Ireland spouse visa: what an Irish citizen must earn to bring an American spouse, and where a lifetime annuity fits
Written by Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent · CA 4273294Short answer: Yes, Ireland has an income test for the spouse of an Irish citizen: under the Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification (12 June 2026), the Irish sponsor must have earned a gross income, over and above State benefits, of at least €75,000 over the three years before applying (€25,000 a year, about $2,437 a month at $1.17 per euro), with only one sponsor’s income counted. There is no separate single figure; the threshold is per sponsor, and it is a guideline: declared savings of the sponsor or the American spouse may be taken into account when income falls short. Approved spouses get Stamp 4, so a lifetime annuity in the Irish spouse’s name helps, but it needs a track record, and for couples with real savings it may not be needed at all.
Free guide: Moving abroad on a fixed income
Income rules and taxes by country: Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Malta and more, plus how a lifetime annuity fits.
This page covers the American spouse (or civil or de facto partner) of an Irish citizen who wants to live in Ireland. It is a different route from Stamp 0 for retirees with no Irish family, which I cover on my Ireland Stamp 0 page. The spouse route has a lower bar, leads to Stamp 4 (which allows work), and tests the Irish spouse’s finances. Here is the test from Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) and the 2026 Policy Document, and an honest view of the annuity’s role.
The Ireland spouse visa rule for an Irish citizen sponsor
An Irish citizen living in Ireland, or intending to live there, is a “Category A” sponsor with no waiting period. The Policy Document sets these conditions for spouses, civil partners and de facto partners:
- Income: the sponsor “must have earned a gross income over and above any State benefits of not less than €75,000, cumulative, over the three-year period prior to application (e.g. €25,000 per year over three years), with the expectation that this level of income will be maintained” (para. 10.7).
- One sponsor only: the income of only one sponsor is considered; you cannot combine incomes (para. 10.2).
- Savings as a backstop: “Declared and verifiable savings by the family member or sponsor may be taken into account” in cases that fall short (para. 10.3). The figures are guidelines and a minimum (para. 10.4).
- State supports: the sponsor must not have been mainly reliant on Irish State supports for two years or more before applying (para. 10.6).
- Accommodation: suitable accommodation, which ISD may ask you to prove, and an immigration officer may ask at the border.
- Renewals: the sponsor must keep the income level and show it at renewal (para. 10.5).
The policy is discretionary: it says plainly there is no automatic entitlement to family reunification, and its expected processing time for family reunification applications is about 12 months, complex cases longer.
How Americans apply: no visa, but tell the officer
US citizens do not need a visa. ISD says a non-visa-required national does not need a visa or preclearance to travel to Ireland with an Irish spouse, but must tell the immigration officer at the port of entry that the purpose is family reunification and have the passport stamped accordingly. Arriving as a tourist and switching later is not accepted (para. 3.5.2). Bring the marriage certificate, proof of the sponsor’s income and savings, and proof of accommodation.
Why I write about this. My mom is Norwegian, my dad is American, and they’re planning the move from the US to Norway. My mom is the sponsor (the host, or “reference person” in UDI’s words), so Norway’s income test falls on her income, not my dad’s. UDI told us in writing that money in an account does not count as income, and only lifelong income does. Their savings were not the problem; the paperwork wanted a monthly number in the host’s name. The rules in Ireland are different, but the problem is the same one many retirees hit: the income test, not the net worth. I’m writing this to help others in the same boat as my parents. Read how we worked through the Norway income requirement.
In the same boat? Let’s run your numbers
See roughly what a lifetime annuity would cost to close your income gap, then get my personal read by email. I can help while you still live in the US.
Estimates use the September 9, 2026 ImmediateAnnuities.com payout survey (life only) and a 15% cushion. Illustrative, not a quote.
Single or married: how much income you need
| Household (2026) | Threshold | About USD a month | Who must have it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single American, no Irish spouse | Not this route: Stamp 0 asks €50,000 a year of your own income | $4,875 | You |
| Couple: Irish sponsor plus American spouse | €75,000 gross over 3 years (€25,000 a year) | $2,437 | The Irish sponsor only |
| Each minor child of an Irish sponsor | Same Category A threshold; no extra amount published | The Irish sponsor | |
| Short of the threshold | Declared, verifiable savings of either spouse may be weighed | Sponsor or applicant |
FX assumption: €1 = $1.17, a planning rate; the ECB reference rate was $1.1225 on 2 October 2026, so the dollar figures carry about 4% of headroom. The threshold is gross, before tax.
Two things the policy does not settle, so ask ISD before you rely on them. First, it says “earned”: whether pension, Social Security or annuity income counts in full toward the €75,000 is not spelled out. Second, unlike its rule for dependent parents, the spouse rule does not say the income must be earned in Ireland, which matters to an Irish citizen who has lived in the US for decades.
When the Irish spouse is not the breadwinner
The common case: the Irish-born spouse has spent years in the US with modest income in his or her own name, and the savings, 401(k)s and Social Security sit with the American. For ISD, only one sponsor’s income counts, and the sponsor is the Irish citizen. There are two honest routes.
- Savings (para. 10.3). If you have substantial, documented savings, in either name, ISD may weigh them when income falls short. For many couples who can afford to retire in Ireland, this is the simpler route and no annuity is needed. Get ISD’s view before you move money around.
- Income in the Irish spouse’s name. A life-only SPIA (single premium immediate annuity) owned by and paying the Irish spouse creates about €25,000 a year of gross income that continues, which matches the policy’s expectation that income “will be maintained” and makes renewals straightforward. The catch: the test looks back three years, so an annuity started a few months before applying shows only part of the €75,000. Start it as early as you can, combine it with savings for the first application, and let it carry the renewals.
US gift note (general information, confirm with a tax adviser): when the American spouse funds a contract owned by the other spouse, that is a gift. Between two US-citizen spouses, gifts are unlimited. If the receiving spouse is not a US citizen, there is no unlimited marital deduction; for 2026 the annual exclusion for gifts to a non-citizen spouse is $194,000 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Above that you file Form 709 and use part of your lifetime exemption, and generally no tax is due.
Which annuity counts
The cleanest fit is a life-only SPIA or a joint and survivor SPIA, or an existing deferred annuity or MYGA converted to lifetime payments, owned by and paying the Irish spouse. A period-certain annuity, an income rider (GLWB) where an account value can still be cashed out, or an annuity still accumulating reads as savings, which Ireland may weigh under para. 10.3 but which is not income. Buy while you still have a US address; US insurers sell to residents of states where they are licensed.
Example: a 62-year-old Irish sponsor
The annuitant is the Irish spouse, aged 62. Target: €25,000 a year, about $2,437 a month, plus 15% headroom for the exchange rate, so about $2,803 a month gross. Payout at 62: ImmediateAnnuities.com survey of September 9, 2026, life-only, per $100,000 a month: man $603 average ($660 best), woman $582 ($637 best). Illustrative, not a quote.
| Irish sponsor, 62 | Monthly gap | Premium at average rate | Premium at best rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Man, no other income | $2,803 | about $465,000 | about $425,000 |
| Woman, no other income | $2,803 | about $482,000 | about $440,000 |
| Woman with $1,000 a month of her own Social Security, started at 62 | $1,803 | about $310,000 | about $283,000 |
Premium equals the monthly gap divided by the payout per $100,000, times $100,000. The sponsor’s own Social Security or pension reduces the gap if ISD counts it; confirm. A joint and survivor annuity pays less per dollar than single life, so get a quote. Remember the three-year look-back: these premiums produce €25,000 a year going forward, not the history behind the application.
How the annuity is taxed: Ireland and the US
US side. A US citizen stays taxable on worldwide income wherever he or she lives. A US single premium immediate annuity bought with after-tax savings is taxed under IRC 72: an exclusion ratio makes part of each payment a non-taxable return of the premium until the premium is recovered. If it was bought with IRA money, every payment is taxable. The foreign earned income exclusion does not cover annuities (IRC 911(b)(1)(B)(i)). Foreign tax on the payments can be credited on Form 1116, through the treaty’s relief article. Since January 1, 2026, a US citizen with a foreign residence address cannot opt out of federal withholding, even if payments go to a US account (IRC 3405(e)(13), Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1). Withholding is a prepayment, not extra tax. An annuity from a US insurer is not reported on FBAR or Form 8938, and it is not a PFIC.
Treaty. Article 18(2) of the US-Ireland treaty says annuities, a stated sum paid at stated times “during a specified number of years, or for life,” for adequate and full consideration, are taxable only in the country where the owner lives, so Ireland taxes first. The saving clause (Article 1(4)) lets the US tax its citizens anyway, and Article 24(3)(c) treats the income as arising in Ireland to the extent needed to avoid double tax, so Irish tax is creditable on Form 1116. US Social Security is taxable only in Ireland under Article 18(1)(b), and that paragraph is excepted from the saving clause (Article 1(5)(a)). If the Irish spouse is not a US citizen, the US generally does not tax the annuity once he or she lives in Ireland, but a former long-term green card holder should get advice first.
Irish side. Under section 788 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the capital element of each payment from a purchased life annuity is relieved from income tax, and only the balance is taxed. Revenue fixes the capital element as a set proportion of each payment. The relief applies to life annuities bought from a business that grants annuities on human life, not to annuities bought inside pension plans, so a SPIA bought with IRA money is a question for your Irish adviser. The taxable part is charged at 20% and 40% plus the universal social charge. The remittance basis for foreign income applies only to people not domiciled in Ireland; an Irish-born sponsor usually keeps an Irish domicile, so plan on tax as the income arises.
Net result. You pay roughly the higher of the Irish and US tax on the taxable part of the annuity, not both. With the capital element relieved in Ireland and the exclusion ratio in the US, a SPIA bought with after-tax savings is close to tax-neutral compared with drawing the same money from savings. Get an Irish tax adviser’s written view on how Revenue will fix the capital element for a US contract.
Does Ireland have a wealth tax?
No. PwC states that Ireland does not levy a net wealth tax on individuals (reviewed August 2026), so a US annuity is outside any wealth tax. Capital acquisitions tax on gifts and inheritances is a separate matter for your heirs; a life-only SPIA ends at death and leaves nothing to tax.
Practical steps
- Gather three years of the Irish spouse’s income records (US returns work as evidence of foreign income) and statements for all savings, in both names.
- Ask ISD how pension and annuity income and US-earned income are treated for a Category A sponsor.
- If you use an annuity, buy it in the Irish spouse’s name while you still have a US address and start it as early as possible.
- Line up accommodation in Ireland and carry proof when you land; tell the officer you are there for family reunification.
- Keep the income going: it is checked again at each renewal of Stamp 4.
The trade-offs, stated once: a SPIA is irrevocable, level unless you add a cost-of-living rider, paid in dollars against a euro threshold, and payouts are lower at younger ages. In Ireland it complements savings rather than replacing them. ISD decides each case under ministerial discretion.
Married? Make the income outlive either of you. In Ireland only the sponsoring spouse’s income counts, so the annuity is owned by and pays the sponsor. A joint and survivor payout then keeps paying the other spouse after the sponsor dies. If a single-life annuity is on one spouse and that spouse dies first, the payments stop, and the surviving spouse may have to show income of their own at the next renewal. A joint and survivor annuity, which keeps paying until the second death, or a separate annuity on each spouse closes that gap. Joint and survivor pays less per dollar than single life, so ask for both quotes and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Free annuity gap analysis for Ireland. Tell me your ages, your Social Security or pension, and whether you are single or a couple. I will show how far your income is from the Ireland requirement and what a lifetime annuity would cost to fill the gap, in the sponsor’s or main applicant’s name where that matters.
Related reading
- Moving abroad on a fixed income: hub
- Ireland Stamp 0 for retirees
- Belgium family reunification with a Belgian spouse
- Austria spouse visa income requirement
- How European countries tax a US annuity
- FBAR, FATCA and double taxation
- Immediate annuity calculator
Sources
- ISD: Policy Document on Non-EEA Family Reunification, 12 June 2026 (paras. 1.12, 3.5, 6.2, 10.2 to 10.7)
- ISD: Financial thresholds (updated June 12, 2026)
- ISD: Joining an Irish national
- ISD: Join family visa (non-visa-required spouses of Irish nationals)
- US-Ireland income tax treaty (IRS text), Articles 1, 18 and 24
- Revenue: Notes for Guidance, TCA 1997 Part 30, section 788 purchased life annuities
- Revenue: Tax and Duty Manual 05-01-21A, remittance basis of assessment
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ireland, other taxes (no net wealth tax)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32: 2026 gift exclusion for a non-citizen spouse
- 26 U.S.C. 3405 (withholding on pensions and annuities)
- Treas. Reg. 31.3405(e)-1 (withholding election, foreign address)
- IRS: Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements
- ImmediateAnnuities.com: annuity rates by age (survey September 9, 2026)
Goldstein & Co. LLC dba Goldstein Insurance Services · Hans Goldstein, licensed insurance agent, CA lic. #4273294 · NPN 20602398 · 213-414-2808 · hans@hansgoldstein.com
Education, not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules, thresholds and exchange rates change; confirm with the consulate or immigration authority and a local tax adviser before you act, and get answers in writing. Hans Goldstein is a licensed insurance agent (CA 4273294) and can only offer annuities to residents of states where he is licensed. Annuity payments are guaranteed by the issuing insurer’s claims-paying ability, not by any government. Payout figures are illustrations from a published survey, not quotes. Immediate annuities are generally irrevocable.