purpose. Whether you two want to get married in future is irrelevant.

She also has to convince the officer that the college is real (this is quite important nowadays as many language schools here are shambolic), that she will attend the course and actively engage in her study (rather than having a poor attendance record and getting a job elsewhere), and that she has sufficient funds to fund herself etc.

If her intention is to visit, it's a bit tricky at the moment. In general non-EU residents are not supposed to travel to EU countries for the purpose of short-term visit/tourism. Even without the pandemic, she will still be heavily scrutinised if she intends to come back and forth. It's not about legally whether you can enter Ireland X number of times within Y number of months. The border officer has the total authority to reject one's entry if they have any slightest suspicion. Ireland just isn't a place where any average Asian person would come again and again within a year, especially considering the shortage of long-haul flights between Asia and Ireland.

In addition, with a short-term visit permission, she cannot get a long-term permission after you two are married. She will have to apply for the permission from her own country. A study permission will allow her to get married here. Once her study is complete and you two are married, she can apply for a change of permission on the basis of the spouse of an Irish citizen.

[DamnIRL]

I see. Sorry, I had a busy day at work

I was just confused a bit as you've been throwing everything into the pot - her previous visits, your plans to get married and her English language courses next year. It just left me with an impression that you both don't know what your actual plans are.

Whether she's allowed in or not has very little to do with her nationality and visa requirements. Even if she needed a visa, it is up to the border officer to decide to allow her in or not.

You said that she will have everything on hand. I was wondering why would you be concerned about this if everything is ok. The likelihood of her being turned away is very little.

As I said she will most likely be asked about purpose of her visit, proof of her courses, accommodation and money.

Ok

Oh I am not worried per say, i heard on the radio some guy was here studying and was giving out his boyfriend didn’t get through immigration.

And the fact she doesn’t need a visa before landing here just means that we don’t actually know if she will be allowed through.
It’s a long way to travel, leaving a job and stuff.
I just want to make sure everything is right and follow the best course of action.

[DamnIRL]

The officer at the border will ask her the purpose of coming to Ireland.

If her intention is study, she must have already been admitted to a course and has paid the tuition fee in full. Of course, the officer will use their judgement to determine whether this is her true intention and her primary purpose. Whether you two want to get married in future is irrelevant.

She also has to convince the officer that the college is real (this is quite important nowadays as many language schools here are shambolic), that she will attend the course and actively engage in her study (rather than having a poor attendance record and getting a job elsewhere), and that she has sufficient funds to fund herself etc.

If her intention is to visit, it's a bit tricky at the moment. In general non-EU residents are not supposed to travel to EU countries for the purpose of short-term visit/tourism. Even without the pandemic, she will still be heavily scrutinised if she intends to come back and forth. It's not about legally whether you can enter Ireland X number of times within Y number of months. The border officer has the total authority to reject one's entry if they have any slightest suspicion. Ireland just isn't a place where any average Asian person would come again and again within a year, especially considering the shortage of long-haul flights between Asia and Ireland.

In addition, with a short-term visit permission, she cannot get a long-term permission after you two are married. She will have to apply for the permission from her own country. A study permission will allow her to get married here. Once her study is complete and you two are married, she can apply for a change of permission on the basis of the spouse of an Irish citizen.

Thanks for the post.
It will be next year hopefully if all this virus stuff
Calms down.

I didn’t know that about the short term 90 day stay thanks.
We don’t have any plans to get married while she is here if she in on a study stay although that Could change so it’s good to know.

I understand about satisfying the requirements and the officer at the airport.

So will probably just go with the school if nobody else adds any more insight.

Thanks for the replies.

[jlad]

I have been to Ireland on 3 different occasions as tourist before moving here officially last year. Non eu non visa national from Asia here too. Been to quite a bit of countries and my experience with Irish immigration has always been superb. Never had any issues when entering Ireland, never really been asked for proof of funds, accommodation or return tickets once, just usual questions like purpose of visiting/how long you here for etc (although I have to say officer has every right to ask for more). On first two time I got standard 90 days, the third one however the officer asked how long I will be in Ireland for, I said just a few days for a long weekend (3 days), and he then said he would give me a week just so if I decide to stay a few days longer the stamp will cover me and asked if its ok. I laughed and said I will be gone then. Very friendly officers all the time. Just to put your mind at ease

All in all, if you are genuine everything will be fine.