To stay with your EU/EEA or Swiss family member in Ireland for longer than 90 days, you can apply for a 'Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen' (also referred to an EU Treaty Rights application).
Apply for a Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen
A Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen allows you to join your EU/EEA or Swiss family member if they live in Ireland.
To obtain a card, your family member must use their EU Treaty Rights to sponsor an application by you. Applications may take 12 months to process.
There are 2 types of card:
Residence card for a qualifying family member of a Union citizen
Apply for this card if you are the spouse, child, grandchild, dependent parent or dependent grandparent of an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen in Ireland.
Residence card for a permitted family member of a Union citizen
Apply for this card if you are the long term (de facto) partner of an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen in Ireland, or some other family member as defined in the application conditions.
A 'de facto' relationship means you and your partner are committed to a shared life together, ie as if you were married.
Note: You cannot use a 'Residence Card of a Family Member of a Union Citizen' issued by any other country to authorise a long term stay here. Your card must be issued by Ireland.
After you make an application, you will be sent a letter that gives you temporary permission to stay in Ireland until a decision about your case is ready.
The letter will contain detailed information about what to do next. This includes how to register with immigration.
If you have applied for but not yet received a response or a letter, contact the EU Treaty Rights Applications Unit for an update.