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Naturalisation Applications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2014

Tuesday, 1 July 2014

Questions (383)

Seán Crowe

Question:

383. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of outstanding cases there are; the number of persons that have paid the certification fee for naturalisation but have not received their citizenship; and the average waiting time for citizenship once the certification fee has been paid. [27910/14]

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Written answers

As the Deputy will appreciate, as well as being a significant event in the life of its recipient, the granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation as provided for in law is also a major step for the State which confers certain rights and entitlements not only within the State but also at European Union level and it is important that appropriate procedures are in place to preserve the integrity of the process. All applications are processed with a view to establishing whether the applicants meet the statutory conditions for the granting of naturalisation, such as good character and lawful residence, and are submitted for to me decision as expeditiously as possible. In some instances that can be established relatively quickly and in other cases completing the necessary checks can take a considerable period of time.

Once the certification fee and requested documentation has been received the applicant is scheduled for the next available ceremony. Invitations are generally issued four weeks prior to each ceremony day, which are currently being held every 2-3 months. As of 27 June 2014, 4,200 candidates had paid the certification fee for naturalisation of whom 4,000 were invited to attend the upcoming citizenship ceremonies on the 4th July. Certification fees and documents continue to be received on a daily basis and scheduling has commenced for the next ceremony day.

I am advised that there are approximately 8,400 applications on hand currently pending decision. As outlined above, with ceremonies for around 4,000 scheduled every 2/3 months, the overall targets set for processing of cases has been met.

Where the allocated ceremony date does not suit the candidate, they may inform the ceremonies unit of this and they will be invited to the next available citizenship ceremony.

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