Nine hundred couples like Christelle and Gabriel . . . where a citizen of another EU country is married to somebody from outside the EU . . . have been refused residence permits for the non-EU spouse under the regulations introduced last year.

Christelle moved to Ireland from Toulouse to take up a job six years ago.

She met urban planner Gabriel in the US and they had a "long-distance" relationship, before getting married in India last year. Gabriel then got a spouse's visa at the Irish embassy and moved to Ireland, legally, with Christelle.

Gabriel's visa ran out while he was waiting on the residence permit, and when he went to have it renewed recently, he was refused. Officials at the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) told Christelle they were refusing to give her husband the necessary immigration stamp because she wouldn't be able to support him while on maternity leave. "We've done everything legally, " said Christelle. "We followed everything to the letter. I never expected that we would have so many problems. That 11 months on we would still be in limbo."

The story of their relationship is something of a modern-day fairytale. They met online and, after five months corresponding via email, Christelle went to the US to meet Gabriel in April 2005.

"From the moment I met her at the airport, I knew this was someone I would be very comfortable with, " said Gabriel. A few months later, they took a trip together, to visit Gabriel's parents in India.

By October 2005, they were engaged.

Gabriel came to Ireland on a tourist visa. While here, he found an architectural firm that agreed to sponsor him for a work permit, and he flew back to India to make the application. But the application was delayed in the Department of Justice. Months later, Gabriel still hadn't heard; the firm couldn't wait, and he lost the job offer. Then he applied for a tourist visa to Ireland, and was refused.

"The most insulting thing was that they checked the box which said they thought I was a security risk to the country. I couldn't believe it."

In the meantime, Christelle had visited him in India a number of times. Eventually, they got married there. They returned to Ireland together late last year, with Gabriel on a spouse's visa.

"We thought, okay, the worst part is over." said Christelle.

The spouse's visa was for three months. In Ireland, they went straight to the Garda National Immigration Bureau on Dublin's Burgh Quay, but were told there that, as Christelle was an EU citizen, they should simply apply for residence for Gabriel via the Department of Justice website. They filled out a form and waited.

In April this year, Gabriel's application for a residence permit was refused because he hadn't provided evidence of having lived in another EU country prior to moving to Ireland, a requirement under regulations introduced in 2006.

"Nobody ever told us anything about it, " he said. "Here they are, judging us on something they don't even ask us about."

The form, called an EU1 form, says nothing about prior residence in another EU country.

Gabriel's only option now appears to be to try and seek a work permit. But he has an 18-month hole in his CV, which makes getting work in his profession difficult and if he did find an employer willing to sponsor him for a work permit, he would have to return to India again to apply for it.

"I wouldn't be very happy about it because [last time] he said he'd be back in two weeks and he came back a year after, " said Christelle. "Me being pregnant, I'm not very happy about the idea of him leaving the country and not knowing when he'll be back."

According to a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, most of the people in this situation can apply to have their original visa renewed.

So far, 120 people have been issued with deportation notices (known as 'Section 3' letters). The spokeswoman said these were issued only to those who had "illegally entered the Irish state", adding that people in situations such as Gabriel's should not receive a deportation notice.

But it's cold comfort for Gabriel and Christelle, who have spent almost a year in legal limbo. "We're stuck in a bedsit.

We're going to have a baby in four weeks.

We can't move to something better because we don't have money, " said Christelle.