Response to Ireland's Review of Non-EEA Retirees
7 years ago
Here is my submission, sent to [email protected] today, 13 Sept 2016 [you have my permission to cut and paste any bits you want to use in YOUR submission!):
In response to the invitation for comments and suggestions, I submit the following, most of which was previously submitted on 4 September 2016 to [email protected], with additional comments regarding the proposed changes now included under "Addendum." It should be noted that while the new proposal appears only to address those folks wishing to move to Ireland, my comments pertain to all categories of non-EEA retirees, those already IN Ireland, those who were forced to leave, and those who hope to move there.
QUESTIONS:
1. Returning to a more reasonable handling of folks wishing to retire in Ireland as long as they are good citizens, have private health insurance, and can demonstrate they have enough money to cover expenses?
2. Developing a plan which could reduce or eliminate the fear of those folks becoming a burden to the State?
3. Creating a new immigration category for retirees which allows for a smoother permission process and either a path to citizenship or permanent/longer term residence?
DISCUSSION:
I lived for nearly three years as a retired American citizen in Ireland from 2013-2016. It became my home, but because of the change of income requirements in 2015, even though the new rules were not supposed to apply to folks like me, they were, and I was forced to return to the USA in May. I was an enthusiastic promoter of all things Irish, a goodwill ambassador - but I was not wealthy enough for Ireland.
The current requirement of 50,000 euros income per person and a lump sum in an amount sufficient to purchase property/a dwelling in Ireland (or the 150,000 euros figure quoted to me during my third year in Ireland) is more than most Irish citizens have. Further, the income requirement seems to give no consideration to where an individual lives. (My Social Security income alone, although less than 20,000 euros, easily covered my expenses in Co. Kerry with a comfortable cushion left over each month.)
Is it not reasonable to believe the money I contributed and the money I, and many others, could still be contributing, money we earned elsewhere and brought to Ireland, helps offset the tremendous growing burden Ireland has from refugees, and indeed, from some of its own native citizens, those who cannot pay their own way and are dependent upon the State?
Are folks like myself not assets to the country? The danger of any of us becoming a burden to the State is limited. We are not eligible for any State benefits in Ireland. The only danger would be if a long term health issue arose which prevented someone from taking care of themselves and was to such a critical degree they could not be put on a plane and sent back to their home county. What is the likelihood of that happening with any frequency?
SUGGESTIONS:
I. FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS & PROCEDURES
A. Come up with a general income requirement by area, based on the cost of living there. Use that figure only as a tool in helping to determine if someone can stay. Make the primary deciding factor be the individual's ability to show the funds available to them cover the cost of their living expenses.
B. Take more factors into consideration instead of painting everyone with the same broad brush. For example, consider the amount of debt and whether the individual is a homeowner.
C. Require individuals to submit a budget and a declaration under penalty of perjury that should any situation arise which impacts that budget such as increased expenses, decreased income, or moving out of the area, they will notify INIS and submit a new budget with the understanding the permission to remain will be re-evaluated.
D. Require those applying for permission to remain who don't meet the financial threshold to deposit a sum of money to be held in escrow, a sum adequate to cover the expense of deportation to be used by INIS in the event the individual's circumstances change and they are no longer able to live in Ireland and pay their own way and do not voluntarily leave.
AND/OR:
Develop a plan for long term care insurance or payment of a reasonable monthly fee for individuals over a certain age, to cover situations where deportation is not immediately possible because of the critical nature of the health situation.
II. NEW STAMP CATEGORY FOR RETIREES
Provide a new Stamp category which allows applicants:
A. Speedier renewal of their permission to remain without the annual two-three months of waiting in limbo, wondering if they'll be approved. Perhaps a process which is handled on a local level rather than the current cumbersome process of everything being handled in Dublin by postal mail.
B. An optional path to citizenship or, if not actual citizenship, then permanent, unlimited residency/permission to remain after a certain amount of time spent annually renewing or, at a minimum, longer periods of permission, for example five-year cycles instead of the current one year.
C. An avenue to appeal their case in person. An opportunity for face-to-face interaction with applicants would surely be beneficial to INIS in assessing the quality, sincerity and eligibility of the individual in question.
D. The option to apply for permission to live in the country prior to moving there, eliminating the huge expense and life-upheaval of moving there and finding out one cannot stay.
Thank you greatly for your consideration of the above.
ADDENDUM 13 September 2016:
(Thoughts on current proposal for change)
1. The proposal regarding a change in the stamp status and procedures for retirees is appreciated.
2. Reducing the income figure to €40,000 for individuals, while an improvement, still does not take into consideration what seems to be the most important factor: adequate income to cover expenses.
Annual income of €40,000 may not be enough in some places in Ireland and is double what is needed in others. Therefore, choosing one figure as the threshold seems unfair to those wishing to live in smaller more rural areas of the country. [See I. Financial Requirements & Procedures above]
3. The "connections" to Ireland and the fear of older folks possibly needing long-term care needs to be looked at together. Just because someone doesn't have family in Ireland doesn't mean there is no one to either physically or financially care for them. Many have a large network of friends in Ireland, as well as friends and family in the USA or other countries. This is the 21st century. Folks are only a plane trip away and funds are easily electronically transferred. Consider getting signed affidavits from people willing to accept the responsibility for an individual should the need arise.
4. Ireland needs to address folks in my category, those who arrived in Ireland and obtained permission to remain before enactment of the March 2015 rules, and then were forced to leave.
The recent proposals ignore people in this category, people who were refused permission even though those rules were not supposed to apply to them. And now, those of us who have had to leave the country have spent considerable sums of money in making that move and trying to get resettled elsewhere. We have thus been twice penalized as we were not only made to leave what was our home, but now have less money toward the amount Ireland wants us to have and likely even less than practically needed to achieve such a major move again.
A special path needs to be established and cleared for those of us who are willing to again give it a go - those of us who should not have been made to leave in the first place - as long as we take some basic steps and provide general info such as housing secured in advance, a budget showing income covering expenses, and a list of references/network of friends and/or family in Ireland.
[END]
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