Can an American citizen live and work in Ireland when having a child with an Irish citizen?

Question

I am an American citizen who is a baker by trade. My Irish girlfriend who lives in Ireland is pregnant with my child. I understand that our child will have duel Irish-American citizenship. My question is whether it is possible for me to acquire "leave to remain" in Ireland or any other means of being able to live and work in Ireland before and/or after our child is born. My follow-up question would be how to go about this.

Alternatively, would it be possible for her to live in the US as the mother of an American citizen?

We are an un-married couple. I know marriage would make this predicament much simpler, but we're not ready to make that commitment right now for our own reasons.

Please help! It is vitally important to me to be able to live with and support my new family. It's a matter of great urgency, as I want to be able to care for/pamper my girlfriend throughout the pregnancy and attend

Answer 1

I can't answer for the Irish laws. Some European countries are more liberal in their classification for 'common law spouses' or partners. However, for the United States it would not be possible for her to live in the U.S. just because she is the mother of a U.S. Citizen. U.S. Citizen children must be 21 years old before they can apply for their non-citizen parent to live in the U.S. Best of luck to you both!

Answer 2

So you are not ready to get married but are ready to have a child?

As an American, you can petition for her come to US but it will take a while.  You will need to show that you can support her at a level above the minimum required.  It will be easier to bring your child to the US.  But remember to have the birth registered with the US embassy in Dublin and apply for a US passport immediately.

As to being there for the birth, your best bet is to probably to go to Ireland to be with her.  Talk to the Irish embassy in the US and see if you will be able to work there.  Probably not but you should find out.

You really need to talk to an immigration lawyer to see what your options are.

Answer 3

be careful you might be called an illegal alien..If you know what I mean..  bd

Answer 4

Check out the following to learn more about irish citizenship:

www.irishclub.org/citizenship

As for her being here: She does not gain automatic citizenship simply because she is a mom of a child born here. And it would be easier if you two were to marry (you're already having a kid together for Pete's sake and if it didn't work out, you could do like the other 1/2 of society and divorce).

The one thing I would suggest: her have a visa to come here and have the baby. It is much easier to get Irish citizenship then it is to get US citizenship (yes, the baby would have dual citizenship either way but the paperwork in the US would be tied up longer).