The Government has been criticised at a legal seminar in Dublin for treating migrant workers as economic units rather than people with rights who deserve a family life.
The seminar was organised by the Immigrant Council of Ireland.
The Council says migrants face many problems in trying to get their familes to join them here, including long waiting times for visas and high rates of refusal.
The executive chairwoman of the council, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, says the government has to recognise that everyone in Irish society is entitled to a meaningful family life.
