scot47

Ireland rejecting American retirees under new rules - IrishCentral.com
Any comments ?

Moses2013

Never heard of any problems and nothing has really changed. This is probably one extreme case where something went wrong, or they have debt etc.
If you are a national of the European Union (EU), of one of the other EEA member states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or of Switzerland, you have the right to stay in Ireland, and your family members have the right to stay here also. There are some limits to this right, however.You can stay in Ireland for up to 3 months without restriction. If you plan to stay more than 3 months, you must either:

• Be engaged in economic activity (employed or self employed) or
• Have sufficient resources and sickness insurance to ensure that you do not become a burden on the social services of Ireland or
• Be enrolled as a student or vocational trainee or
• Be a family member of a Union citizen in one of the previous categories.

When you come to Ireland you do not need to register with the local immigration officer and you do not need a residence card to live here. If you wish to have a record of your residence in Ireland you can register with your embassy of your country in Ireland.UK citizens: People who are citizens of the United Kingdom (UK) are entitled to live in Ireland without any conditions or restrictions.

scot47

This is aimed at US citizens, for whom these things are more difficult than EU citizens !

Moses2013

Sorry, took the wrong part, but again nothing has changed here:US nationals do not need a visa to enter Ireland, but will obviously need to prove that they are not a burden to the state if they want to live hereIrish Naturalisation and Immigration Service Countries whose nationals are visa required
Non-EEA nationals: citizens of certain non-EEA countries must apply for an entry visa before they travel to Ireland. You can find out if you need a visa to enter Ireland. When you have arrived in Ireland, if you are not an EEA or Swiss national, you must have permission to remain if you wish to stay for more than 3 months. If you are retiring to live in Ireland, you must be able to prove you have sufficient resources to support yourself and obtain permission to remain by registering with your local immigration registration officer following your arrival in Ireland.

scot47

The story is about two US citizens who are resident in Ireland but have been told that they need an income of 100,000 Euros to remain in the Republic.

Moses2013

Yes, but as mentioned this is an extreme case and one case out of a thousand. Either they have debt, or something went wrong during the process, but we don't know the exact facts. Why would they buy a house, move in May and then apply in September? Saying that, it's a lot harder for us to retire in the US.

SanDiegogirl

Well as you said above people can stay in Ireland without visas etc for three months but if they then want to stay longer they apply for the necessary resident visa. Hence they applied in September after being in the country for three months.

I've looked at the info on the ROI immigration site and it appears you can enter the country and then apply for residency permits - unlike both UK and US rules which, quite logically to me, say you need to apply from your home country.

I've spoken to several US citizens who believe they can just up sticks and move to wherever they like.

The US of course does not have a retirement visa - no matter how much money you have.

....... and 27K USD is not a lot to live on.

robin1234

Seems very odd that this couple bought a house before they knew that they had a visa to stay. That's a very risky thing to do, whether or not the rules have changed recently.

Moses2013

They probably did apply after three months, but there's no guarantee that you can stay. They basically planned to move permanently before they applied (buying house etc.), so that was their first big mistake. In reality Ireland is pensioner friendly and there are plenty of US citizens who live here without that sort of money. Overall, they should make it easier for people to live in both countries.

scot47

I think many Americans just assume that they can go and live anywhere they want.

amideislas

Well, someone from Oklahoma can move to Illinois without any visas or permissions. Why would moving to Ireland be any different? Whaddya mean it's a "different country"? What's that got to do with it?

Just for perspective, there's no shortage of Brits living abroad confused with how "un-British" it can be.

Moses2013

If you are flying from Shannon Airport to the US, you are technically already on US ground, because of US Preclearance facilities at the Airport. Maybe that's the confusion.