EU Treaty Rights Family Member Residence Card

To qualify, you must be the family member of a "Union Citizen" (an EU, EEA, or Swiss national) who is currently residing in Ireland or intends to reside there. The EU sponsor cannot be an Irish citizen, as Irish citizens exercising their rights in their own country fall under domestic Irish law rather than EU Treaty Rights.

1. The EU Sponsor’s Activity

Your EU sponsor must be "exercising treaty rights" in Ireland. This means they must fall into one of these categories:

• Employed or Self-Employed: Working in Ireland or running a business.
• Student: Enrolled in a recognized course and holding Comprehensive Sickness Insurance.
• Residing with Sufficient Resources: Having enough money to support themselves and their family without needing social assistance, plus holding Comprehensive Sickness Insurance.
• Involuntarily Unemployed: Someone who was working in Ireland but lost their job and is now registered as a jobseeker.

2. Your Relationship to the Sponsor

Applicants are divided into two legal tiers:

• Qualifying Family Members: These individuals have an automatic right to reside if the sponsor meets the criteria. This includes spouses, civil partners, children or grandchildren under 21 (or older if dependent), and dependent parents or grandparents.
• Permitted Family Members: These individuals do not have an automatic right; their residence is "facilitated" at the discretion of the Minister for Justice. This includes de facto partners (partners in a durable relationship, usually requiring 2 years of cohabitation) and other relatives who are dependent on the EU citizen for financial or serious health reasons.