The 2025 Policy Document now outlines three categories of family members in respect of whom applications for family reunification can be made.
The categories are Nuclear Family which consists of :
- Spouse,
- Civil partner,
- Unmarried children under the age of 18),
- Dependent Parents and Dependant adult children.
Notably, dependent children, aged between 18-23 years old and who are in full-time education are no longer considered to be members of the Nuclear Family, as was the case in the previous 2016 version of the Policy Document.
To qualify as a dependent adult children under the 2025 Policy Document,
the adult child must be “dependent on the care of the parent sponsor for their subsistence due to a serious medical or psychological condition that makes independent life unsustainable.”
Immigration Status of Sponsor
There are three separate categories of eligible sponsors under the 2025 Policy Document.
Category A Sponsor
- Irish citizens
- Persons who have been granted refugee status or subsidiary protection, who are not eligible to submit an application for family reunification pursuant to s.56 and s.57 of the International Protection Act 2015.
Waiting period: No waiting period, category A sponsors are eligible to submit an application for family reunification at any time.
Category B Sponsor
- Investors with a permission under the IIP,
- Entrepreneurs with a permission under the STEP,
- CSEP holders,
- Researchers on Hosting Agreements,
- ISD-approved scholarship programme students, Intra-company transferees,
- PhD student permission holders, Full-time non-locum doctors in employment, and Ministers of Religion under the relevant Scheme.
Waiting period: Category B sponsors are eligible to immediate family reunification with nuclear family members.
There is a waiting period of 2 years for category B sponsors to submit applications for dependant parents or dependant adult children.
Category C Sponsor
General Employment Permit holders,
Reactivation Employment Permit holders,
Stamp 4 holders, not covered by categories set out as above
Waiting period: May apply after 12 months on an eligible permission for Category C Sponsors to submit an application for family reunification with nuclear family members, and 5 years in respect of any other family members.
Financial Thresholds
The 2025 Policy Document confirms that the Minister will consider the income of “only one individual sponsor” to determine whether the relevant required financial threshold is met to be eligible to sponsor an application for family reunification.
Category A Sponsors are required to have a cumulative gross income of €40,000 over the three-year period prior to the application, to sponsor an application for their spouse, civil partner or de facto partner.
Category B Sponsor are not required to meet a financial threshold when sponsoring their spouse, civil partner or de facto partner, as they are eligible for immediate family reunification, prior to any finances being accrued and the sponsor may be accompanied by their nuclear family upon entry to the State
Category C Sponsors with no children are required to have earned a gross annual income of €30,000 in the year prior to the application, to sponsor an application for their spouse, civil partner or de facto partner.
For more details about this information, visit the https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/f88cb36e/Revised_Family_Reunification_Policy.pdf
