This applies to the parents of EU/EEA passport holders and the parents of the spouse of an EU passport holder.

British passport and their Non-EU/EEA dependants, no longer qualify under this scheme. For them a separate scheme exists HERE

“Family member” means:

1. the spouse;
2. the partner with whom the Union citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State;
3. the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants and those of the spouse or partner as defined in point (b);
4. the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner as defined in point (b);
   If you are a ‘qualifying family member’ of an EU/EEA /Swiss Citizen you are exempt from the visa fee.

The list of ‘qualifying family members’ is as follows:

• Spouse
• Child (under 21 years)
• Child (under 21 years) of the spouse
• Adopted child (subject to adoption papers)
• Dependant parent
• Dependant parent of the spouse
• Other dependant family members in the direct ascending line (e.g. grandparent) or descending line (e.g. grandchild)
• Other dependant family members of the spouse in the direct ascending (e.g. grandparent) or descending line (e.g. grandchild)

Based on the above, bringing your parents into Ireland, if you hold an EU Passport, means that they fall into the category of “QUALIFYING FAMILY MEMBERS”

This means that the form you will be required to complete for them will be the EUTR1 – form

When looking at the above and specifically looking at Parents, it is important to note that the word “dependant” is used preceding the word “parent” in each of the descriptions.

That would mean that you would have to satisfy both definitions of the criteria and as such we will be looking at what you need for this.

The following is the information that is required on the EUTR1 form.

We recommend that you read though the entire form prior to making the move over.

This will enable you to make sure you know what paperwork specifically you need to bring with, as well as what you need to specifically ask for when in Ireland. The following images are taken from the form and are the sections required relating specifically to parents

We highly recommend you download our Mock-ups on the application to see just how much proof and what supporting documents would be needed (see links below)

The treaty itself, as a document does not give specific details as to what qualifies a parent as a dependent.

This is done on purpose, as the treaty document is set as a framework for each of the countries, but the interpretation is widely left open for each country to determine the implementation.

Because of this, we need to look at Irish documents to give us an insight into what is considered to fulfill the criteria for the “dependent” part of the statement.

The following is from the Operational guidelines for deciding officers on the determination of Habitual Residence

“Where a person is claiming to be a dependant relative it must be established that such dependancy already existed in the home country before the relative moves to Ireland.”

What does this mean? Simply that you can not use proof of any of the circumstances your parents will be under once they are in Ireland as proof to motivate their dependancy. See more on this below

YOU HAVE TO SHOW THAT THEY WERE DEPENDANT ON YOU PRIOR TO THEM COMING TO IRELAND AND THAT REQUIREMENT CONTINES IN IRELAND.

Further along this document:

• “ii) a dependent of the Union citizen, or of his or her spouse or civil partner.

(5) (a) Where a Union citizen has an entitlement to reside in the State under paragraph (3)(a)(iii), a person to whom subparagraph (b) applies may apply to the Minister for a permission to remain in the State with that Union citizen.

(b) This paragraph applies to a direct relative in the ascending line of the Union citizen, or of the Union citizen’s spouse or civil partner, who is dependent on the Union citizen, or on the Union citizen’s spouse or civil partner.

(c) In order to decide whether to grant a permission under paragraph (a), the Minister shall cause to be carried out an extensive examination of the personal circumstances of the applicant and shall have regard to the following:

(i) the extent and nature of the dependency;

(ii) in the case of financial dependency, the extent and duration of the financial support provided by the Union citizen or his or her spouse or civil partner to the applicant prior to the applicant’s coming to the State, having regard, amongst other relevant matters, to living costs in the country from which the applicant has come, whether the financial dependency can be satisfied by remittances to the applicant in the country from which he or she has come and other financial resources available to him or her;

(iii) in the case of dependency on serious health grounds which strictly require the personal care of the Union citizen or his or her spouse or civil partner, the nature of the serious health grounds concerned and the duration of the period in which they have existed;

(iv) the capacity of the Union citizen concerned to continue to support the applicant in the State in the event that the Minister were to grant a permission.”

The following is now established based on a recent judgement regarding social dependency:

“Social dependency may arise from factors such as an Applicant’s medical circumstances or the nature of the social and emotional relationship between the Applicant and the EU Citizen.” Berkeley Solicitors

“It is clear from the above High Court decisions that a failure to take into account an Applicant’s social dependency on the EU citizen constitutes a breach of EU law. An analysis of the Applicant’s financial dependency alone will not be sufficient.”

Note: It is recommended by Irish Immigration Solictors that the dependant(s) remains living with the Sponsor and continue all Financial and Emotional support indefinitely (Physical, if it was a reason for the application). The chances of decline at temp stamp, 5 year stamp and EU3 after 5 years residence is smaller should that dependancy continue indefinitely. According to the Solcitors, a number of declines at any of these 3 stages can occur should the link and proof of dependancy end once the Dependants are in Ireland.

You can read the full article HERE

The following are suggestions based on documents that members on the Facebook group has used to motivate their applications. None of these documents have received any individual feedback from the EU treaty department, and as such we have no way to determine to what effect they are accepted. As such they are only suggestions and not based on any legal or formal feedback.

In all cases, always get as much proof of at least two out of the 3 criteria and in every case, rather strive to have more rather than less proof.

NB: The degree of dependency must be as such as to render independent living, at a subsistence level by the family member in his/her home country impossible if that financial and social support were not maintained

Once in Ireland it may be questions whether the link of dependancy is broken should the dependants move out of the home and start working, partiuclarly before the 5 year card is approved. Past applications have been declined on this basis. The link of dependancy need to be shown in both SA and in Ireland, and must continue to remain so.

With the new pre-clearance for BP and SA and the other preclearances like De Facto applications and Stamp1g, Private Medical is a requirement. Are they taking a stronger approach to self-sufficiency than before as mentioned in the Habitual Residency conditions published March 2020? So, whilst it isn’t a requirement, would it however be a good idea to take Private Medical and the Sponsor to pay for it? Would this prove a stronger application on the basis of the link between Sponsor and dependant and would this prove self-sufficiency away from State benefits or reliance?

Police Clearances are also not asked for on the forms, however, also add to a character build. If all the members concerned are proved to be good solid law-abiding citizens up front, would this also not add strength to the application?

“There is NO automatic right or entitlement to family reunification.”

“Adult persons who claim dependency are not persons of independent means, and vice versa. This is an important distinction from the points of view of both lodging and examining applications. Persons who claim dependency are saying that they rely for their subsistence on a family member who is resident in Ireland. Officials examining such applications must be satisfied, by the applicant, that the family member is actually dependent on the sponsor.”

“Dependency” for immigration purposes and in respect of an adult must be pre-existing and sustained prior to the making of the application for family reunification. It must also be established that the dependency existed while the dependant was living in their home country.”

“The financial support must be not just welcome but must be essential for the on-going support and subsistence of the family member. It must be at a level where the absence of the sponsor in the home country of the family member makes independent life unsustainable.”

“It is up to the Sponsor and the Applicant to prove the genuineness and nature of the relationship. In this process of proof, due regard will be given to families who have chosen to live apart in the past, and as such Ireland is not obligated to grant family reunification to reconstitute the family unit.”

“The immigration authorities must also be satisfied that family dependency has not been constructed as a means of facilitating the immigration of the person in question”