Can an Irish & American marry and live in UK?

My boyfriend and I are considering marrying in the UK. He's Irish and I'm American. Will marrying in the UK ensure permanent stay? What are the pre-requisites of marriage: time living together, shared finances, etc? Are there any restrictions to the marriage (travel abroad moving etc)? Do I need a marriage visitor visa if I'm still under my student visa?

I'm currently on a Tier 4 Visa in London as a Masters student and hope to get a job here in London after my Masters. If marriage doesn't grant living rights, what's the possibility of getting sponsored as a web developer in London?

If he is practicing his EU rights of living/working/studying in the UK, then you can live here with him.  Once you change to an EEA family permit from your Tier 4, you will need to stay in ge UK to be granted permanent residency.

Will marrying in the UK qualify us under this provision? Or do we have to get married in Ireland?

I really appreciate it and I totally didn't know about this.

Thank you!

You can marry wherever you like - what matters is that the marriage is legal.

Once you are married, you can just apply to switch from your Tier 4 visa to a 5-year EEA Residence Card - you just need to provide your marriage certificate and evidence that he is exercising his EEA Treaty Rights in the UK (by working, looking for work, studying or being self-sufficient). The residence card costs £55. More information about it is here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-uk-residence-card


You won't need to apply for an EEA Family Permit as you are already living in the UK - the Family Permit is only issued outside the UK and is just a 6-month entry permit to allow you to come into the UK as the spouse of an EEA citizen (then the 5-year residence card is applied for once they are in the UK). As you are already in the UK, you just apply directly for the residence card.

Marrying in the UK is getting harder, so you may want to marry in a different country for simplicity.

My first post got messed up.  I meant to say you won't qualify for permanent residence in the UK until you have been on the EEA family permit for 5 years.

Ireland Act 1949: An Irish citizen is never an alien in the UK. Many years ago I asked (as a diplomat) the (then) Board of Trade what privileges an Irish citizen did not have. I was told there are very few: even if commissioned as a military officer the opportunity is given to be naturalised and so to qualify. Wasn't Callaghan an Irish dual national? 99% of Northern Irish are. Only recently were EEA rights withdrawn from such dual nationals (unless they qualified under the Surinder Singh rule).

Go for it. My Belfast-born daughter may not have been advantaged by registering as British at age 14 from the standpoint of EEA rights. Except that she eventually married a British-Australian.

So her children also have 4 nationalities. Except that American is not among them, since she never lived in the USA.