Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

I (British) & Wife (Brazillian) looking 2 emmigrate 2 Ireland

Country forums / UK & Ireland / Ireland

Hi I'm married to a Brazilian women and am a UK British National and we are thinking of emmigrating to Ireland. I understand that she does not need a Visa for a 3 month stay, but beyond that anyone have any ideas how we would make the stay permanent so she could live and work in Ireland? Also we have a 19 year old son and it is a possibility that he may come as well, any suggestions of how this works? We are currently living in Brazil.

Regards and Thanks

R

Under EU law she has an absolute right to live and work in Ireland or any other EU country EXCEPT the UK.

She does not need a visa anyhow for a short stay as Brazilians don't need a visa to visit Ireland but if she is to stay for more than 3 months then she needs to get a residence card

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/moving-country/moving-to-ireland/coming-to-live-in-ireland/visa-requirements-for-entering-ireland

As for her son - that is tricky. Given his age I would say that he isn't eligible to be a resident in Ireland

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Does your son have a British passport? If he doesn't, apply for one as he is entitled to one, provided you are his father and you are married to his mother. Then he can live and work in Ireland without any problems. If he only has Brazilian passport (e.g. because he is your stepson) and isn't entitled to a British one, he will have to qualify in his own right unless you can show he is wholly dependent on you or is in full-time education and is going to continue his education in Ireland. Get details from Irish embassy.
As for your wife, apply to the Irish embassy in Brazil for a EU family permit (a kind of visa) which will enable her to accompany you to Ireland , and to live and work there.
Check the employment situation in Ireland (you mean the Republic?), as the economy is in a very bad shape and people are losing jobs and companies are hardly hiring any.

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If your son is biological he should be elligable for a British passport through your citizenship, however you need to investigate this further because as far as I've read the child must be under the age of 18 (ie a child by definition, not an adult)

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AlanR and Euro Traveller,

Thanks for the information, I thought as I'm a EU citizen she could live and work in the EU with me but was not sure as when you check immigration and Visa for Spain it says Brazilians need Visa's etc. The law is all very confusing and not straight forward, but applying for the family Visa sounds good.

I understand the economy is losing jobs but currently we are living in Brazil and are looking to move out etc, England and Wales is not an option for us so it leaves open Republic of Ireland and the rest of the E.U. but is looks and sounds as if Ireland is easier to get the family Visa or am I mistaken?

We are looking at possible long term rental as we will be shipping our furniture across etc from Brazil, what is the rental market like in Ireland?

My wife is non skilled but I have enough finances to support my step son and her, what sort of job could she get or find in Ireland? She speaks English, Spanish and Portugeuse but does not have any degree or any sorts.

Thanks

Regards

Russ

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EU law is exactly the same for Ireland as for Spain and Portugal, so you both have an absolute right to settle in any of these countries. However, you may find that the Latin countries show less respect for the law than others, and so might be more difficult to enter.

What kind of job could your wife get? As explained, probably none, at a time when locals are losing theirs. She might pick up some occasional work as an interpretor or translator.

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Voyager_2002,
Could she enter Spain then as my wife? As it states under the Visa application than Brazilians need a Visa to enter?
Would she automatically have the same rights as me which is 6 months entrance? If we decided to stay longer do you know how we would go about it if we wanted to settle there?

R

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As Spain is an EU country, your wife has the right to accompany you to Spain to live and work there, after entry and residence formalities are completed. This can be a long drawn-out affair in Spain (and in Italy, France etc), as the wheel of bureaucracy turns very slowly and what one official tells you may not correspond to what their colleague said yesterday in the same office, or in another town etc. While there is a national rule about obtaining residence permit etc, it's not necessarily followed by local officials and they may demand additional documentation etc. Be patient, be persistent, and you get there in the end.
What your wife needs to to is to apply for a family visa (EU family permit) at the Spanish consulate covering your area. It should be issued free of charge, and you need to submit your British passport, marriage certificate etc to prove her status as a spouse of an EU national. There may be other requirements, which vary from country to country, but the consulate should have the details.
It may not be possible for your wife to enter as a visitor and then change her status to a spouse of an EU citizen while still in Spain. She may have to return to Brazil to apply for her family visa.
Put a query on Spain Expat Forum at [http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/] - there are several regular posters there who have successfully moved from Brazil to Spain, with or without Spanish/EU spouse. Remember, though, the economy is really dire there and unemployment is worst in EU, so any kind of jobs are very hard to come by.
About your son. If he is your stepson - so no blood relation of yours, he won't be eligible for a British passport and will almost certainly have to qualify to live in EU in his own right. I'm afraid that Brazilians receive close scrutiny from immigration officials in Europe, as their compatriots have been known to break immigration rules and work illegally etc. In UK, for example, the proportion of Brazilians who have been refused entry or deported is among the highest of all foreign nationals arriving at British shores. So he may expect a lot of obstacles before he can join you in EU.

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@NWPlatinum: Yes it did get resolved. The European Court of Justice ruled (Metock case) that Ireland was misinterpreting the Free Movement Directive and that it could not impose a requirement that EU citizens and their spouses live in another member state first. A totally predictable decision because it was pretty clear that was never the Directive's intention. So the OP and his wife should be able to get residency under EU Treaty rights. As others have noted however there is a process that has to be gone through - I don't think she can work in the meantime.

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Are you a full British Citzen, or Overseas Brisith Citzen?

If you have full British Nationality and rights, all you have to do when you get to Ireland is get a Social Insurance number (PPS), if your marriage is registered with the British Gov, your wife should be able to work here as your spouse, her son, could get a working holiday visa which would allow him to live and work in Ireland for a year, not sure if Brazil takes part in the working holiday programme though

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You forgot to mention that the link is to your own website Shane!

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