Many individuals are currently experiencing significant delays in the processing of their family member immigration visa applications in Ireland, with people being forced to wait for months for a decision on their application due to the increased volume of applications currently received by the visa office.
Sinnott Solicitors is presently acting on behalf of a large volume of clients who have submitted visa applications pursuant to Council Directive 2004/38EC to accompany or join their EU/EEA citizen family members in the state.
- UPDATE 10 JUNE 2016: Introduction of New Spouse Visa Application Process
Visa applications from Qualifying family members should be processed by way of accelerated process within a period of three to four weeks from the time that the application is first received in the relevant Irish Embassy/Consulate or Visa Office.
>> Read our free guide to family visit visas here
A qualifying family member is either of the following;
- the spouse of an EU citizen
- the partner of an EU citizen in a partnership recognized as equal to a marriage (i.e. same sex partners)
- direct descendants of an EU citizen who are under 21 years of age (i.e. sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters)
- direct descendants of an EU citizen who are over 21 years of age but are dependent on the EU citizen.
Applications from permitted family members do not have to be processed by way of an accelerated process however they must still be processed within a reasonable period of time having regard to the circumstances of the application.