1) Can I bring my family member(s) to Ireland?

The answer depends on:
1) Your nationality / immigration status in Ireland
2) The type of family member you want to bring to Ireland
3) If you meet the financial criteria

• Am I eligible?

  You can apply to bring immediate family members (spouse/ partner and children), if you are:

  – An Irish citizen living or intending to live in Ireland
  – EU-citizen living or intending to live in Ireland
  – UK- citizen living or intending to live in Ireland
  – A critical skills employment permit holder
  – A stamp 4 holder
  – A stamp 5 holder
  – Researcher under a Hosting Agreement
  – A PhD student studying for a doctorate accredited in Ireland

  You can apply to bring immediate family members (spouse/ partner and children) after 12 months, if you are:
  – A General Employment Permit Holder
  – A Minister of Religion with an immigration Stamp 3.

  You CANNOT sponsor a family member, if you are:
  – Stamp 2 holder
  – Stamp 3 holder
  – Stamp 0 holder

  For more information see the official Policy document on non-EEA family reunification

• Who can I bring?

  Immediate family members include:
  – Spouse/ civil partner
  – De facto partner – if living together for at least 2 years, and can evidence it.
  – Children under 18
  – Dependent children up to the age of 23 – if your child(ren) is in full-time education and dependent on you.
  – Adopted children recognised under Irish law.

  Elderly dependent parents, but you must show that they are financially and emotionally dependent on you.

  Other family members are very difficult to apply for. You can only apply to bring extended family members if they are fully dependent on you and you meet the financial requirement. Contact us if you have question about bringing your family member.

• Financial requirements to bring spouse / de facto partner?

  In the case where:

  • I am an Irish citizen (sponsor)
    A combined income of €40,000 for the past 3 years before tax (approximately €13,300 per year), and your income must not have been reliant on social welfare payments in the past 2 years.
  • I am an EU citizen (sponsor)
    No financial requirement but you as the EU-citizen must be working or otherwise exercising your EU Treaty Rights. This includes:
    o Working at least 12 hours per week
    o Be self-employed in Ireland
    o Be a full-time student with private health insurance and be financially self-sufficient
    o Become involuntarily unemployed
    o Have sufficient resources and private health insurance
  • I am a UK citizen (sponsor)
    An annual income before tax per year of €20,000 for the past 3 years.
  • I am a Non-EEA citizen (sponsor)
    €30,000 income before tax per year for the past 2 years.
• Financial requirements to bring child(ren)?

  You can bring children until the age of 23-years if they are enrolled into full-time education and you can prove that they are fully dependent on you financially. To meet the financial requirement to bring your child(ren) you must have a weekly income after tax as per the Family Income supplement.

  One child	€645
  Two children	€746
  Three children	€847
  Four children	€938
  Five children	€1,064
  Six children	€1,180
  Seven children	€1,316
  Eight or more children	€1,412

• Financial requirements to bring my parents?
  Yes, if you can show that your parent(s) are financially dependent on you have an annual income after tax for the past 3 years of:
  – €60,000 to bring 1 parent
  – €75,000 to bring 2 parentsNote: Provide health insurance cover for the parent(s) equivalent to VHI Plan D.
  If you are married you can combine your incomes to meet this requirement.

2) How do I apply to bring my family member(s) to join me in Ireland?

The process depends on whether you family members are visa-required or not. You can check this here.

Depending on who you want to bring, your family member(s) can either apply for a visa or a pre-clearance even if they are non-visa required.

• Visa required

  If your family member is from a visa-required country, they must go through the visa application process.

  If you are an Irish citizen or a Non-EEA national: your family member(s) must apply for a D-Join family visa.

  If you are an EU-citizen: your family member must apply for a single journey short-stay C visa Join EEA Family member.

• Pre-clearance required

  Pre-clearance required (De facto partner / elderly dependent parent(s) and all family members of UK-citizens) must apply for pre-clearance even if they are non-visa required nationals. If they are visa-required they need to apply for a visa as explained above.

  If you are an Irish national or an Non-EEA national (sponsor) and your family member is a de facto partner

  If your family member is an elderly dependent parent(s)

  If you are a UK-citizen find more information here about how to bring family

• The steps to apply for a visa or pre-clearance application

  1) First, you need to check if you meet the financial requirements listed above, and that your family member is dependent on you.

  2) Before you do the online-visa application prepare the supporting documents and letters of application.

  3) Do an online visa application (AVATS) once you have all the other documents and letters ready

  4) Submit the online visa-application and print the summary sheet. Once you submit the application you will be directed to pay a fee if required and where to send all the supporting documents.

  5) Check out your local Irish embassy for more information or the ISD website.

  6) Check Visa processing time.

• Non-visa required

  Your family member does not need to apply for a visa to enter Ireland if from a non-Visa required country, unless your family member is a De Facto Partner / an Elderly dependent Parent / a Family member of UK National. In these specific cases, a pre-clearance is required, as explained above.

  If you are an EU-citizen (excluding Irish citizens) your family member(s) will need to submit a written application within 90 days of arriving in Ireland to get residence permission.

  When your family member(s) arrive at border control they might be requested to show evidence that they have valid reason to enter Ireland. They need to explain that their intention is to join you (the sponsor) in Ireland and apply for residence permission. Your family member(s) might be required to show documents such as:

  • Marriage certificate (if you are married)
  • Birth certificate(s) if you have a child(ren) together.
  • Evidence of your joint address / evidence of where you are going to be living in Ireland
  • Evidence that you (the sponsor) is working
  • Evidence of private health insurance

Page last updated 26/08/2022