Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 October 2018
194. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will review the legislation related to citizenship to include those persons that have been married for a defined length of time to an Irish citizen living overseas in recognition of their close familial ties to Ireland. [44052/18]
View answerThere are currently no plans to review the legislation related to citizenship to include those persons that have been married for a defined length of time to an Irish citizen living overseas in recognition of their close familial ties to Ireland.
The granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. All applications for a certificate of naturalisation are processed and assessed individually in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Section 15A of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 Act provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant a certificate of naturalisation to a spouse of an Irish citizen providing certain statutory conditions, such as residency requirements, are met. This Section was further amended in 2011 to include civil partners of an Irish citizen.
There is specific provision made in the Act in relation to persons resident on the Island of Ireland. Section 15A provides that, where the application is based on being the spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen the requirements are that the couple are married or civil partners of each other for a period of at least 3 years and are living together and, immediately before the date of application, have a period of one year's continuous residence on the island of Ireland and, during the preceding four years, have a further period of residency amounting to 2 years (i.e. 3 years in total).
Periods spent abroad with an Irish spouse in the public service may be counted for the purposes of reckonable residence.
A determination on whether an applicant satisfies the statutory criteria attendant to naturalisation can only be made after an application is received.
Detailed information on Irish citizenship and naturalisation, as well as the relevant application forms, is available on the INIS website at www.inis.gov.ie. The website also contains guidance on the completion of an application for naturalisation and an on-line naturalisation residency calculator which individuals may find of assistance in establishing if the statutory residency requirements are met.
