Skip to main content
Normal View

Citizenship Applications

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020

Tuesday, 3 November 2020

Questions (1069, 1070)

Neale Richmond

Question:

1069. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the nationality breakdown of all new Irish citizens from 2014 to 2020 to date in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33377/20]

View answer

Neale Richmond

Question:

1070. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the number of successful applicants for Irish citizenship waiting to be officially granted citizenship; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33378/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1069 and 1070 together.

As of 27 October 2020, there are 2,258 applicants awaiting a ceremony granting citizenship. This figure does not include minors who are not required to attend a ceremony. Approximately 400 minor certificates recently issued by post with 292 minor certificates to be issued in the coming period.

COVID-19 has unfortunately prevented the holding of our large-scale citizenship ceremonies, which is impacting the processing of applications. I was pleased to announce on 22 October 2020, that I have approved a solution to replace the ceremonies with a sworn affidavit on an interim basis and the priority drafting of a statutory instrument to implement this change. My Department will issue the naturalisation certificate on receipt of a statutory declaration. This will alleviate the current holdup of applications that have been approved and awaiting a ceremony to swear their allegiance to the Irish State thus enabling these applicants to start their new lives as Irish citizens. It remains my intention that large scale ceremonies will recommence once circumstances allow.

The following table sets out the certificates of naturalisation issued between 1 January 2014 and 30 September 2020, by nationality. It includes both adults and minors and covers all application categories. In total, there were 72,349 certificates issued between these dates. In addition to those listed in the table, there were a further 51 countries where a total of 260 certificates of naturalisation were issued to 10 or fewer of their citizens. No further breakdown is provided as the small numbers involved may lead to the identification of the individuals concerned.

Nationality

Certificates Issued

Poland

7,929

India

7,862

Nigeria

6,948

Romania

5,358

Philippines

5,108

Pakistan

3,364

United Kingdom

3,024

China (Including Hong Kong)

2,106

Brazil

2,008

Latvia

2,002

South Africa

1,609

United States Of America

1,441

Ukraine

1,435

Congo, The Democratic Republic of the

1,026

Hungary

1,012

Thailand

957

Russian Federation

909

Lithuania

832

Sudan

772

Bangladesh

733

Moldova, Republic Of

687

Malaysia

668

Egypt

597

Zimbabwe

555

Ghana

536

Turkey

533

Bulgaria

510

Mauritius

488

Somalia

457

Iraq

423

Algeria

415

Cameroon

371

Belarus

320

Angola

316

Albania

311

Afghanistan

308

Iran (Islamic Republic Of)

299

Morocco

277

Australia

270

Italy

261

Slovak Republic

254

Canada

246

Kenya

236

Syrian Arab Republic

221

Georgia

209

Nepal

207

Germany

195

Czech Republic

190

Croatia

182

Spain

171

Estonia

169

France

168

Kosovo

164

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

163

Viet Nam

156

Sri Lanka

151

New Zealand

147

Mexico

143

Togo

139

Uganda

135

Serbia

134

Ethiopia

119

Venezuela

119

Tunisia

116

Cote D'Ivoire

115

Sierra Leone

110

Israel

109

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

98

Jordan

94

Mongolia

94

Argentina

92

Greece

88

Bosnia and Herzegovina

87

Lebanon

87

Malawi

84

Colombia

83

Guinea

81

Kazakhstan

76

Liberia

73

British Overseas Citizens (etc.)

72

Portugal

71

Peru

66

Armenia

65

Myanmar

63

Eritrea

62

Uzbekistan

61

Congo, The Republic Of The

59

Jamaica

59

Korea, Republic Of (South Korea)

55

Zambia

49

Indonesia

47

Kuwait

45

Tanzania, United Republic Of

43

Cuba

40

Botswana

39

Rwanda

39

The Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia

36

Burundi

33

Netherlands

33

Gambia

30

Switzerland

29

Chile

28

Japan

28

Azerbaijan

26

Belgium

26

Kyrgyzstan

24

Sweden

24

Taiwan

24

Bolivia

21

South Sudan

20

Swaziland

20

Ecuador

19

Trinidad And Tobago

19

Yemen

19

Dominican Republic

16

Finland

16

Lesotho

15

Singapore

15

Benin

14

Austria

13

Guatemala

13

Paraguay

13

Slovenia

13

Uruguay

13

Denmark

12

Other

260

The 51 'Other' countries are:

El Salvador; Fiji; Bahrain; Cambodia; Cyprus; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Mozambique; Senegal; Costa Rica; Nicaragua; Niger; Saint Lucia; Burkina Faso; Honduras; Mali; Saint Vincent And The Grenadines; Barbados; Chad; Panama; Central African Republic; Grenada; Guinea-Bissau; Malta; Mauritania; Namibia; Seychelles; Tajikistan; Haiti; Montenegro; Oman; Suriname; Bhutan; Dominica; Guyana; Luxembourg; Madagascar; Sao Tome And Principe; Saudi Arabia; Solomon Islands; Tonga; United Arab Emirates; Antigua And Barbuda; Belize; Brunei Darussalam; Cape Verde; Comoros; Equatorial Guinea; Iceland; Nauru; Norway; and Turkmenistan.

Top
Share