Jack Wall
Question:251. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the way a person (details supplied) with dual citizenship may apply for Irish citizenship; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15504/13]
View answerWednesday, 27 March 2013
Questions (251)
Written answers
Officials in the Citizenship Division of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) inform me that there is no record of an application for a certificate of naturalisation from the person referred to in the Deputy's question.
Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. The conditions are that the applicant must:
- be of full age
- be of good character
- have had a period of one year's continuous residency in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to four years
- intend in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation
- have, before a judge of the District Court in open court, in a citizenship ceremony or in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons, allows —
(i) made a declaration, in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and
(ii) undertaken to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.
In the context of naturalisation, certain periods of residence in the State are excluded. 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
- periods granted for the purposes of seeking recognition as a refugee within the meaning of the Refugee Act, 1996.
It is open to any individual to lodge an application for citizenship if and when they are in position to meet the statutory requirements as prescribed in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 as amended.
An EEA national would be required to submit proof of residence in the State amounting to a total of five years in the last nine years, to include the year prior to application. Three different proofs of residence for each year showing name and address for this period i.e. household bills (gas, electricity, phone or cable/satellite TV), bank statements, revenue letters, mortgage agreement, social welfare, letter from employment, doctors letters etc. are necessary.
The acquisition of Irish citizenship is not contingent on the renunciation of the citizenship of another jurisdiction. However, the Deputy should be aware that persons who obtain Irish citizenship may, as a result, lose or be at risk of losing their existing citizenship(s).
I should remind the Deputy that queries in relation to the status of individual Immigration cases may be made direct to INIS by Email using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. The service enables up-to-date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek this information through the more administratively expensive Parliamentary Questions process.