British and SA – prior to Brexit 31st December 2020 under the Withdrawal Agreement
British Passport holders and South African family members (Under the Withdrawl Agreement)
Brexit was looming for 4.5years prior to it actually happening, and then when it did, it coincided with a Global Pandemic… something no one could have prepared for. Departments were shut, or suddenly launched to online platforms and the information became a bit hazy and a tad chaotic.
At SA2Eire we always try find the answer before making assumption, we endeavour not to use opinion or recommendation but rather cold hard fact… and at last we have had confirmation on a few things.
- Bringing new Non-Eu/EEA family members as dependants to the Republic of Ireland
- Updating existing IRP cards for British sponsor’s Non-EU/EEA dependants already with Stamp4EUfam
- EU Travel and UK Travel
- Long-term residency and Naturalisation
ABSOLUTE CLARITY- Who is this information for?
The information below is for people who are a British and SA combination of passports in the relationship that were exercising EU Treaty rights PRIOR to 11pm 31st December 2020 in the Republic of Ireland.
If you as the BP or your BP sponsor was not in the country exercising EU treaty rights prior to this date you need to continue to this link and read on the new Policy Document
What is exercising EU treaty rights?
“Citizens of EU member states are automatically citizens of the European Union. This means that they can move freely around the countries of the EU, and have the right to live in those other countries if they fulfil certain conditions.”
An EU/EEA citizen may reside in the State for a period that is longer than 3 months if he or she:
- is in employment or in self-employment in the State
- has sufficient resources for himself or herself and his or her family members not to become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of the State, and has comprehensive sickness insurance in respect of himself or herself and his or her family members
- is enrolled in an educational establishment accredited or financed by the State for the principal purpose of following a course of study here and has comprehensive sickness insurance in respect of himself or herself and his or her family members and has sufficient resources for himself or herself and his or her family members not to become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of the State
At the point at which Brexit (the UK separating itself from the EU, no longer being an EU State) an agreement (The Withdrawal Agreement) was put in place for many aspects of human life between the UK and EU. Such things as trade, travel, sharing of information, and a huge abundance more. The part that affects people reading this will be that section about British passport holder with their Non-EU/EEA family members specifically living in the Republic of Ireland. Outside of this relationship of the EU and UK, was also the Common Travel Area and the Good Friday Agreement. This is the part that makes Ireland unique to the rest of Europe in the way it did and still does allow movement of British Citizens and their Non-Eu/EEA family members because it has gone from being an EU controlled immigration situation (Eu Treaty) to an Irish law situation. Governance of the laws falls now domestically into the hands of the Minister of Justice in Ireland, INIS or what is now known as ISD (Immigration Service Delivery).
Dear Megan,
Thank you for your email to the Minister for Justice regarding immigration after Brexit. Minister McEntee has now commenced her maternity leave. As matters relating to immigration now come within the responsibility of the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Browne TD, your correspondence has been forwarded to his office for attention and Minister Browne has asked me to reply to you on his behalf.
Under the Common Travel Area (CTA), Irish and British citizens move freely and reside in either jurisdiction and enjoy associated rights and entitlements including access to employment, healthcare, education, social benefits, and the right to vote in certain elections.
The Common Travel Area pre-dates Irish and UK membership of the EU and is not dependent on it. The Government of Ireland and the UK Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, reaffirming their commitment to maintaining the CTA in all circumstances.
Neither Irish citizens in the UK, nor British citizens in Ireland, are required to take any action to protect their status and rights associated with the CTA. Irish citizens in the UK and British citizens in Ireland continue to enjoy these rights following the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January 2020.
With effect from 11pm on 31 December 2020 following the end of the Brexit transition period, all non-EEA family members of UK nationals seeking to join, or accompany, their UK national family member in Ireland will need to apply (depending on nationality) through a preclearance or visa scheme from outside the State.
The Preclearance Scheme only applies when a UK national has come to live in Ireland after 31 December 2020. If a UK national is living in Ireland on or before that date they and their eligible non-EEA family members will be a beneficiary under the Withdrawal Agreement.
Details of the preclearance and visa schemes, can be found at the following link:
The Policy Document for this scheme can be found at the following link (this is a .pdf and will download into your Downloads file):
Applications will be required from visa required and non-visa required nationals and will be assessed under the relevant policy document. All applications must be made from outside of Ireland and applicants must remain outside the State while their application is being processed.
We are currently only accepting visa or preclearance applications for Priority/Emergency cases. The situation will continue to be reviewed in consultation with the relevant authorities in the coming weeks. Any changes to the restrictions on visa processing will be announced on the following page:
Contact details can be found at the following link:
A South African citizen is visa required unless they hold a ‘Residence card of a family member of a Union citizen’. To be valid, the card must be of the type referred to in Article 10 of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (the ‘Free Movement Directive’). You will find more information at the following link:
Any person that is unsure as to whether they require a visa/preclearance to enter Ireland can check the following link:
I trust this information is of some assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Private Secretary to
Minister of State James Browne T.D.
Further to this, the dependancy must have been proven PRIOR to the end of the Brexit.
People in possession of their Stamp4EUfam cards, who have already been living in Ireland for some time and have been approved for their 5 Year residency, a new IRP card needs to be applied for, for those dependants who are already in possession of the stamp4eufam card.
This needed to be applied for between 1st Jan 2021 and 31st Dec 2021.
If you wish to follow up email them on eutreatyrights@justice.ie
Information on changing your IRP card from 1st Jan 2021 HERE.
You will simply be required to replace your current valid IRP Card for a new one stating that you benefit from the Withdrawal Agreement.
This card replacement programme will apply from 1 January 2021 and be administered by the Immigration Service of the Department of Justice for all applicants nationwide through an on-line renewal system available at https://inisonline.jahs.ie. This system has been especially adapted to accept Withdrawal Agreement IRP Card replacement applications from all counties not just Dublin.
When making your online application:
- You will be asked to confirm that you have been exercising EU Treaty Rights to reside in the State on or before 31 December 2020 and continue to do so.
- You will be asked to upload proof of identity and proof of current residence.
- With Brexit coming into effect, the IRP expiry date of all existing non-EEA family member or dependent of a UK national reverts to 31/12/2020 (instead of the expiry date on the current IRP card) and this is the date to be included at Section 1.2 of the Online Application Form.
- You will have until 31 December 2021 to apply.
As stated above, you go to the portal to register an account, you do an application for each Non-EU/EEA member under that British Sponsor, and upload the documents required, using the DATE 31st DECEMBER 2020 as the expiry date. The date Brexit came into effect NOT the expiry date on your card!!
When you receive your new IRP card (stamp4 article 50 TEU), please safely dispose of your existing IRP card as it will no longer be valid.
Your entitlements to move freely and reside in other Member States of the European Union will cease to apply from 31 December 2020.
From 1 January 2021, your IRP card (or if you have not yet obtained your new IRP card, your Stamp 4 EUFam Residence card) does not have visa exemption effect, except for Ireland.
If you intend travelling to another EU Member State after that date, you will need to check the visa requirements for that Member State before you travel.
The same will apply should a South African passport holder, with or without their British sponsor, if they choose to go anywhere in the UK, a UK Standard visitor visa is now needed as the Eu Treaty freedom of movement no longer applies.
(See below for Standard Uk Visitor visas for your South African dependants)
Whilst a UK passport holder is part of the CTA, travel to the Uk and Ireland for them is visa free. At the moment a Uk passport holder can travel to the EU for up to 90days.
However for your SA passport holding spouse and children, they would need Uk Standard visitor visas to go to the Uk (including Northern Ireland) and for each EU country a schengen visa for that country
Will an Irish visa allow me to travel to Northern Ireland?
No. If you wish to travel to Northern Ireland, you will require a UK visa.
Northern Ireland consists of Counties Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down, Fermanagh and Tyrone.
If you intend to also visit Northern Ireland and return to the Republic, you must obtain a UK visa.
Many flights go via the UK, however, please note any South African only passport holder will need to be in possession of a FULL UK STANDARD VISITOR visa if you fly from UK to Ireland.
Even though you are inside the airport, you actually pass through an international terminal into a domestic terminal and are therefore considered inside the UK.
This does not apply if YOU hold a UK/Irish or EU passport, but if for example your spouse or child does not hold a UK/Irish or EU passport THEY will need a UK Standard visitor visa.
6 months prior to the expiry of your Stamp4 (look on your card), you need to submit your EU3 forms for permanent residence.
The British member can naturalise Irish from the 5 year mark when they arrived.
Their SA members can naturalise Irish from the 5 year mark of their Temp stamp.
As Naturalisation is taking so long to process (around 24 months+) you need to have a valid up to date residence card whilst that naturalisation is taking place.
If you wish to hold on to your South African citizenship, do not forget to do the retention of citizenship forms too.
See links below to naturalisation and EU3 forms