Advise on non- EU spouse moving to Ireland with EU husband

[Bri26]

I am a Singaporean married to a Polish husband since May 11th 2008. Our wedding was held in Singapore. I moved over to Poland after we got married and have been living in Poland since then. I am currently holding a temporary residence card in Poland which will expire in year 2011. We are planning to move to Ireland in March 2010 for better job opportunities, we will be staying with a friend until we find appropriate accommodation and my husband gets a job.

I would like to know the correct procedure and application for me to enter Ireland with my husband and be legalized to work too. Do I need to apply for EEA family permit in Poland before traveling to Ireland or can I apply at the immigration office in Ireland while I am there on tourist visit? I have checked that Singaporean passport does not require visa to travel to Ireland for 90 days. Please advise.

[archigabe]

Singapore nationals do not require visas to enter Ireland. You can enter Ireland, and apply for Stamp4 E.U family residence card in person at the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
See her for more details.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categ ... in-ireland

[dublin3]

you can not apply for EU family member residence card in person you need to fill up an application form EU1 and you will be issued with residence card after 6 months which will be valid for 5 years and while your application will be in process they will issue you stamp 4 valid for 6 months and you can work full time without no restriction with that.
to apply for EU1 your husband has to exercise his EU treaty rights in state.
hope it helps.

[archigabe]

Let me clarify,
Once you arrive in the country you need to fill out the E.U1 form from here, and once you get the approval letter, you need to go to the GNIB office with your E.U spouse and apply for the Stamp4 in person.

[Ben]

Bri26, selamat datang ke Pulau Irlandia!

[Bri26]

Thank you archigabe and rebel82 for the advise. I will do so as recommended here. I am glad I can just travel to Ireland and do everything there Next step will be looking for accommodation and job

Thank you benifa for the welcome Are you from SG too?

[Ben]

Thank you benifa for the welcome Are you from SG too?

Not by birth.. Used to live there though. May do so again soon. My wife is from there..

[Bri26]

Thank you benifa for the welcome Are you from SG too?

Not by birth.. Used to live there though. May do so again soon. My wife is from there..

That's nice I am missing SG a lot. Hope to go back for holiday soon

[Ben]

Turkish Airlines can be quite reasonable, from Dublin. Have to transit in Istanbul.

Unfortunately, there are no direct passenger flights from Ireland to Singapore. There is an SIA cargo flight though.

[Bri26]

I have a question regarding the application of EU1. As mentioned in my earlier post, I will be staying with a friend at the beginning till we find accommodation. Do I have to wait till we have our own accommodation before I can apply for this EU1?

[dublin3]

No thats not a problem.
You need your friends rental contract and utility bills along a letter written by him/her confirming that you are residing at the same address as him/her.
and it will not be an issue.
good luck

[Ben]

I have a question regarding the application of EU1. As mentioned in my earlier post, I will be staying with a friend at the beginning till we find accommodation. Do I have to wait till we have our own accommodation before I can apply for this EU1?

Nope. You can apply for your residence card immediately.

[Bri26]

ooh ok thanks

[Bri26]

benifa, do u have any idea if Singapore driving license is recognized in Ireland? Can I exchange my singapore license to an irish one? As i know, Singapore license can be exchanged in UK.

Another question is, let's say if we are not staying with a friend when we move over to Ireland, we would need to secure our accommodation then proceed to apply for EU1 right? As mention by rebel82, we need to produce rental contract and utility billing. So when we first rent a place, we get the contract but no utility bills yet, does that mean we have to wait for the first utility bill to come before applying for EU1?

Sorry for the loads of questions, it's just in case our friend won't be in Ireland at that time, or can't allow us to stay over. I would like to plan beforehand and not go lost. By the way, if anyone has advise on accommodation rental around Ireland, would be much appreciated

[Ben]

benifa, do u have any idea if Singapore driving license is recognized in Ireland? Can I exchange my singapore license to an irish one? As i know, Singapore license can be exchanged in UK.

Singapore driving licence is recognised in Ireland and can be used for up to 12 months. After which time, you will not be able to drive on it. So, before the 12 months are up, you should sit a theory test, obtain a Learner Driving Permit and pass a practical driving test.

You cannot convert a Singapore licence to an Irish licence. You can convert a Singapore licence to a UK licence, if you are resident in the UK.

Another question is, let's say if we are not staying with a friend when we move over to Ireland, we would need to secure our accommodation then proceed to apply for EU1 right? As mention by rebel82, we need to produce rental contract and utility billing. So when we first rent a place, we get the contract but no utility bills yet, does that mean we have to wait for the first utility bill to come before applying for EU1?

To clarify, it is not required to produce a rental contract, a letter from the person with whom you are living, or a utility bill. What is required, is evidence that you are resident in Ireland. How you provide this evidence is discretionary - but it must proof which is verifiable.

Sorry for the loads of questions, it's just in case our friend won't be in Ireland at that time, or can't allow us to stay over. I would like to plan beforehand and not go lost. By the way, if anyone has advise on accommodation rental around Ireland, would be much appreciated

Never apologise for asking a question.

I would recommend www.daft.ie and www.property.ie for rental properties in Ireland (the former is usually better, I find). Dublin is, naturally, more expensive than equivalent accommodation in the rest of the country.

I live in Waterford. Lovely, small city. Two hours from Dublin airport, three hours from Northern Ireland, 90 minutes from Cork. Rent is reasonable. A 3 bedroom house in a nice area can be rented for €700 per month. Jobs are not as plentiful as in Dublin, as you can imagine, but work is available depending on what you're looking for.

Bri, kau Melayu ke Cina ke Indian?

[Bri26]

Thank benifa for the prompt reply I am chinese by the way

A bit disappointing to learn that I have to sit and retake driving test again :/ I will look at the websites you recommend regarding rental. Thanks once again for the information

[ado.machung]

You can enter Ireland, and apply for Stamp4 E.U family residence card ....

what visa does the non-EU spouse have to "enter" on ? Visit type C or D or anything else ?

[Ben]

You can enter Ireland, and apply for Stamp4 E.U family residence card ....

what visa does the non-EU spouse have to "enter" on ? Visit type C or D or anything else ?

Type C EUTR visa.

[ado.machung]

Type C EUTR visa.

wow Ben, you're lightening fast.

unfortunately i couldn't find anything that resembles EUTR Visa on the online visa application form:

https://www.visas.inis.gov.ie/AVATS/Vis ... tails.aspx

(btw what does EUTR mean? Treat Rights ?)

the first option is - Type : Short Stay "C" or Long Stay "D"

(any reason why you suggested "C" even if we want to stay for more than 3 months? )

then there's a drop down menu asking reason for travel - the closest i found was "Join Spouse(EEA National)"

The problem is, we are traveling together, so "join" doesn't really fit does it ?

There is the option of "other" - should i opt for that and state EUTR in reasons ?

-also-

(sorry for making it such a long post)

towards the end of the application - it asks u this :

Contact/Host in Ireland
• If you have no personal contact or host in Ireland, you must give the name and address of the accommodation at which you will stay during your visit
• If you are travelling on business, or to a conference or event, you must give the business address of your Irish-based host/organiser and a daytime telephone number at which they can be contacted
• If you are coming to Ireland to work or study you should give the business address of your Irish-based employer/college, and a daytime telephone number at which they can be contacted
• If you are visiting/joining family or friends, you should give their home address and a daytime telephone number at which they can be contacted
• Please then indicate whether your host/contact is personally known to you
• If you answer ‘Yes’, please give their surname, forename, country of nationality, occupation, their relationship to you, and their Department of Justice Reference Number (if a non-EEA/Swiss national)
• If you answer ‘No’, please give the surname and forename of the person you have had contact with in the company/college/organisation

i thought being a spouse of an EU citizen meant she didn't have to answer anything like this.
what should we do ? right now, we haven't finalized any accommodation nor do we have a contact/host.