Am I allowed to work in Ireland?

Please feel free to move this topic if it's on the wrong board.  It kind of overlaps here.

I plan to move to Northern Ireland this summer on a spouse visa.  I am currently looking for potential work in public relations just to see what prospective positions I could find.

There seems to be much more PR work in Dublin currently than Belfast.  While I do know quite a few people (native to Northern Ireland) who commute daily by train to Dublin for work, I am unsure whether I'm allowed to do this or not with a UK spouse visa.

I don't plan on making a position in Dublin a permanent thing, but I am just starting to consider backups in case I cannot find any work in Belfast.  I would hope to find work at a firm in Dublin that has offices in the North as well so I could potentially transfer to a closer office once a spot opens up.

Can anyone give me some insight on how this would work, if it would be legal at all to do?  I understand that my spouse visa is a UK one, so it doesn't seem logically like I'd be able to work in the Republic of Ireland, but on the other hand, many of the people I know in NI have British passports (only) and work down south as well.

Any help is much appreciated!

Your UK visa does not give you any permissions for the Republic of Ireland, they're two totally different countries. It's like asking if your UK visa would give you permission to work in France.

So no, you could not work in Dublin. UNLESS your spouse moves to the ROI and you're tagging along, THEN (assuming your spouse is British Passport holder not an Irish Passport holder) you could apply under the EEA Rules & get a EEA Residence Permit for the Republic of Ireland...then you would be able to work in Dublin.

Remember that the UK and the ROI are members of the EU, which allows their citizens to freely move about and work in any EU member state. This does not apply to you as you are not an EU passport holder.

I am always wondering whether a Vander Elst Visa might work. I don't think it will as it seems ROI requires that you will have been employed previously in Britain for a certain amount of time and that you only work as an employee of an established company trading from GB into ROI.

I looked into these things briefly a while back and advice is very hard to find, nor do all Member States seem to administer it in the same way.

Anyhow here is a page from ROI Naturalisation:

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/Do_I_qualify_for_a_Van_der_Elst_Visa

Thanks for the responses.  I know that the UK and ROI are two very different countries, but I also know that there is very much grey area regarding many immigration-related questions when it comes to living in Northern Ireland.  My fiance does hold both British and Irish passports. The British Passport states that he's a British citizen, the Irish states that he's an Irish citizen.  He has always lived in the North, though, and that's where I plan to settle, so I guess as long as we don't go through the process to move down south, I am limited to work in Northern Ireland.

Thanks again

Not sure if this would change the work restrictions, but if he is an Irish citizen, couldnt you get an EEA permit rather than the UK spouse visa?  Cheaper and easier, isnt it?

Not sure if this would change the work restrictions, but if he is an Irish citizen, couldnt you get an EEA permit rather than the UK spouse visa?  Cheaper and easier, isnt it?

Much cheaper in fact as it's free process.  As he's an Irish Passport Holder the OP would qualify (once married) for the EEA Family Permit and once arrived in NI apply for the EEA 2 Residence Card.

Much cheaper in fact as it's free process.  As he's an Irish Passport Holder the OP would qualify (once married) for the EEA Family Permit and once arrived in NI apply for the EEA 2 Residence Card.

But would that still allow her to work in the ROI if she's not settled there since her family is technically settled in the UK?

But would that still allow her to work in the ROI if she's not settled there since her family is technically settled in the UK?

No, as she is not an EU Citizen, but the spouse of an EU Citizen and her status would still be tied to her spouse & his residence.

I had a look at the Van der Elst visa that sonofasailor mentioned but it's the equivelant of the UK's T2 ICT visa.

You could look into the ROI's rules for spouses of its citizens.  It's possible that Ireland might have a visa that allows spouses to work in the ROI even if they're settled in the North. 

Thanks everyone for all of your help. My fiance finally got through to Irish immigration, and they said that it would be possible for me to move to Northern Ireland on a UK spouse visa, and then from there obtain a job down south and then apply for a work permit (not a green card) to be allowed to work down there.

It does seem like it'll be a bit complicated, but it is good to know that there will be a last resort in case I can't find any work in the North.

Thanks again!