Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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113. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the detail of the application process for a non-EU person applying for a de facto visa; the rules pertaining to the granting of a de facto visa; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11499/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) of my Department that the information required for seeking a 'De Facto Partnership' immigration permission includes:

- A history of the relationship including when the partners met and when they began the relationship;

- Legible copies of all pages of both partners’ passports;

- Dated documentary evidence of living together continuously over a period of two years (is being revised down to 1 year) in a common place of residence such as official letters or bills sent to the same address and/or joint tenancy agreement and dated documentary evidence of the relationship;

- Dated evidence of financial inter-dependence such as transfer receipts, joint accounts, joint purchases, joint assets or loans;

- Financial statements covering the previous 6 months for both partners showing living expenses i.e. where the finances are coming from and where they are going to;

- Evidence of contact between the Applicant and the Sponsor, such as letters, emails, phone contacts, screenshots of Facebook and Skype to cover the entire length of the relationship but at the very least covering two years;

- Evidence of time spent together such as dated photographs for the Applicant and the Sponsor together with family and friends and air tickets showing travel together;

- Police clearance from any country the Applicant has resided in over the last 5 years. The Police clearance should be no more than six months old at the date of application;

- If the Applicant and the Sponsor intend to marry in the State, they are required to provide evidence of when the marriage will take place e.g. documents from the Registrar’s Office;

- If the Applicant has dependant children who intend to live with the Applicant and the Sponsor in Ireland

- copies of birth certificates and copies of passport(s) of the child(ren)

- evidence that the Applicant is the child's legal guardian and

- evidence that the Applicant has sole custody and guardianship of the child(ren).

or

- evidence that the Applicant has the permission of any other guardian or custodian to have the child live with them in Ireland

Evidence that the Applicant and any dependant child(ren) are covered by private medical insurance.

All documentation should be submitted via registered post to INIS, PO Box 12695, Dublin 2. Each case is decided on the circumstances taking into account all of the above information.

I am further advised by INIS that the process is currently under review and revised criteria for the scheme, together with a new application form, is being finalised to bring further clarity to the process. These will be published shortly on the INIS website www.inis.gov.ie.