Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2004
496 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the naturalisation period for application for citizenship has been extended from five years to six; and if so, the reason therefor. [17438/04]
View answerThe residency and other statutory requirements for obtaining a certificate of naturalisation are set out in the sections 15 and 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended in 1986 and 2001. A non-national applicant who is the spouse of an Irish national for at least three years must have had a period of one year's residence in the island of Ireland immediately before the date of the application. During the four years preceding that period, he or she must have had total residence in the island of Ireland amounting to two years. In other cases, the applicant must have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application. During the eight years immediately preceding that period, he or she must have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years.
Certain periods of residence in the State are excluded in the context of naturalisation. These include periods of residence in respect of which an applicant does not have permission to remain in the State, periods granted for the purposes of study and periods granted for the purposes of seeking recognition as a refugee within the meaning of the Refugee Act 1996. Further information and the necessary application forms may be obtained from my Department's website, www.justice.ie, or by telephoning the citizenship section’s help line on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 10:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at lo-call 1890 551500 or (01) 6167700.
