Requirements / Eligibility
To qualify for family reunification, there are a number of established criteria—full details are available in the Policy Document. The key requirements include:
- Eligibility of the sponsor,
- Eligibility of the family member(s),
- Financial thresholds and financial records,
- Waiting period,
- Suitable accommodation,
- Dependency
If you are in one of the following categories, you are eligible to sponsor a family reunification application. Please see the Policy Document for full details.
Category A: Irish nationals.
Category B:
- Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) holders,
- Intra-company transferees,
- Full-time non-locum doctors in employment,
- Researchers on Hosting Agreements,
- Investors on the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP),
- Entrepreneurs on the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP),
- ISD-approved scholarship programme students (e.g. KASP),
- PhD student permission holders (subject to additional conditions),
- Ministers of Religion under the relevant scheme (subject to additional conditions).
Category C:
- General Employment Permit holders,
- Reactivation Employment Permit holders,
- Refugees or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection (only for new relationships that formed after you arrived in Ireland, and you must wait at least 2 years before you can apply. In all other cases, you must apply under a separate procedure—please visit: Family reunification of international protection holders – Immigration Service Delivery)
- Independent Stamp 4 holders, not covered above, who are eligible to sponsor a family reunification application.
Please note that all other non-EEA nationals are not eligible to sponsor a family reunification application under this Policy, including:
- UK nationals—See here for separate scheme;
- EU nationals exercising rights of free movement—See here;
- Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection;
- Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection—See here for separate statutory scheme;
- Those in Ireland as students (except for those listed above in Category B);
- Graduates under the Third Level Graduate Programme.
You can apply to be joined in Ireland by the following family members, if you meet the requirements of the revised Policy:
Nuclear Family:
- Spouse, civil partner, or de facto partner,
- Unmarried minor children under the age of 18.
Other categories (subject to higher financial thresholds and dependency requirements):
- Dependent parents,
- Dependent adult children (with a serious medical or psychological condition).
An application can be made to be joined by your parent(s) in Ireland, but you must first apply for Stamp 0—see Q21.
They must also meet all other relevant requirements of the Policy, including the higher financial thresholds for dependent adult relatives (see Table 2 on the Financial Thresholds Webpage) and more stringent dependency requirements for adult relatives other than a spouse/partner (see Section 8 of the revised Policy Document).
An application can be made for a dependent adult child but you must first apply for Stamp 0—see Q21.
Official verifiable medical documentation must be submitted with your application in support of the stated medical or psychological condition, and it should be from a practitioner in the relevant field who is in a position to verify the stated condition.
They must also meet all other relevant requirements of the Policy, including the higher financial thresholds for dependent adult relatives(see Table 2 on the Financial Thresholds Webpage) and more stringent dependency requirements for adult relatives other than a spouse/partner (see Section 8 of the revised Policy Document).
Adopted children are dealt with in the same way as other children conditional on some additional key considerations. These include:
- That the adoption was carried out in Ireland or is recognised under Irish law,
- That there has been a genuine and complete transfer of parental responsibility to the adoptive parents,
- That the adopted child has the same rights as any other child of the adoptive parents and that the child is under 18 years of age.
Where your child’s adoption does not meet the above standards, this raises additional concerns regarding international child trafficking and abduction, so it is unlikely that your application will be successful.
Please note: If you wish to complete a new foreign adoption while resident in Ireland, you must apply for an immigration clearance letter. This is an entirely separate process to family reunification and so you cannot apply under this Policy.
In most cases, no, you cannot bring a family member to Ireland who is not covered by the above.
You may apply to be joined by other family members under exceptional circumstances only, but there is no guarantee of a positive outcome. There must always be a genuine and valid family relationship, and dependency between the sponsor and family member must be established. See Section 13 of the revised Policy Document for more details on exceptional circumstances.
You can apply after 1 year to bring your nuclear family (spouse / civil partner / de facto partner, and unmarried minor children under 18) to Ireland. See the Financial Thresholds Webpage for financial thresholds for nuclear family members (for minor children, Table 1 applies)
You can apply after 5 years to bring dependent parents or dependent adult children to Ireland. See Table 2 on the Financial Thresholds Webpage for financial thresholds for dependent adult relatives.
If you wish to arrive in Ireland together with your nuclear family (spouse, civil partner, de facto partner, and unmarried minor children under 18), you can apply at the same time as you apply for yourself and your applications will be processed in tandem. Otherwise, you may apply at any time after you arrive and there is no waiting period.
You can apply after 2 years to bring any dependent parents or dependent adult children to Ireland, but you must be able to demonstrate 3 years of earnings at the required level. See Table 2 on the Financial Thresholds Webpage for financial thresholds for dependent adult relatives.
There is no waiting period, so you may apply for family reunification with eligible family member(s) at any time.
It is a requirement under the Policy that you must be in a position to financially support and sustain your family in the State. Please visit the Financial Thresholds Webpage to see how much you need to earn to qualify for family reunification under this Policy. The amount varies based on the number and type of family members, as well as the category of the sponsor.
Please note: only the income of one sponsor will be considered, so you cannot combine your salary with that of your spouse, partner or any other family member to reach these thresholds.
If you have received a job offer, it will likely include a gross salary figure (although you should make sure to check this).
Your gross salary will need to be higher than the relevant figure on the right-hand-side of Table 1 on the Financial Thresholds Webpage, otherwise you will not be able to be joined by your children and you should be aware of this when making your decision.
Please note: only the income of one sponsor will be considered, so you cannot combine your salary with that of your spouse, partner or any other family member to reach these thresholds.
13. How much do I need to earn to bring my dependent parents or dependent adult children to Ireland?
You must have earned a gross income in each of the previous 3 years greater than the relevant figure listed in Table 2 on the Financial Thresholds Webpage.
Only the income of one sponsor will be considered, so you cannot combine your salary with that of your spouse, partner or any other family member to reach these thresholds. Please see the revised Policy Document for more details.
No. Sponsors in all categories must not be resident in:
- Homeless accommodation,
- Other State-funded emergency accommodation,
- Accommodation provided by the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS),
- Social housing, or
- Local authority housing,
and where a family resides in such accommodation, this may also affect the renewal of immigration permissions granted under this Policy.
Where any sponsor is in receipt of a social housing support, such as the Housing Assistance Payment, they may not meet the requirements of this Policy.
If you are a Category C sponsor, yes. You must be able to present documentary evidence that you can provide suitable accommodation for your family members. However, you do not need to submit this when you first apply. The decision-maker may request it at a later date and, if you do not provide it within 6 months, your application may be refused.
For non-visa required family members, an immigration officer may request proof of suitable accommodation at the border and, if proof cannot be presented, they may be refused leave to land.
Suitable accommodation generally means your family members must not be living in overcrowded conditions. In practice, there should be at least:
- One bedroom, which the sponsor and spouse/partner may share;
- One additional bedroom for every two (2) children; and
- Enough bedrooms such that no child over ten years old must sleep in the same room with a child of the opposite sex.
Where children are concerned, there must not be any unrelated adults residing at the property, and so the entire unit must be rented or owned by the sponsor. Therefore, arrangements where only a portion of the property is rented by the sponsor will not be sufficient (e.g. under the Rent-a-room tax relief scheme).
| Example | |
|---|---|
| One daughter (aged 12) | 2 bedrooms |
| Two sons (aged 12 and 14) | 2 bedrooms |
| One son, one daughter (aged 5 and 7) | 2 bedrooms |
| One son, one daughter (aged 11 and 15) | 3 bedrooms |
| One son, one daughter (aged 5 and 13) | 3 bedrooms |
See Appendix E of the revised Policy Document for full details.
In the case of rented accommodation, the tenancy must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), and the sponsor must provide the following supporting documentation:
- A copy of the Registration Confirmation Letter issued by the RTB, which indicates the rental tenancy (RT) number and the Eircode of the property;
- A completed ACCOM1 form, filled out by both the landlord and the sponsor, which confirms relevant details including that all family members applied for will be permitted to live at the property if the application is successful, and provides contact details for the landlord so that this can be verified.
In the case of a property owned by the sponsor or their spouse/partner, the following supporting documentation must be provided:
- Proof of ownership of the property;
- A document outlining the details of the property, including the number of bedrooms and the occupancy of each, the address and the Eircode.
How to Apply
If you want to apply to be joined by a dependent parent or dependent adult child, see Q21 below.
A join-family visa application must be made before your family members travel to Ireland.
If the sponsor is a non-EEA national, please see: https://www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-join-family-in-ireland/joining-a-non-eea-non-swiss-national/join-non-eea-family-member/.
If the sponsor is an Irish national, please see: https://www.irishimmigration.ie/coming-to-join-family-in-ireland/joining-an-irish-national/join-family-visa/
You must then register your permission with Immigration Service Delivery within 90 days – for more information please visit Registering your immigration permission – Immigration Service Delivery
Note: Applications will not be accepted on behalf of family members already present in the State on a different permission (e.g. a student permission), or no permission, or as a visitor.
If you want to apply to be joined by a dependent parent or dependent adult child, see Q21 below.
Your family members must inform immigration officers upon entry to Ireland (e.g. at Dublin airport) that they have arrived for family reunification purposes and ensure that their passport is inscribed accordingly. They must then register their permission with Immigration Service Delivery within 90 days—for more information please visit Registering your immigration permission – Immigration Service Delivery
Please note: Applications will not be accepted on behalf of family members already present in the State on a different permission (e.g. a student permission), or no permission, or as a visitor.
If you want to apply to be joined by a dependent parent or dependent adult child, whether they require a visa or not, you must first apply for Stamp 0 from Immigration Service Delivery while they are outside of Ireland. For more information please visit Dependent elderly relative – Immigration Service Delivery.
If you want to apply to be joined by your de facto partner, whether they require a visa or not, you must first apply for preclearance from Immigration Service Delivery while they are outside the State. For more information please visit De facto partner of an Irish or non-EEA national – Immigration Service Delivery
Yes, you will be required to provide documents in support of your application. The documents are important because they provide evidence of your stated personal circumstances in the country from which you are applying. The documents you need to submit vary depending on the type of case. Please follow the relevant links in the above questions, and consult the Policy Document, for details on which documents you will need in your particular case.
You may be required to provide your biometrics information as part of your application. This means information about your physical characteristics. For the visa application process it refers to your fingerprints and, in some cases, a digital image of your face. We use this information to check your identity and other details. Biometrics are required from residents of Pakistan, Nigeria, China and India who make a visa application via a VFS centre.
Access to Employment
Under the new Non-EEA Family Reunification Policy, spouses, civil partners, de facto partners and minor children (aged 16 – 18) of the following sponsors are eligible to work in Ireland without an employment permit:
- Irish citizens;
- Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) holders;
- General Employment Permit (GEP) holders;
- Researchers on a Hosting Agreement;
- Intra-corporate transferees;
- Entrepreneurs on the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP);
- Investors on the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP);
- Refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection (where they are eligible to apply under this Policy).
Yes. If your permission has not been updated already, at your next online renewal date, you will move to a permission which allows you to work in Ireland without an employment permit.
In the meantime, please do not contact ISD to update your IRP. Instead, follow the instructions on the transitional measures webpage. This will tell you how you can access employment on a temporary basis by presenting your in-date Stamp 3 IRP and a downloadable notice from ISD.
It depends.
If you were a minor child aged under 18 (or aged 18-23 and in full-time education) when you first received permission under family reunification – yes, you will be able to work in Ireland.
If your permission has not been updated already, at your next online renewal date, you will move to a permission which allows you to work in Ireland without an employment permit.
In the meantime, please do not contact ISD to update your IRP. Instead, follow the instructions on the transitional measures webpage. This will tell you how you can access employment on a temporary basis by presenting your in-date Stamp 3 IRP and a downloadable notice from ISD.
If you were a child of your sponsor aged over 18 when you first received permission through family reunification, and it was under exceptional circumstances – no, you will not be able to work in Ireland automatically. However, it is open to you to apply for an employment permit in your own right.
If you have already spent 5 years or more in Ireland on a family reunification permission, or if your parent has naturalised as an Irish citizen, you will receive a Stamp 4.
Otherwise, you will receive a Stamp 1G. In either case, this allows you to take up employment without the need for an employment permit.
NB: If your permission has not been updated already, at your next online renewal date, you will move to a permission which allows you to work in Ireland without an employment permit.
If you are the child of an Irish citizen, refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection, you will receive a Stamp 4. This allows you to take up employment without the need for an employment permit.
If you are a spouse, civil partner, de facto partner or dependent minor child of any sponsor, you may apply for a Stamp 4 permission after you have spent 5 years or more in Ireland on a family reunification permission, or after your sponsor naturalises as an Irish citizen. You should do this at your next online renewal date after becoming eligible.
If your sponsor naturalises before you have spent at least 3 years in the State on a dependent permission, you may still apply, but any Stamp 4 permission granted will remain dependent on the continued residence and status of your sponsor, and the sponsor/family member continuing to meet all criteria of the policy.
Processing / Outcomes
We will return marriage, birth and death certificates to you after your application is processed. If there are other documents you want returned, type or write a list of the documents you want and:
- Include the list with your visa application
- Include the original documents from the list (we will return these after processing)
- Include a photocopy of each document (we will keep these).
Note: You must include the original documents. Do not send photocopies only. Your application may be refused if you do not submit all documents. Even if you submit everything required, there is no guarantee that a visa will be granted.
All Long Stay ‘D’-Join family visa applications are generally processed in date order of receipt, in order to be fair and equitable to all applicants and sponsors. Processing times can vary based on who is sponsoring the application, whether the application is incomplete or not, the level of complexity involved, availability of resources and volumes received. We will make a detailed assessment of your application before making a decision to grant or refuse it.
The below table outlines our business target times. Due to the nature of applications, some applications will take longer than others. The timeframes are for guidance purposes only and are not legally binding. You should not purchase travel tickets before you know the outcome of your visa application.
| Sponsor Type | Target |
|---|---|
| Irish Citizen (Category A) | It is expected that a decision on your application may be completed within 6 months. This is where you have provided all required documents. |
| Category B Sponsor | It is expected that a decision on your application may be completed within 6 months. This is where you have provided all required documents. |
| Category C Sponsor | It is expected that a decision on your application may be completed within 12 months. This is where you have provided all required documents. |
You can check the processing times for the visa office, embassy or consulate that is handling your application on their website. Please check for details regarding our overseas visa offices. If your application is being processed by the Dublin visa office you can check the visa decision page.
For full details in relation to a refusal of your visa application including rights of appeal.
A visa only permits a person to travel to Ireland during the dates stated on the visa. It does not guarantee entry to Ireland, nor does it allow you to live in Ireland. When a person arrives at a port in Ireland an Immigration Officer has the authority to grant or deny admission and to decide on the duration a person may remain in the State, regardless of the details set out in the visa.
Yes, for details on the immigration registration process please visit our registration page where you will find all relevant information.
There are different activities that may be permitted that depend on the immigration permission granted to you following your entry to the State.