The rights for permanent residence of third country nationals who are family members of citizens of the E.U., E.E.A. and Switzerland (Union) is provided by the Law regarding the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Republic.

Right to submission of application for a Permanent Residence Card
The family members of Union citizens who are third country nationals and have resided in the Republic for five consecutive years, have the right to apply for a Permanent Residence Card.  These family members can apply for a Permanent Residence Card, provided that they can prove with official means that they resided legally for five uninterrupted years and that they have not become a burden on the social assistance system of the Republic during their period of residence.

Definition of “family members”

• the spouse or partner who has conducted a civil union with the Union citizen,
• the direct descendants who are under the age of 21 or are dependants and those of the spouse or partner,
• the dependent direct relatives in the ascending line and those of the spouse or partner.

Submission of application

• The offices where applications can be submitted can be located here. To find out whether an appointment is needed follow this link.
• During the submission of the MEU3 application, the Union citizen must be present along with the family member.
• The MEU3 application must be accompanied with all the required supporting documents, which can be found in the list of supporting documents and which must be officially translated and duly certified.
• In order to proceed with the submission of an application, the required fees (see below) must be paid.
• In order to submit the application for a Permanent Residence Card, the biometric data (photo and fingerprints) and the signature of the third-country national are required, along with the receipt issued for submission and a valid passport. For persons who are under the age of 6 years old at the time of the submission of the application, only a photo is required.
• In case of approval of the application, the applicant will be notified to collect the Permanent Residence Card. 
• In case of rejection of the application, a letter will be sent at the latest declared address, stating the reasons for the rejection.  Updating their address is the absolute responsibility of the applicants, in order to receive the rejection letter and possible submission of a hierarchical course within the timeline provided by the Law.

Application Fees
The application fees are €20.

Examination time of an application
The examination of an application and the issuance of a decision is completed within six months, provided that the application is duly completed and all supporting documents are provided. This time limit shall not apply and the examination time shall be increased if the application is not duly completed and documents are missing.  During the examination of the application, the authorities may conduct interviews of the applicants, or request further documentation, whenever this is deemed necessary.

Duration of Permanent Residence certificate
The validity of Permanent Residence Cards for family members who are not Union citizens is ten years and can be renewed by application.