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Updated: 9.13 pm
A CANADIAN-AMERICAN family of five has appealed to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to intervene, as their five-year fight to live in their adopted home of Co Kerry appears to be ending.
The family – Kate and Shannon Ware and their three daughters, who are fluent Irish speakers – have been told they must leave the country by the end of school year, or face deportation orders.
“Is breá liom Éireann agus Ciarraí,” 11-year-old Zoe said, in a hand-written letter to Fitzgerald on 17 May. (“I love Ireland and Kerry.”)
Kate, 36, a Canadian citizen from Toronto, and Shannon, 42, an American citizen from California, currently live in Waterville, with their daughters Zoe (11), Grace (Gráinne, 8) and Abigael (Gobnait, 7).
The family first arrived in Ireland during the summer of 2010, on a three-month tourist visa, but quickly fell in love with South Kerry, where they settled.
Local politicians, including Senator Mark Daly, and TDs Michael Healy-Rae, Brendan Griffin and Martin Ferris, have lobbied the Minister to intervene.
At the heart of the matter appears to be an extraordinary case of crossed wires between the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) and the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).
“This is a case of bureaucracy and ineptitude that will seriously harm a young family that has made a home in Ireland,” Sinn Féin’s Ferris said in a statement.
They have complied with every requirement of their visas and immigration process but now the Department of Justice says they must go.
A nine-hour wait for nothing, and a bureaucratic mix-up
The Ware family were permitted to remain in Ireland beyond the expiration of their tourist visa in 2010.
Local Garda immigration officials granted them a “Stamp 3″ authorisation to stay, which they renewed every three months until May 2012.
At that point, they were informed by a GNIB official that they needed to apply for a change of status (a visa), which they did.
Three months after their final Stamp 3 renewal, GNIB told the Wares they no longer needed reauthorisation stamps, since they had an application in with INIS for change of status.
In an effort to clarify the situation at GNIB headquarters, Kate and Shannon drove from the Iveragh Peninsula to Dublin one day in late 2012.
By their account, they waited for nine hours for an INIS official to show up, only to be told they couldn’t be seen that night, but to come back the next morning.
They did, but the INIS official didn’t. They couldn’t be helped, and were forced to return home to Kerry with no further information.
And this is where the problems began. INIS finally responded to the family 15 months later, in August 2013, refusing them a visa, in a letter seen by TheJournal.ie.
Why? Because they had gone through the Gardaí to renew their Stamp 3 authorisations, “without reference to” the INIS.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Kate emphasises that officials from GNIB have always been “polite, courteous and helpful” towards the family.
The Department of Justice also claimed the family didn’t have the means to support themselves, but this appears to have been based on a wilfully narrow snapshot of their finances.
Shannon, who provides technical and medical Japanese translation services to major clients around the world, said he gave INIS 18 months’ worth of bank statements, showing income well above the cut-off point.
It’s all foreign money that I’m bringing in through consultancy, and spending locally.
But the INIS, in its correspondence with the family, cited their joint bank balance on just one date in April 2013, and concluded they weren’t self-sufficient.
Shannon says they weren’t told what the minimum balance required was, and that he had paid significant bills just before that date:
If I knew there was a magic number, I would have had that money in my account.
For her part, Kate is a trained midwife, and hopes to become registered with An Bord Altranais if the family is allowed to settle permanently.
The confusion over their Stamp 3 authorisations, however, meant the Wares had lost their “permission to remain in the State” on 12 December 2012.
Without their knowledge and despite their scrupulous efforts to follow every instruction, the family had been “undocumented” for the previous 10 months.
They were given four weeks to leave the country, which they did, before returning to Ireland at the end of 2013.
They filed a fresh application for a visa in early 2014, making sure to show ample financial means this time, but the second application was rejected on the grounds of their previous refusal.
Shortly afterwards, the family applied for Humanitarian Leave to Remain, with particular emphasis on the well-being of their daughters.
‘She knows all the sean nós songs, dating back to the 17th century.’
Local support for Shannon and Kate Ware, and the girls, has been overwhelming. Many neighbours and schoolmates have written to the INIS, and local TDs have raised their plight in the Dáil.
Laoise Nic Aogáin, principal of Scoil Mhicíl Naofa in Ballinskelligs, wrote directly to the Department of Justice, conveying how much of an “asset” to the community they are.
Ours is a Gaeltacht school and these three little girls have fitted in so well to our school. They are extremely interested in the Irish language and make every effort to speak it.
They are exemplary students and are a joy to teach. Zoe, the eldest child, has an avid interest in Irish music and singing, particularly in the sean nós style and knows by heart all the old songs of this area even those dating back to the seventeenth century.
In my almost thirty years of teaching I have never witnessed such a profound and genuine interest.
In fact, Zoe is a competitive sean-nós singer, taking part in the Under-12 category at last October’s Oireachtas na Samhna in Killarney, as shown in this video.
She recently passed the entrance exam for the Irish immersion program at Coláiste na Sceilge’s Aonad Lán Ghaeilge in Caherciveen.
Kate points to an example of the girls’ love and devotion not just to the Irish language, but to the regional dialect:
A couple of years ago, Zoe told me, ‘Anything other than Munster Irish just doesn’t sound right to me, Mom.’
“They were born in Canada, but their worldview is completely Irish”, adds Shannon.
‘Ba bhreá liom iad a fheiceál arís’
Kate and Shannon aren’t sure what to do next. They’re appealing directly to Frances Fitzgerald to use her discretion and grant them leave to remain – something she has the power to do.
They’d like to see their immigration status regularised, especially since their undocumented status was purely the result of an administrative lapse beyond their control.
If these appeals, and the testimony of local representatives, their neighbours and friends, all fall on deaf ears, they’d be faced with the possibility of challenging deportation orders in the courts.
But there’s another problem. Kate’s father in Canada and Shannon’s mother in America, are both very sick with cancer.
If they leave voluntarily, they risk losing their “window of opportunity”, wrenching the girls from their friends, losing their home, and having to start the entire process from scratch when they return to Ireland.
That scenario is even more fraught – since Kate and the children are Canadian citizens, and Shannon is American, they would most likely have to be separated for a significant period of time.
If they’re deported, the same problems apply, but the Ware family would be barred for years from obtaining visas in Ireland.
If they challenge eventual deportation orders in the courts, they risk losing, of course – time, energy and legal fees, with the same devastating outcome.
But they’d be gambling with more than that, as Kate points out.
We just can’t afford to risk that our parents might pass away while we’re waiting for judicial review.
Earlier this year, Kate and Shannon applied on compassionate grounds to INIS, for permission to leave Ireland, visit their sick parents, and return again.
They were denied, and two weeks later came a firmly-worded letter from INIS, offering them “one final opportunity” to leave Ireland of their own accord, and threatening deportation within four weeks.
We would strongly recommend that you would take immediate steps to leave the State…
INIS originally gave the Wares until 12 June to make that decision, but TheJournal.ie has learned that Minister Fitzgerald has since extended the deadline “until your three daughters have finished the current academic school year.”
However, no new date of departure has been given, despite the fact that, according to the family, they have been forced to present their travel arrangements to INIS by Wednesday, 3 June.
This is significant, since the family has been warned that staying beyond the date of departure would leave them open to deportation orders.
TheJournal.ie has requested clarification on this matter from the Department of Justice.
Martin Ferris outlines what he sees as the politics behind the plight of the Ware family:
Enda Kenny travels the world on taxpayers’ money to attract business to Ireland, and when people come from abroad to facilitate that business, they’re told they’re not welcome.
In starker contrast still is the government’s work toward amnesty for undocumented Irish in America…
We cannot demand such compassion while refusing to show it ourselves.
In simpler terms, Zoe Ware poignantly describes the horrible dilemma of an 11-year-old girl who loves and misses her grandparents, but has a unique passion for her new home, and fears losing both.
In her letter to Frances Fitzgerald, she wrote:
Ba bhreá liom iad a fheiceál arís, ach, is breá liom Éireann agus Ciarraí…
Má ‘s é do thoil é, cabhraigh linn bheith feidir teacht ar ais go hÉireann.
I’d love to see them again, but I love Ireland and Kerry…
Please, help us be able to come back to Ireland.
TheJournal.ie sent a list of detailed questions to the Department of Justice. A spokesperson said:
The cases raised are currently under consideration by the Department but as a long-standing matter of policy, we will not be commenting on the specifics of individual cases.
Originally published: 6am
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This family is the type of immigrant this country needs, they have made a supreme effort to integrate into our country, they are paying their way. Common sense must prevail and give them visas.
This is a no brainer – it’s obvious that this Family are already contributing towards the positive future of our Country .
They must of course be allowed to settle down permanently here and become Irish Citizens too ?
They have the wholly deserved support of the Community here too !
Fluent Irish speakers…Sean Nos singers…Fluency in Japanese…Midwifery qualifications…generating foreign earnings….
A family with such a rich mix of talents should be accommodated with residential visas by Ireland’s Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
It isn’t as if Mr & Mrs Ware’s countries of origin – USA and Canada – have been hostile to Irish folks seeking a better life down the centuries!
Fluency in Irish and Japanese…Sean Nos Singers… Midwifery skills…generating foreign earnings…
A family with such a rich mix of talent should be welcomed with open arms and granted residential visas by Ireland’s Naturalisation and Immigration Service. God knows we’re haemorrhaging enough of our own talent already, without adding to those numbers.
It isn’t as if Mr. & Mrs Ware’s countries of origin – USA & Canada – have been hostile to Irish citizens seeking better lives down through the centuries!
Compare this to the story above about the Halawas! Chalk and cheese integration
I’m appalled by this. Those 3 children are as Irish as I am and their parents are people with genuine love for this country.
This is not a family trying to mess with the laws. They’ve been following all the rules and the only reason they are going through this crap is because of an administrative error. Whether or not you think they should be allowed stay in the first place is completely irrelevant.
Bear in mind that the Immigration Officer granted us the Stamp 3 IN FULL KNOWLEDGE of the work my husband does, as we have always been transparent and up-front. Who do you think knows more about the Immigration laws of Ireland, “James”? Yourself or the GNIB?
Thankfully, you don’t get to decide what is best for my family, nor do you get to judge.
I marvel at how… well-versed you claim to be about our case. What’s your interest, friend?
We violated nothing, “Adam”. If you have a problem with the policies of your own country’s government, why not get off the computer and work to change them?
Canada and the US and the UK all have very water-tight, very TRANSPARENT and rigid immigration policies. Ireland by contrast, DOES NOT. We should not be faulted for following instructions as laid out to us by government bodies. We acted in integrity and respect for this country’s laws at every turn, and your narrative of violation is libellous.
We have every right under the law to ask that this wrong be made right. Yes, the law IS the law – and we are abiding by it in good faith. I encourage you to read the Immigration Act 1999. Our appeal to the Minister is covered under Section 3.
it’s incredible that a family who have done every thing to integrate are being thrown out of the country yet another family who went to another country to protest and stick their noses into someone they knew would get them in trouble have had diplomatic representation on over 40 occasions to get him back….Incredible
@Kate agus Shannon
I’m touched by your story. I really hope that our government sees sense and naturalises you both quickly. It beggars belief that some others have had an easy ride to citizenship while you’re close to deportation.
I don’t understand why you’re being deported. It’s insane.
How do you make that out – unless you’re NOT Irish yourself? NONE of them was born in Ireland!! NONE of them is Irish!!
You’re clearly Irish judging by the translation of your name in to the language…so unique.
what is the point of deporting this family learning to speak fluent irish.then this government sends one of our naval ships to help illegals.as this family is paying their way whats the point..leave them alone and let them stay
Movin into your gaff shortly stevo!
Jesus Christ, incompetent clowns trying to get rid of people who are actually useful to the country.
@Paul Debussy
The Department of Immigration stated they were unable to support themselves, thus, not good for the country.
I do trust the integrity of the people working at the Departments of Immigration and their analysis.
There are a lot of people around the world that can add value to this country, why not invite them all over too?
Or perhaps, get rid of all the people that are bad for our economy and just keep the good ones?
As you may of notices I’m being sarcastic…
its a sad story, the government could show some consideration. But the law is there for a reason, just as it is in any other country.
The Department of Immigration is run by lazy, inept shitclowns and so I don’t trust their integrity or analysis.
*writes down the word ‘shitclowns’ for future use.*
Clowns with a weight problem!
Adam, did you even read the article?
Of cource the Government doesn’t want them or won’t allow them to stay ,,,, they are a productive family ,,,,, not looking for a hand out or Social Welfare help
We allow immigrants from fundamentally strong Islam countries to come here and stay. Even though we know the inherent danger of this, how many are sleepers ? Yet here is a family that is immersed in our culture, respect our country, love our country, obey it’s laws and the beurocrats want them gone. How many Irish families have relations in the States or Canada that are there illegally and would love those countries to give them a chance ? How many Irish people have started new lives in both countries in the past 10 years ? IMO the lunatics have taken over the asylum in Ireland. We allow people in who openly admit they hate our country, want to change its laws to draconian ones, and would gladly see us wiped off the face of the earth in a second. Surely to God common sense must prevail here in this case, best of luck to them, I hope that they get to stay and wish them well.
They’re more irish than most irish people lol
Cén fáth an chaitheamh anuas ar Ioslamaigh?
They are a good family and they deserve respect.
#Letthemstay.
Because we are a different country with different attitudes and have not yet become comfortable with the idea of turfing young children out of our country. How does a society develop, evolve and improve if we are not prepared to challenge obvious cases of moral injustice. Do we hide behind the rules and pretend it’s not happening.
whats more likely here?
1. The processes and policies, accurate or flawed, have not been followed, something has been missed and an arbitrary decision has been made.
2, Family should be rightfully deported – all the processes and policies regarding determining if they meet the requirements for a Visa adhered to and they have failed to meet the minimum requirements.
Poll – Green Thumbs option 1
Red Thumbs option 2.
They were permitted to stay on after their tourist visa expired and it was procedural difficulties arising from conflicting advice from GNIB and INIS regarding their Stamp 3 authorisation which contributed to this mess. The bureaucrats can’t even decide what the rules are never mind enforce them.
It’s completely irrelevant what I might do with my family but I would say that should I ever find myself in a similar position I would hope that people might put aside their fear and act with a little compassion.
Youre just riddled with compassion.
Agree
Did I say they had no option? No. I said there was a lack of compassion being shown.
Words escape me !!!! Classy family hitting all the right requirements integrating at the highest level …. Crazy to let them go
they should be interviewing us to see if we are good enough to hold on to them, absolutely bonkers
Ffs a lot of parasites are allowed stay while a hard working decent family such as the Wares who add to society are being forced out. Which idiot in government makes these decisions?
This is depressingly sad, if the situation is as they described. These people, at face-value, appear to be keen to integrate into their surroundings, embracing our language and culture. That is more than a great many of those I see being naturalised every few months down at the Convention Centre.
They should be allowed stay. His leather jacket however should be deported.
They went about this the wrong way.They should have claimed asylum,brought no skills with them,not integrate into the local community and go shoplifting on a regular basis then there wouldn’t be any issue with them being let stay and as a bonus they would get housed,get medical cards,bus passes and numerous other handouts.
Complex but sad
Frances Fitzgerald, let them stay!
Colin C
OK ! You pay.
Pity those bureaucrats don’t work at the airport to stop the flood of unskilled benefit migrants entering the country
Name the beaucrat that causing this problem
the computer says no,someone needs to switch it off.these people are an asset to our country,we should be encouraging them to stay not turfing them out.
Let them stay! Stop wasting time with Halawa!
These people have embraced the Irish culture, are highly educated and self-sufficient!
I’d gladly exchange a family like this and deport some of our “Indigenous Nomad’s”
Indigenous nomads? Honestly, both the Wares and the indigenous nomads you speak of should be respected as part of the fabric of our Republic! That’s a crazy comment man!
So we should let them stay because they are an ‘irish speaking family’? irish is only spoken by 1 % of people( in the republic ) in the home or community so their ability to speak it should not matter. I’d be more inclined to let them stay just because they like it here and want to make it their home. Plus they seem to have done everything by the book to make it happen but some obstinate, cantankerous pen pusher says no.
Well they also speak English, I think they’re mentioning their Irish speaking abilities in the article just to emphasise one of the many great lengths they went to embrace practically every aspect of Irish culture, christ the mention of Irish language is like a red rag to a bull for a lot of people on this site.
It says a lot that the government fall over themselves to get this upstanding family out but are quite happy to let absolute dregs stay
Maybe our esteemed Justice minister will acrually use a bit of common sense, just maybe…this family are the people this country needs and we should be glad they want to live here.Instead we let all sorts of people into the country who are a drain on us.
I would agree with you Ann that there should be no exceptions made and the law should be absolute. But, if it was an administrative error then they should definitely stay.
It’s a pity that the flood gates are let open for all the people who want to professionally beg, commit crime and squeeze the welfare system dry, and there are many others who hold us all in contempt and want to commit acts of terrorism and subvert our democracies being welcomed with open arms by PC useful idiots.
But then a family who respect our country and are so enthusiastic to integrate and contribute to society are turned away it makes me despair!
It’s always good to be a bit sceptical and not to be swayed by sentimental articles like this. But, it’s factual enough to convince me.
Difficult one this.
If the department of immigration let them stay then next week there’ll be 5,000 Nigerian sean-nós singers arriving in Dublin airport.
Hopefully they’ll bring that princess who promised me my long lost uncles inheritance
Why don’t we send back a few of the spongers to make room for these at least they are making a living, contributing to this country not like the 1000′s of others & our own who have never contributed anything or ever will. Let them stay.
Frances get yer pen and iPhone out and sort this ..
Their behaviour should be reviewed as should the behaviour of The INIS official. The story portrays a family who followed the advice they were given to stay here, if the information given to them was incorrect they should not take the fall but if they are given permission to stay purely on compassionate grounds we will be stuck with all sorts.
It’s a nice sob story but the fact is they are here illegally.
that was my initial knee jerk reaction but i acknowledged that they did make their desire and intention to stay be known early on and always did everything they were supposed to do, by the book, to make it legal.
I posted my initial reaction, but after thinking for a moment I realize it’s too harsh. With all the bad elements that are legally here and nothing but a drain on society at worst, or never trying to integrate at best, it certainly seems some compassion is in order.
This makes my blood boil. Signing on every 3 months, following the poxy bureaucratic guidelines, getting the runaround and still maintaining their dignity in the face of official indifference and incompetence. Somebody needs to bang a few heads and sort this out because our society needs people like this to flourish and progress.
Why is there no organisation getting behind this family ? they have integrated into their community and have no cost us anything . I think that in itself deserves them their right to stay here . is there no online petition or anything that people can sign to show our support for them ?
Anne Marie , point taken , you seem to I know a bit more about this case . there is always two sides to a story .
I can’t help feeling that if this were a Russian family say no one would really care. Maybe I’m just a sourpuss.
I’m not really sure if you should be allowed stay or not but i’m pretty sure the person judging your application has a more rounded knowledge of your case than this fairly biased article puts forward.
Also, it shouldn’t matter but you come across as much less sympathetic by engaging with every detractor you come across on comment sections.
Point taken. Thank you. Please understand though (as the admins do) that “every detractor” have largely been aliases of the same abusive person.
? where in the comments ?
oops – right here !
Well fcuk the begrudgers. For every single brain celled idiot spouting nonsense there are hundreds who would love to see you and your beautiful family stay and continue to contribute to life on this little island of ours. Hope the decision goes your way. We as a nation would be mad to lose you and yours. Good luck
These are the kind of people who enhance and enrich our culture and society. It is criminal of the department not to let them settle in Kerry. Department’s bureaucratic ineptitude have ruined these young girls future. Can anyone in this government get anything right??
The bad people get to stay but the good people have to go…
Ferkin’ ‘ell, let them stay they’re not dangerous crim types are they?
They should just ask all the Muslims that loiter around the Moore street area how they manage to stay in the country, they’ll point them in the right direction.
More Irish than the Irish themselves……
Perhaps we will also consider the expulsion of the following in line with this policy of ridding ourselves of those who audaciously love and embrace our culture and heritage.
Sean Og O Halpein , his brother Setanta and entire family.
Minister for health, Leo Varadkar, Rosanna Davidson and the De Burgs, Paul Mc Grath and the most of the Irish Republic soccer team from both Italia 90 and USA 94.
Cant be having these love Irish happy to be here to enrich the country types.
I get your point, but literally none of them were immigrants and all have an Irish parent.
This just highlights the problems in INIS and GNIB. Like most people, I’ve never had to deal with either of them, but from all reports, the situation is an absolute nightmare even when doing everything by the book.
It wastes time with things like renewals requiring you to report personally to INIS’s head office (what does that really achieve?), and then it somehow comes as surprise that they’re overrun and inefficient.
Fairness, justice, decency, compassion and humanity all require that the family be allowed to stay.
Mindless obedience to bureaucratic processes and slavish adherence to process can undermine doing the decent and right thing.
Come on, Irish people ought to be empathetic and supportive. We can be decent and kind.
Let’s do the right thing. What would the authors and signatories of the 1916 Proclamation have done.
if all it took to get citizenship was learning the language that would be terrible for us. I can think of about a billion reasons we don’t want to start making exceptions in that regard.
ireland’s terrible immigration system strikes again. there needs to be root and branch reform of the system asap. this is not an isolated case.
I doubt even the politicians who are kicking them out speak Irish. this family are more Irish than most, they deserve to stay.
This is so Irish. We don’t deserve people of this quality here. Hope sense prevails here.
Absolutely typical of the widespread ineptitude within our government/bureaucracy. I wouldn’t expect much
from any minister within this current
government…..they are all me feigners
And the clowns that screwed this up will be getting a pay rise soon thanks to Howlin.
This family sound more Irish than any Irish person I know. I can’t even recall the last time I heard someone speaking Irish around town here in Galway.
I really do hope the Ware family get to stay in Kerry where they belong for whatever length of time they wish.
Change of status from a tourist to what exactly?…. you seem to have made up your own status? What status are you seeking to stay in ireland under?
What status applies to you.
To get a stamp you have to have a work permit. …or be married to an irish national and have your marriage cert….or be have an irish born child and the child must have an irish passport…..be a refugee and have papers from who ever grants that etc etc it seem you simply upped and moved to Ireland.
Why does the system need an overhaul? Because it doesn’t fit your wish to stay.
I’m sorry if I sound harsh but if everyone can come here on holiday and then decide to say what will happen?
We have not made up our own status.
We were on a perfectly valid Stamp 3, which WE WERE TOLD BY THE GNIB that we could continue to renew every year until we had 5 years’ Reckonable Residence, we could become Citizens. Then, halfway through this process, the instructions abruptly changed: we were told BY THE INIS to apply for a Change of Status, but they did not specify what status we should change to, nor why we couldn’t stay on the Stamp 3. The problem here is a lack of transparency. We acted in transparency and good will: the INIS did not.
I suggested the system needs an overhaul because it appears to vex YOU so much.
You are incorrect – to get a stamp, you must prove you are self-sufficient, are not taking employment that could otherwise go to locals, and have private health insurance. We did not simply “up and move to Ireland”: we intended to come for 3 months, and we learned (BY SPEAKING TO THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER) that it was possible to extend our permission to stay by being granted a Stamp 3.
“Everyone” can NOT come here on holiday and then decide to stay, if they cannot prove they have the means to support themselves independently of the state, and do not have private health insurance. It’s really that simple, and we met the necessary requirements.
I find it hard to believe you are truly having such difficulty understanding our situation. I believe you do not want to.
For god sake keep them here
give that family a break, in fact lets have a Ware family day in the Phoenix park,
American_ Canadian ? Lets take in some American Indians instead http://canadiangenocide.nativeweb.org/
If they want to go shopping, they should go to Harrods, great sob story though, they can get social assistance in Canada or the US, So why do they come here ?
Makes a mockery of peoples heritage and nationality, ask the American and Canadian Indians.
Whoever said anything about social assistance, gerard? We’ve never sought recourse to state funds. Read the article.
Also, did it ever occur to you that maybe it’s Canada’s disciminatory policy towards its Indigenous population that makes me not want to live there? If this is truly your argument, why would you fault me for returning to my ancestral land? We aren’t making a mockery of anyone’s heritage and nationality. What a weird thing to say.
Let them stay ,show some compassion for Gods sake.
More Irish than most Irish people. Ridiculous if they were forced to go.
This is appalling. The minister should intervene. My own situation was not very different from this, and at one time my American passport was misplaced by officials somewhere for over six months. When people are making a good – faith efforts to comply with laws and regulations, and are still treated as if they were outlaws, the fault is not with them, but with administration of the rules. These people are exemplary additions to Irish society — exactly the kinds of immigrants who should be welcomed with open arms. I hope the minister will do what’s right here.
I honestly can’t find on the INIS website you posted earlier were it allows a person/family with money permission to stay in Ireland….. If it was ok to do what your saying, then why has the department of justice (the people who make the laws/policy’s) asked you to leave ireland?
by your logic any wealthy person can come to Ireland stay here and get (literally buy) irish citizenship? …come on , that’s niave.
If I was a millionaire could I live in the US on that basis alone? no.
If your blaming the officer why not contact GSOC
Anyway I’m finished.
Good luck with your appeal.
Actually, it IS completely possible to as you say “buy your way into Ireland”, I’m sorry to inform you. Under Alan Shatter’s Business Permission Scheme, if you could sign over 500 000 euro to the state no questions asked they would usher you in without incident. You were likely not looking on the website under Business Permission, and you will be forgiven for this, bc the website is quite fullsome. Although we can support ourselves without recourse to the state, we are simply not willing to sign over half a million to the government, no matter how much we love Ireland!
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/new%20programmes%20for%20investors%20and%20entrepreneurs
Also, it should be noted that the INIS changes it’s stipulations often on a weekly basis. So much so, that we had to adopt a protocol of saving print-screen PDF files of literally everything we read on their website, because we were being so often accused of not complying by the rules. When we would submit copies of these PDFs with showing the dates in which we had read this data informing our applications/decisions etc, the INIS would simply ignore our correspondence. To date, I have a massive file on our hard-drive of dated PDFs detailing the content and frequency of (often drastic!) content-change on the INIS’ website.
I actually understand why you would have the opinion that we are somehow not disclosing the whole truth, or that we are making things up, and I understand how the facts we have presented might seem absurd to someone who has never had to deal with this government body, but this is the bare-bones reality of what we have been dealing with, and this is why we were urged by politicians to raise public awareness through the press about these issues.
Additionally, if you were a millionaire, yes you COULD easily get residence in America. It happens all the time.
have your say