The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration published a new Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification on the 26th November 2025 (‘the 2025 Policy Document’). This has replaced the previous version published in December 2016.
The 2025 Policy Document sets out established criteria to be met to facilitate family reunification for certain categories of persons who are legally resident in the State. There are a number of key changes in this revised version of the Policy Document, which we have provided an overview of below.
Categories of Family Members
The 2025 Policy Document now outlines three categories of family members in respect of whom applications for family reunification can be made. The categories are Nuclear Family (which consists of spouse, civil partner, and unmarried children under the age of 18), Dependent Parents and Dependant adult children.
Notably, dependent children, aged between 18-23 years old and who are in full-time education are no longer considered to be members of the Nuclear Family, as was the case in the previous 2016 version of the Policy Document.
To fit within the category of Dependant adult children under the 2025 Policy Document, the adult child must be “dependent on the care of the parent sponsor for their subsistence due to a serious medical or psychological condition that makes independent life unsustainable.”
Immigration Status of Sponsor
There are three separate categories of eligible sponsors under the 2025 Policy Document.
Category A Sponsor – includes Irish citizens and persons who have been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, who are not eligible to submit an application for family reunification pursuant to s.56 and s.57 of the International Protection Act 2015.
Category A sponsors are eligible to submit an application for family reunification at any time.
Category B Sponsor – includes Investors with a permission under the IIP, Entrepreneurs with a permission under the STEP, CSEP holders, Researchers on Hosting Agreements, ISD-approved scholarship programme students, Intra-company transferees, PhD student permission holders, Full-time non-locum doctors in employment, and Ministers of Religion under the relevant Scheme.
Category B sponsors are eligible to immediate family reunification with nuclear family members. There is a waiting period of 2 years for category B sponsors to submit applications for dependant parents or dependant adult children.
Category C Sponsor – includes General Employment Permit holders, Reactivation Employment Permit holders, and Stamp 4 holders.
There is a waiting period of 12 months on an eligible permission for Category C Sponsors to submit an application for family reunification with nuclear family members, and 5 years in respect of any other family members.
Financial Thresholds
The 2025 Policy Document confirms that the Minister will consider the income of “only one individual sponsor” to determine whether the relevant required financial threshold is met to be eligible to sponsor an application for family reunification.
Category A Sponsors are required to have a cumulative gross income of €40,000 over the three-year period prior to the application, to sponsor an application for their spouse, civil partner or de facto partner.
Under the 2025 Policy Document there is no financial threshold to be met for a Category B Sponsor to sponsor an application for their spouse, civil partner or de facto partner, as they are eligible for immediate family reunification, prior to any finances being accrued.
Category C Sponsors with no children are required to have earned a gross annual income of €30,000 in the year prior to the application, to sponsor an application for their spouse, civil partner or de facto partner. This is a change to the previous policy of a requirement of an annual gross income of €30,000 in the two years prior to the application.
As was previously the case, the financial threshold that a Category C Sponsor must meet to apply for family reunification increases dependent on the number of children that the sponsor has. In this instance, the net income of the sponsor must be higher than that applied by the Department of Social Protection in assessing eligibility for the Working Family Payment (WFP). The required annual net and gross income is outlined in Appendix D of the 2025 Policy Document.
Dependent Adult Relative Applications
For all categories of sponsors, the financial threshold applied to Dependent Adult Relative applications is a gross annual income in excess of 185% of the average yearly earnings in Ireland for one relative and 250% thereof for two relatives, in each of the three years prior to the application. This percentage will be increased for subsequent adult dependent family members. The minimum gross annual salary for these applications is outlined in Appendix D of the 2025 Policy Document.
Furthermore, we highlight that pursuant to the 2025 Policy Document, in the processing of all applications for family reunification, the Minister will rigorously assess the Sponsor’s ability to financially support and accommodate the Applicant in the State.
The 2026 Policy Document is available here.
Berkeley Solicitors are available to provide advice in respect of all matters relating to the family reunification application process.
This blog article has been prepared on the basis of current immigration law and policy, which is subject to change. Please keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page where articles relating to updates and changes in immigration law and policy are regularly posted.
