When people are seeking to move to Ireland, whether it is for work, family, residency, or seeking permanent citizenship, the same common mistakes tend to crop up when people make visa and immigration applications.
Sinnott Immigration Solicitors say that they tend to errors people making when giving proof of dependency, finances, relationships, or disclosing criminal histories, are common reasons for an application to be rejected.
This can leave people who might otherwise have had their application accepted forced to make a a written appeal or a request for a review within a certain time frame.
These are the most common errors that Sinnott has found among people seeking immigration advice:
Proof of Dependency
This is required for people seeking an EU Residence Card as well as in many other types of visa applications, and people are often unaware of the level of information that is required.
In order to prove dependency on another, more than just a few bank statements showing money transfers to the dependent are required.
Applicants must be prepared to show proof of of the provision of the day to day living expenditure to the dependent, such rent paid, spending on food and clothes, mortgage payments, utility bills, and all money transfers.
This is to show that the dependent would not be able to financially support themselves in their day to day living if it were not for the financial assistance of the provider.
Proof of Relationship
Failing to adequately prove a relationship is one of the most common reasons for INIS to refuse an application in the first instance.
In order to do this properly people need to set out a detailed timeline of their relationship history, from where they met to where they are now, giving as much information as possible about its development.
Supporting documentation such as texts, emails, social media, photographs, WhatsApp logs, travel tickets and more help to flesh out and verify that history.
When providing immigration advice to applicants in these situations, the more detail submitted, the better. It makes it easier for the decision maker to immediately identify the relationship as a genuine one if the proper documentation is submitted.
Proof of Finances
In order to prove adequate finances, it is not just necessary for the applicant to submit Bank Statements. An entire financial portfolio should be shown here.
When proving finances, the objective is to meet the criteria of the Department of Justice to demonstrate that the applicant will not become a burden to the State.
On top of bank statements, immigration applications should each and every source of income, payslips, contracts of employment, tax documentation showing the income received, health insurance, pensions, savings and every piece of documentation that will prove that finances are adequate for the application to succeed.
Disclosure of previous Convictions
The courts have ruled that not only does a citizenship applicant have to disclose previous convictions but the applicant must also disclose “spent convictions”.
The Minister is entitled to have regard to what would otherwise be “spent convictions”, where the conviction has been removed from the public record after a period of time, in considering good character for citizenship applications.
It is now common practice to submit a Police clearance certificate as part of a Citizenship application.
Sinnott Immigration Solicitors and Consultants are Irelands leading Immigration experts with offices in Dublin and Cork.
If you have any queries do not hesitate to contact their Immigration Department today on 00353 1 406 2862 or info@sinnott.ie
