Coming to Ireland with non-EEA family for 7 months - help!

[IntlFamilyAbroad]

I am a British citizen. I work for an Irish organization and they have asked me to work in the Dublin office from October to April.

My children are American, my husband is South American, but with a US green Card, and we live in Africa! So we are kind of complicated.

I'm trying to get a sense of the timing for everything when we have such a limited time in Ireland. Making matters worse, my husband needs to travel back to the US before the end of October to keep his residency there current.

What I understand is that he will need to apply for a visa before we go (the embassy here had no idea what type of visa he should apply for, but they seemed to think a short-stay). Then once we get there, we go to the Garda to register for the GNIB card, right? Does that then give you the permission to stay longer than 90 days? How long does it take to get the GNIB card? How long do we need to be Ireland before we can apply for it?

Then, I read that once he has the GNIB card, he can apply for a re-entry visa, and then be able to travel in and out of Ireland. Any idea how long it takes to get the re-entry visa? I was told that an application for a residence card takes about 6 months, so there would be no point in going for that.

The whole idea of going to Ireland for work is to be able to travel in Europe a bit, so if we're going to be stuck waiting on paperwork to be approved for months, that would kind of suck. Ideally, we would like to go straight to Ireland all together, then get the re-entry visa as quickly as possible, so that my husband can travel back to the US for a short visit. If it seems like it will take a long time, then he would need to fly to the US first, which would cost us a lot more.

Do I have the general process right? I have been reading this board for several days, but am still so confused, as there are tons of terms that the official immigration websites don't use (Like what is an EuFam visa? and what is Stamp 4?). Sorry if I sound like I don't know anything, I am just totally confused! And I thought US immigration was tough...

[IQU]

check the pm................

[Monifé]

Seeing as you are British and will be travelling to Ireland (another EU country other than the one you are a national of) you can avail of your EU Treaty Rights.

I am unfamiliar with the type of entry visa your spouse would need, contact the Irish Immigration authorities and tell them you are an EU national coming to Ireland under EU law and what visa do you need for your spouse.

When in Ireland, your spouse can remain here unconditionally for the first 3 months, after that you need to be exercising treaty rights (working, studying etc) which you will be. You can apply for a residence card for your spouse using the form EU1. You can apply as soon as you are living in Ireland or when the first 3 months are up. If your spouse wants to work in Ireland, it is advisable to apply for it as soon as you are settled.