Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 April 2010
179 Deputy Noel Ahern asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a UK citizen who is more than 20 years resident here and married to an Irish citizen is entitled to an Irish passport; the process and forms they must complete and the length of time it takes. [17462/10]
View answerVoting rights information can be obtained from the Minister of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. On the question of entitlement to an Irish passport I can set out the position generally. Under the provisions in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, a person born outside of Ireland may qualify for Irish citizenship if they are of Irish descent. If they are not of Irish descent then they may make an application for naturalisation.
The basic requirement for obtaining Irish citizenship by descent, through Foreign Births Registration is that an applicant's parent was an Irish citizen at the time of the applicants birth. A person born outside of Ireland with a parent who was born in Ireland is automatically an Irish citizen by descent. A person born outside of Ireland with parents who were born outside Ireland and a grandparent who was born in Ireland may become an Irish citizen by Foreign Births Registration. If a person wishes to apply for Irish citizenship through a great grandparent born in Ireland, the position is more complex. Eligibility depends on one of the applicant parents, i.e. the grandchild of the person born in Ireland, being already entered in the Foreign Births Register, the date of that registration and the applicants date of birth.
Under the 1956 Act, an applicant who was entered in the Foreign Births Register between 17 July 1956 and 30 June 1986 acquired Irish citizenship from the date that the Act came into force (17 July 1956) or the applicants date of birth, whichever was later.Under the 1986 Act, a person is accorded Irish citizenship from the actual date of entry in the Foreign Births Register. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled.
In the case of a non-Irish national applicant who is the spouse of an Irish citizen those conditions are that the applicant must:
be of full age
be of good character
be married to the Irish citizen for at least 3 years
be in a marriage recognised under the laws of the State as subsisting
be living together as husband and wife with the Irish spouse have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the island of Ireland immediately before the date of the application and, during the four years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the island of Ireland amounting to two years.
intend in good faith to continue to reside in the island of Ireland after naturalisation
have made, either before a Judge of the District Court in open court or in such a manner as the Minister, for special reasons allows, a declaration in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.
The average processing time from application to decision is now at 26 months. More complicated cases can at times take more than the current average, while an element of straight forward cases can be dealt with in less than that timescale. Section 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, in his absolute discretion, waive some or all of the statutory conditions, including residency, in certain circumstances including where an applicant is of Irish descent or of Irish associations. It is open to the person concerned to lodge an application for a certificate of naturalisation with the Citizenship Division of my Department at any time. Application forms are available on my Department's website at www.inis.gov.ie
