The Department of Justice and Equality has launched a new streamlined preclearance process to make it easier for de facto partners of Irish citizens, who are not from the European Economic Area, to live and work in Ireland.
Under the new process, de facto partners of Irish citizens will be allowed to apply for permission to reside in the country before they travel to Ireland.
Under the previous system, the application process for partners could only begin upon their arrival in the State and may have taken up to one year to complete. Now, once preclearance is granted, applicants can arrive and register with the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) immediately. They will then have access to the labour market straight away.
For more information:
Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service Preclearance process for De Facto Partners of Irish Nationals
Department of Justice and Equality press release: New Preclearance process to be introduced to help Non-EEA de facto partners of Irish citizens live and work in Ireland
