Vol. 563 No. 4
575 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason the application of persons (details supplied) in Dublin 3 to register their marriage was not accepted; when arrangements will be made to register it in the normal way; the procedure available to these persons to apply for residency of the husband here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8250/03]
I understand that the person, a non-EEA national, recently called to the Garda National Immigration Bureau requesting residency on the basis that he was the spouse of an Irish national. However, the person's permission to remain in the State had expired on 24 July 2002. In such circumstances an application for residency must be made to the immigration division of my Department for consideration of all the circumstances of the case.
576 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry for a naturalisation certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8253/03]
An application for a certificate of naturalisation was received from the person in question on 15 August 1990. On 29 April 1993 some additional supporting documentation was sought to enable the application to be processed. This letter was returned marked "gone away". On 15 June 1994, a letter was received from the person concerned stating that he had left Ireland in January 1992. He was advised in writing at that time that should he return to Ireland in the future, he should contact the Department to re-activate his application. The person in question contacted my Department in this regard in November 2002.
In view of the length of time that has elapsed since his original application, it would be preferable at this stage for the person in question to make a fresh application so that I can have the most up to date information available to me when I am making a decision on the matter. I understand that an application form has already been sent to him for this purpose. He should return the completed application, with the supporting documentation requested, to the citizenship section of my Department. This new application will be associated with the existing application and I will base my decision on the totality of the information available to me. I will inform both the applicant and the Deputy of my decision in the matter.
