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De Facto Partner Visa

If you are the de facto partner of an Irish national or an Irish resident with an employment permit, you may be eligible to apply for this programme. Please read below for further information.

Table of Content:

Introduction

A de facto means partner, including a same-sex partner with whom you are not married or in a civil partnership. To qualify as a de facto of someone, your relationship must meet all of the following:

  • You and your partner are in a mutual and committed relationship like a marriage or civil partnership in practice but not in law

  • You have been cohabiting (living together) for at least two years

  • Your relationship is genuine and continuing

  • You are not related to each other by family

Suppose you are a de facto to an Irish, UK, EEA or Swiss National or a non-EEA national work permit holder in Ireland. You may be permitted to live in Ireland with your partner. The application process time varies from four to six months.

Benefits

De facto might be eligible to seek employment without needing a separate work permit.

 

The sponsor is Irish National

You will be given a stamp 4 and are not required to get an employment permit to seek employment.

 

The sponsor is a non-EAA individual on a critical skill employment permit

You will be given a stamp 1G and are not required to get an employment permit to seek employment.

The sponsor is a non-EA individual on a general-skill employment permit

You will be given a stamp 3, which enables you to live in Ireland but does not allow you to engage in employment. You must get an employment permit if you wish to engage in employment.

 

If you sponsor is a work permit holder, the duration of the permission granted to eligible persons will align with the duration granted to the permit holder.

Eligibility Criteria

  • You are a non-EEA national legally resident in the State

  • You are in a relationship with an Irish, UK or non-EEA national legally resident in the State

  • You and your partner intend to live together permanently in Ireland

  • If your partner is a non-EEA national, s/he must hold a Stamp 1, Stamp 4 or Stamp 5 Irish residence permission to qualify as an eligible sponsor

  • If your partner is a non-EEA national and holds a Stamp 2 or Stamp 3 Irish residence permission, then s/he does not qualify as an eligible sponsor

  • You must be able to provide evidence of a durable relationship with your partner and proof of cohabitation of at least two years on the date of application. Evidence that you and your partner have visited each other as often as you can during these two years will not be sufficient in itself to demonstrate a committed de facto relationship

  • You are living with your partner at the time of the application. If you are not living together, you are required to give compelling reasons as to why your application should be granted

  • Your partner is a resident of Ireland and is self-sufficient. Neither of you must be on social welfare benefits, and both must be able to support yourselves and any dependents financially without recourse to public funds

  • You and your partner are of good character and obey Irish laws

  • You are covered by private medical insurance.

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Have questions?

Call us at +353 (01) 564 5342 or send us your request by filling in this form. One of our consultants reply shortly.

FAQ

After you have submitted your application, a detailed verification will be carry out and it will normally take 4 to 6 months to make a decision.

The Department of Justice will notify you by letter if your application is refused. This letter will outline the reasons why your application was refused. The refusal letter will also tell you if you can appeal the decision. In some cases, you may not be permitted to appeal (for example, if you provide false or misleading information in your application).

​The appeal process is free of charge. We must receive this appeal within eight weeks of the date of the refusal letter. You can request an appeal of this decision by responding to the reasons for refusal with extra supporting documents if required.

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