Irish Long-term Residency

[marialear]

Hi everyone,

Well, I've finally clocked my 5yr legal residence for applying for Irish naturalization. I went to an immigration lawyer in Dublin on Tuesday and she went through everything with me and signed my application. All good to go (thank God!) She also mentioned that the current waiting time is 24months and suggested that I apply for Long-term residency while I waited.

Huh? Long-term residency, didn't know it was an option. So, I phoned the Dept of Justice immigration section yesterday & was told that to apply for long-term residency I need 60 months of 'Stamp 1' stamps in my passport, copies of all my work permits and simply write a letter specifically requesting the long-term residence status. No application form and no fee. The wait is about 14-16 weeks and that's it. You get a certificate or letter in the mail and present to the Garda and that's it!

The Dept Justice worker also said that with long-term residency I would no longer have to get work permits, no longer register annually with Garda and (most important to me) no longer be bound to the one employer, I can change jobs. The lawyer mentioned to me that the application for citizenship and the application for long-term residence are mutually exclusive so they would not interfere with each other.

Has anyone out there applied for long-term residency in Ireland? If so, what is the deal? Is everything I heard true? Any info provided would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Maria

[mik]

Apparently , yes . I have heard of people who applied for long-term residency(can't remember the technical term) after being in Ireland for 5 years on work permits ; took about 3-4 weeks to attain in Limerick area .

[JAJ]

The lawyer mentioned to me that the application for citizenship and the application for long-term residence are mutually exclusive so they would not interfere with each other.

The Republic of Ireland is unusual that "permanent resident" status is not needed in order to apply for naturalisation. This may be because the concept of permanent residence hasn't existed there until recently.

A future amendment to the Irish Nationality Act could of course change that.

[mktsoi]

hi Mik

just wondering. how did you come up with 4 weeks in Limerick? I thought everyone has to apply the long term residence status from the Department of Justice in Dublin? last time when i spoke to some immigration advice place in dublin. they told me some of the case could take as long as 6 months for the department of justice to make a decision for the long term residence.

[mik]

Remember now . It is a 5 year residency extension - permission to remain . See section 7 . Slightly dubious about the 4 weeks in Limerick claim , but the person who informed me of this is usually correct . http://www.justice.ie/80256E01003A21A5/ ... ission.pdf

[marialear]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the replies.

I put my application for both Irish citizenship & Long-term residency in the post (registered!) to the Dept of Justice on Saturday. Both go to different offices of the immigration section, so fingers crossed.

I'll keep ye informed of waiting times & outcomes.

Regards,
Maria

[mktsoi]

hi maria

just wondering. have u received any notification from the dept justice about your application at all? i have few more months to go before i put in my application, so i just want to know the progress of it.

thx

[marialear]

Hi mktsoi,

Well, I posted the application letter on Saturday, Aug 12th & on Tuesday, Aug 15th I phoned the Dept & they told me that 'yes' they had received my letter & I was in the system.

The help-line worker at the Dept Justice Immigration office told me that I will not hear anything back or receive any correspondence from them till a decision is made about my long-term residency request. She said that it takes about 14-16 weeks to process.

Sorry not much to tell you, it seems like the process involves just waiting on our part.

Good luck, if I hear anything else from them, I'll let you know. Have a good Monday!

Regards,
Maria

[Dawie]

The help-line worker at the Dept Justice Immigration office told me that I will not hear anything back or receive any correspondence from them till a decision is made about my long-term residency request. She said that it takes about 14-16 weeks to process.

That's ridiculous when you consider that in the UK the same thing takes 3 - 4 hours to process, and they hand your passport back to you the same day.

[scrudu]

even more ridiculous is that after a spouse of an irish citizen completing the 3 years residency requirement, or a worker completing the 5 year residency requirement, it takes 2.5 years for a citizenship application to be processed. go figure

[Dawie]

For the faults that the Home Office and IND have in terms of policy and management, you can't fault them for their delivery of service when compared to other European countries. It seems that Ireland is one of the worst European countries when it comes to delivering decent immigration services.

One has to wonder what they are doing during the 14 - 16 weeks that it takes to process.

[scrudu]

most likely quite simply ignoring it. As Archigabe has shown that he and other Indians were issued their Spouse Visas for Ireland within 7 days from the Irish Embassy in Delhi, whereas this takes min 6 weeks on receipt in Dept of Justice Dublin, it is obvious that the delays are not directly related to the amount of time taken to process.

The Minister for Justice has blamed it on the fact that Asylum applications take priority over other applications currently, and lack of resources/staff. I note though that he has made no applicaton for further funding to speed up processes, instead he has issued a new draft bill of immigration policy that is even more invasive and time consuming for non-nationals. Read further "Scheme for an Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill" http://www.justice.ie/80256E010039C5AF/ ... Q6TDHYZ-en

[wonnabe]

Hi marialear,

I've been very unlucky finding a good immigration lawyer. I went to, perhaps, six different ones and none of them mentioned of the long-term residency options (I am due to apply for my naturalisation). Could you give me contact details of the lawyer you used? Or anybody knows a good one?

[JAJ]

even more ridiculous is that after a spouse of an irish citizen completing the 3 years residency requirement, or a worker completing the 5 year residency requirement, it takes 2.5 years for a citizenship application to be processed. go figure

Only takes a few months for British applications to be completed:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/nationality/

These are the waiting times as of end of August 2006.

Naturalisation 4.88 months
Adult registrations 2.05 months
Registration of minors 3.61 months
Registration of stateless 7.33 months
Other registrations 3.46 months
Renunciations 1.49 months
Right of Abode applications 1.12 months
Average times for all nationality applications (as of end of August) 4.43 months

[JAJ]

I note though that he has made no applicaton for further funding to speed up processes,

There is an argument that "funding" should be provided through charging application fees that cover the cost of running the system. As opposed to having it compete for general government funding with other community priorities.

[marialear]

Hi everyone,

Yes, I know, unfortunately, the whole immigration system over here in Ireland is as slow as 'cold molasses running uphill' (to coin a phrase of my Mom!)

But, that is the situation that we have to deal with & making comparisons to the UK ain't gonna change that. True, the UK system is much more organized & speedy but they have had more years of major immigration to sort out their systems whereas Ireland has only seen a major influx of us in that last 5-10years.

Though, I know, you'd figure that in that 5-10years, they would have it sorted, but they don't & honestly, I don't think that anything is really going to change in the near future. It would seem that immigration is not a priority of the Irish government & all the media focus on 'illegals' and 'deportations' and 'non-nationals scamming the system' is not helping change the public's opinions of us.

In regards to the funding, I feel that we have to pay our way: It costs 500Euro a year for a work permit (which the employer is supposed to pay, but let's face it, ask around & see how many of us pay for our own), the GNIB registration which now costs 100Euro for the card and Naturalization costs in the region of 634Euro once it is approved. Also, take into account other costs such as lawyer fees, private health insurance and the extra 'savings' that we always have to keep in stock (just in case we lose our jobs & as non-nationals, it's not that easy to start over right away), meanwhile the rent still gotta be paid & we still have to eat.

I know (believe me!) it is frustrating. Maybe changes will come but for all of us right now in the immigration system today we have to deal with the rules and the processes as they are.

The key is to know the system, keep current with every press release, every new rule & have all your paperwork, passports and documents in order and kept up to date so that when the time comes for your case to be processed, you'll be ready. Seriously, I have every pay slip, every bank statement, all my work permits & other immigration paperwork filed in a storage box since I moved here in 2000. Why? In case an immigration worked contacts me & has a query with my case? Bam! I have the answer for them immediately, I don't plan on delaying my application for one more millisecond then it already to going to take.

Anyway folks, that is my take on it. Have a good Thursday. Chin up!

Kind regards,
Maria

[marialear]

Hi wonnabe,

Sorry, missed your message the last time I signed in.

I used Eugene F. Collins www.efc.ie located on the Burlington Road in Dublin 4. They have an immigration section set up in their practice. If you log on to their website, they've the contact details there. Very good, very informed & up to date.

Maria

[mktsoi]

hi Maria.

may be you have the answer for the immigration with all your back up paper work, but will the immigration give you an answer right after they get your answer? they might not even bother to tell you they need time to do things, but you can keep waiting. to be honest. do u really think that the guy in charge of the dept of justice wanted to change? everyone knows the answer. you are canadian yourself? right? i do not support the country giving out passport right the way to immigrants. i believe the new comer should contribute to the soceity as well. the irish governement published their so call "green card" plan for foreign workers. most of my irish friends really thinks their government is being nice to all the foreign worker, but most of them do not know what the irish green card really about. my irish friends thought the irish green card would be just like the us green card. it will give perm residence to foreigners and i guess you must read about the irish green as well. if the irish gov really want to change, why dont they let people have perm residence like canada or australia? the other problem is the irish government always late. they published the green card plan last year. it has been a year since they said it. do they even have a date for the green card plan go ahead?????? no.

i remembered when i first came to ireland. i thought i would stay. my 5 years is up by the end of this year. i spoke to some immigrants help organization. they said the time for naturalization could be up to 2.5 years now for some cases. i was in canada and uk for years before i came here. i never applied to stay in canada when i left. i applied to go back in 2004 and it took the canadian embassy in london little bit over a year to give me my perm residence. i also did applied to move to australia as well. it took immigration australia about 6 months to approve my perm residence as well. i guess i can go to either canada or australia at the end of this year and naturalizated as a citizen in either place before even the irish immigration can have time to look at my application.

dont get me wrong. ireland is nice as well. i wouldnt mind to stay, but if the dept of justice still using their mule to think instead of their head. people will just leave ireland whenever they can get a chance. trust me

[marialear]

mktsoi,

I totally, 100% agree with you. The system is old, inadequate & is in desperate need of 2006 updating. But like you said, immigration it is not in the interest of the Irish government therefore, nothing is being done. Apparently 'new' programs are being introduced...when? Personally I think it's a re-naming of existing schemes, like the proposed Irish Green Card system? Sounds a lot like the current work authorization scheme to me, just re-jigged a bit.

My friends also are shocked at the hoops I have to jump through just be allowed the privilege of paying my taxes in Ireland. They assumed that I was here on a 'green card' like the States & that I had some freedoms in the job market. When I tell them of the Work Permit system and the annual GNIB regristrations & the fees involved they are suprised, to say the least.

It is frustrating & everyone has their own reasons for coming here (& staying here). For me it was a career choice, my field of study is very difficult to get a job at home, so I moved here where there are more opportunites. Also, my University student loan was not paying itself back so I needed to be making money as soon as I graduated which is why I moved here 1 week after graduation.

True, we can come & go but everyone has to make that choice themselves. This is why I advise anyone who is thinking of moving here to educate themselves on the current situation, nevermind the 'proposed immigration changes' because they may never happen.

p.s it never ceases to amaze me of the people who argue against the non-nationals coming into Ireland & then are on the side of the '1000s of Irish illegals who are currently living in the USA' Makes for interesting pub 'debates' to say the least!

Take care,
Maria

[mktsoi]

hi Maria

no no, i agree with what u say as well. everyone has their choice and reason to come over. you see, most of my irish friends think jobs for everyone. i guess i cant blame the irish governement. they are not only talk to up non eu national. they talk to up their own people as well. rememebr the irish ferry incident some months ago? the irish government brought back in the inter company transfer rule and let the irish companies bring in the cheap labour from eastern europe and talk to their own people and the eastern european all together, but i guess they kinda fixed that problem not in a perfect way.

and the thing i hate the most is the last thing u mentioned about the irish illegals in north america. the irish governement call the irish illegals as undocumented workers. what a nice name huh? i actually did wrote to the radio station but they never replied to me. the week when the ayslum seeker occupied the st patrick cathedral. some of the people phoned in the radio station and saying the ayslum seekers in the cathedral should send back right the way. that made me feel sick about the people who said that. i pretty much wrote to the radio station and asked them if they have chance to read this out, please let me know, but of course they never replied to me. i said in the email about the irish illegals in north american. if they want to deport the ayslum seekers here, thats fine, but to be fair, i think the stupid government here should take the irish illegals back from abroad right the way. economy is going good here, jobs for everyone. what the hell they doing in someone else country for? isnt it? i wouldnt think this is a very good debute topic in the pub, if i said that in the pub, i might not get out from the pub alive haha, but dont get me wrong. i am not saying all the irish are like that. i have good irish friends as well, but just the idiots phoned in the radio and say bad things about other people drives me angry!

talking about the irish illegals. i live in hong kong most of my life before i went to canada. i didnt know that myself until bertie went to visit hong kong last year. we have the biggest group of irish people living in hong kong compared to the rest of the asia. they came to hong kong with the british government years ago(most of them anyway). all the british and irish can work in hong kong wihtout any immigration problem. myself, and my countryman, we were not allowed to live and work in any british isles, how nice huh? after 1997, the colonial governement is gone. the chinese government let all the british and irish without going thr the immigration requirements again and stay there as long as they were there before 1997. can the irish government be that nice to the working people in ireland? some of my american friends cant even stay if they dont have a job and the irish government asking the us president to pardon the illegal irish in the US? i guesss the irish government would be nice to all the non eu national when they have a non irish person to run for the prime minister for ireland hehehehehhee.

anyway, i guess u heard enough about the my nonsense. good luck with u!

[Dawie]

Hahaha, my man, I think you are hilarious. Keep up the funny writing!

[Brother]

Hi everyone,

Well, I've finally clocked my 5yr legal residence for applying for Irish naturalization. I went to an immigration lawyer in Dublin on Tuesday and she went through everything with me and signed my application. All good to go (thank God!) She also mentioned that the current waiting time is 24months and suggested that I apply for Long-term residency while I waited.

Huh? Long-term residency, didn't know it was an option. So, I phoned the Dept of Justice immigration section yesterday & was told that to apply for long-term residency I need 60 months of 'Stamp 1' stamps in my passport, copies of all my work permits and simply write a letter specifically requesting the long-term residence status. No application form and no fee. The wait is about 14-16 weeks and that's it. You get a certificate or letter in the mail and present to the Garda and that's it!

The Dept Justice worker also said that with long-term residency I would no longer have to get work permits, no longer register annually with Garda and (most important to me) no longer be bound to the one employer, I can change jobs. The lawyer mentioned to me that the application for citizenship and the application for long-term residence are mutually exclusive so they would not interfere with each other.

Has anyone out there applied for long-term residency in Ireland? If so, what is the deal? Is everything I heard true? Any info provided would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Maria

I got the long term residency after 5 yrs on w/permit.there is a very nice lady who works in that section,if you call her she will tell you all you need to know. If you send me a PM I will give you her details & number.

[TRV]

Hi,

Did anyone got any update on Long term residency - Ireland? I clocked in just 20 weeks after my application date but heard nothing from Dept of justice. As usual hard to get the phone lines...Someone mentioned before that it is now taking 20-24 weeks to get an answer, just wondering is there a change on this waiting time now - if someone had a chance to talk to them lately?

Thanks

[lavinia]

hi there :-)

hope to get some answers here, because i am trying to get the dept. of justice on this issue but i cannot get anyone for two days...

i live in ireland 4 years already, but am working for three years on working visa basis,
and as far as i know, i will get the right for long term residency after 5 years.

my q no 1: how these 5 years are calculated:

- from 1st day of work, or

- full 5 P60's form base, or

- from 1st day of legal residence in ireland, because i had D visa before, on the behalf of my husband who was here working on working permit bases.

another q is about my husband - he will have full 5 working years in ireland in the mid april, and intends to apply for LTR,
but he lost his first Working permit (I mean, his company lost it - not him), but he does not have it now.

will that be a problem, since he has all other documentation, including stamps and visas in his passport

and if he gets LTR, do i get that right automatically (i doubt this but ok, its a question :))

thank you everyone very much, hope to hear from you soon :))

lavinia

[walrusgumble]

i take it that if a student has been legally residing in ireland since 2000, doing masters and other recognised courses, their duration of time in ireland is not calculated for long term residency?

any comments would be greatly helpful