Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Feb 1998

Vol. 487 No. 3

Written Answers. - Citizenship Applications.

Jim Mitchell

Question:

108 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the way in which a person resident abroad would go about applying for Irish citizenship, including the minimum documentation required to verify the claim; the process through which these applications go; the normal processing time; the fees, if any, charged, and if he will give additional information as he considers necessary. [4023/98]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

There are two grounds on the basis of which a person resident abroad, not already an Irish citizen through birth in Ireland or the birth in Ireland of a parent, may apply for Irish citizenship — descent from a grandparent or, in certain circumstances, a great-grandparent who was born in Ireland or marriage to a person who is an Irish citizen by birth or descent.

The procedure by which persons born and resident abroad may apply for citizenship is by having particulars of their births entered in the Foreign Births Entry Book at an Irish Embassy or in the Foreign Births Register at the Department of Foreign Affairs. A standard application form is completed and presented with copies of a current passport and two photographs of the applicant, the long form of the civil birth certificates of the applicant, his-her parent and his-her grandparent, the long form of the marriage certificates of the parent and grandparent and, if applicable, the death certificate(s) of the parent and-or grandparent and the fee of £100 or £34, if under 18. Processing the applications involves checking that the evidence of the applicant's identity and of his-her descent from a grandparent born in Ireland are satisfactory. This is normally done in three or four weeks.

A foreign national who has been married to a person who is an Irish citizen by birth or descent for at least three years, whose marriage is subsisting and who is living with his-her Irish spouse may become and Irish citizen by making, on a special form, a declaration accepting Irish citizenship as his or her post-nuptial citizenship. The Irish spouse makes an affidavit in a standard form confirming the facts on which the declaration of the non-Irish spouse is based. The declaration and affidavit must be witnessed by a qualified person.

If resident abroad the couple's declaration and affidavit are presented to an Irish Embassy or Consulate along with the long form of the birth certificate, the passport and three photographs of each spouse, other proofs of their identities and that they are living together. After presentation of the documentation, the couple may be called for interview. Due to the risk of fraud and the possibility of marriages of convenience, applications for Irish citizenship based on marriage have to be carefully checked. This process normally takes some months. When an application is found to be in order it is passed to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for formal acceptance. The foreign national is so informed and asked to send the fee of £100 direct to that Department.