Article 59 of the Istanbul Convention requires Parties to the Istanbul Convention to take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that migrant victims, whose residence condition is conditional on marriage or on being in a relationship, are granted an autonomous residence permit of a limited validity in the event of the dissolution of the marriage or the relationship.
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) has an established policy of allowing victims of domestic abuse to apply for a residence permission in their own right. Immigration guidelines for those experiencing domestic abuse are provided on the INIS website and can be located at the following link.
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/victims%20of%20domestic%20violence%20-%20note%20for%20web.pdf/files/victims%20of%20domestic%20violence%20-%20note%20for%20web.pdf.
The INIS guidelines are very clear that reporting abuse will not put a person’s immigration status at risk and emphasises that domestic violence should always be reported. Once an application for independent status under the policy has been granted, the immigration status granted to the applicant is fully independent of any spouse or partner who will have no say in whether an applicant is permitted to stay in Ireland.