Irish GNIB Stamp 4 v Stamp 4EUFam

[DeDanan]

Hi All,
I just don’t understand.
I am looking to bring my wife to Poland with me on a short business trip. She is a Thai national and has a spouse visa for Ireland. Her GNIB stamp is 4.
Requirements taken from Polish embassy web site:
You do not need a visa to enter Poland if all of these three circumstances are fulfilled:
1/ you are married to an EU-citizen but not to a Polish citizen,
2/ you have a GNIB Card with stamp "4EUFam",
3/ you travel to Poland together with your spouse,
(legal base: Directive 2004/38/EC).
(Marriage certificate and the GNIB card with 4EUFam stamp must be presented to border officers when entering and leaving Poland).
If one of these 3 circumstances is not fulfilled then you need to have a visa when travelling to Poland.

Why is GNIB stamp 4EUFam better for travel than Stamp 4, 5 or 6?
Stamp 4 – issued to spouses/dependents of Irish nationals, those with refugee status, those granted leave to remain in the
State, those who have work visas or authorisation, those granted residency based on parentage of an Irish child and
those granted long-term residency. Holders of this stamp have free access to employment
Stamp 4EuFam – issued to the spouses or dependents of EU workers in Ireland. The holder can access employment freely
Stamp 5 – issued to persons with dual citizenship (of which one is Irish)
Stamp 6 – issued to persons with unlimited residency permission (only after at least 8 years legal residence in the State)
I do not understand why a spouse of an EU worker in Ireland has more travel rights than the spouse of an Irish citizen.
Can anyone enlighten me on this?
Regards
Jim

[Ben]

Hi Jim, welcome to the board!

Are you an Irish citizen? If so, then you are not exercising EU Treaty Rights in Ireland (unless you are also a citizen of another EEA country?). This means that your wife is not resident in Ireland in accordance with EU Directive 2004/38/EC, she is resident here in accordance with Irish national law.

Non-EEA family members of EEA nationals, who wish to enter another Member State in the company of, or to join, their EEA national family member, are exempt from the requirement to have a visa if they carry a Residence Card issued in accordance with the Directive. In Ireland, this is Residence Card is known as Stamp 4 EUFam.

Unfortunately, your wife needs a visa from the Polish embassy in Dublin. On the plus side, it will be issued free and by way of an accelerated process.

[mendo]

For minimum inconvenience to get the visa, you have the advantage of beeing sure that they can't turn you back at the border, if she has a visa in her passport.

Regards,

Mendo
________
Jaguar Mark Iv

[DeDanan]

Hi,

Thank you for your replies.

I have looked up some information on EU Directive 2004/38/EC : European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 is about the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. A Guide on how to get the best out of Directive 2004/38/EC http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/ ... _ec_en.pdf

Benifa, yes I am an Irish citizen. You say “This means that your wife is not resident in Ireland in accordance with EU Directive 2004/38/EC, she is resident here in accordance with Irish national law. “
1. Would it be an advantage for her to be resident in accordance with EU Directive 2004/38/EC?
2. I can only see information about EU Directive 2004/38/EC as a right. I can not find anywhere that you can apply for this right (except to state it at the border). Is there an application form and then some form of documentation to state that she would be residing here under this right.
Thanks again
Jim

[86ti]

I can not find anywhere that you can apply for this right...

You don't apply for a right, you already have it. It is the right of free movement within the EEA member states, i.e. in order to benefit from that right you would have to move first to another EEA country to exercise your treaty rights (and later return to Ireland under the Surinder Singh ruling of the ECJ). This assumes that you are an Irish citizen only.

[Ben]

1. Would it be an advantage for her to be resident in accordance with EU Directive 2004/38/EC?

For the purpose of visa-free travel within the EU, yes.

2. I can only see information about EU Directive 2004/38/EC as a right. I can not find anywhere that you can apply for this right (except to state it at the border). Is there an application form and then some form of documentation to state that she would be residing here under this right.

In a nutshell, EU Directive 2004/38/EC details the rights of an EU national to move freely among the Member States, to live, work, study, open a business or to be self-sufficient. These rights extend to the EU national's family members, subject to certain conditions.

However, since you are an Irish national, resident and working in Ireland, you are not exercising your right to free movement in accordance with the Directive. This means that your wife is not resident in accordance with the Directive. Her permission to reside in Ireland has been granted by the GNIB in accordance with Irish national law.

Only EU nationals other than Irish nationals, who are resident in Ireland, are exercising their right to free movement. Irish nationals resident in Ireland have not "moved", as it were. Similarly, UK nationals who are resident in the UK have not moved, and so the provisions of the Directive do not apply to them, or their family members. Any other EU national who is resident in the UK, however, is exercising their right to free movement.

There is an exception, however, as a result of the Surinder Singh judgment. In short, this provides that if a citizen of the Union returns to his country of citizenship with his non-EEA family members, after having exercised his right to free movement in another Member State (and has been economically active there), he and his family members are to be treated (upon arrival in his country of citizenship) as if he is exercising a Treaty right in his country of citizenship. In this situation, his family members are able to benefit from the provisions of the Directive.

Practically speaking, in your case Jim, if you were to leave Ireland, move and work (or be self-employed) in another Member State (taking your wife with you), and then move back to Ireland, the provisions of the Directive would apply, and your wife would then be resident in Ireland in accordance with the provisions (Stamp 4 EUFam).

[86ti]

There is an exception...

Not really an exception but a member state has the right, of course, to implement national laws that are as liberal as the Directive or even offer a better deal (are there any such countries?). It has been mentioned on this board that some countries like Romania, Italy and Spain issue the same type of residence cards to both their own nationals and all other EEA nationals.