Relocating to another country to support a partner's career is a big risk for anyone. When I was younger, I wondered why anyone would risk sacrificing their own career to support another. Several years later, I was in a dilemma. While I wished to support my partner's career growth, I was afraid the move may hamper mine. Through sound logic, I got convinced that relocating to Ireland will present an opportunity to gain global experience and enhance my skills.
Little did I know what lay ahead. Like all other non-EEA spouses, I was given a Stamp 3 visa which allows one to seek jobs through a bureaucratic process (that sounds simple on all official websites!). In reality, Stamp 3 holders are not given a fair consideration by most employers and recruitment agencies. As I complete a year in Ireland, I feel grateful to have turned around the situation. I have enhanced my skills exponentially through a.) leadership experience of working in a highly multicultural, passionate and skilled team of the Stamp 3 Association b.) pursuing an HR / CIPD course in employment law and employee relations at NCI and c.) volunteering to gain local experience.
Many Stamp 3 holders take this route to demonstrate skill enhancement while getting constantly rejected for roles. We sure ended up working harder than ever before!
None of us would have relocated to Ireland if we knew the ground reality. I hope and pray that our petition submission to the DBEI, INIS and the Oireachtas in November leads to positive results in 2019. Senator Neale Richmond has been kind enough to present our petition to the Taoiseach. I pray that our petition signed by 6500+ persons is not dealt with through superficial changes but instead Stamp 3 is reformed in line with our petition and global best practice such as in ALL other EU countries. IDA can then legitimately state to MNCs that all non-EU spouses can work in Ireland. IBEC can then manage the current challenge of retention more successfully. Multinational corporations can then attract talent to Ireland more successfully. Recruitment agencies can then present their clients a bigger talent pool already residing in Ireland.
In the meantime, I hope that the families that plan to relocate to Ireland in 2019 are able to take better informed decisions by accessing our website, media coverage and social media pages for a true depiction of the ground reality.
Ankita Ahluwalia,
Co-founder, Stamp 3 Association