Following a landmark judgement from the European Court of Justice in March 2011, in the famous case of Ruiz Zambrano v Office National De L’Emploi, Case C-34/09,  which established the derived rights of non EEA parents of  Union citizen child to reside within the territory of the EU, the Minister for Justice set up a scheme whereby non nationals can apply for stamp 4 residence permission on the basis of their Irish child.

Non nationals who are currently residence in the State on the basis of lawful residence permission can attend their local immigration office directly, with their Irish citizen child, and provide their passport and GNIB card, the child’s passport and birth certificate. They can then be issued with a stamp 4 permission immediately without need for a written application to the Minister for Justice,

Non nationals who are in the State without lawful residence permission are required to make a written application to the Minister to apply for stamp 4 permission. During the processing of the application, the Minister assesses the links and relationship between the applicant and their child prior to issuing the stamp 4 residence permission.

There is no specific financial requirements that have to be met in order for the parent of an Irish citizen child to be granted a visa or residence permission. Instead, the focus of the application is on the parent’s role in the child’s life.

It is stated in the INIS Family Reunification Policy Document of December 2013, as follows;

“it is intended as a matter of general policy, to grant immigration permission where the parent can demonstrate an active and continuous involvement in the child’s life, providing real emotional and/or financial support.“

We assist many clients with these applications to acquire residence permission on the basis of Irish citizen children.