Ivor Callely
Ceist:307 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Justice the terms, conditions and procedures in place for a person who is not a citizen to apply for citizenship or naturalisation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21951/96]
Written Answers. - Citizenship Applications.
There are three ways in which a person who is not a citizen of Ireland can obtain Irish citizenship: these are, by descent, by naturalisation and by marriage to an Irish citizen.
Descent
A person whose mother or father was an Irish citizen at the time of his or her birth is automatically an Irish citizen. A person whose grandfather or grandmother, but not his or her parents, were born in Ireland may become an Irish citizen by registering in the Foreign Births Register (FBR) at an Irish Embassy or Consular Office or at the Department of Foreign Affairs. There are also certain instances whereby a person can obtain Irish citizenship through his or her great-grandfather or great-grandmother. The following table sets out the position in tabular form.
|
A |
(Born in Ireland) |
Irish citizen |
|
B |
(Child of A) |
Irish citizen |
|
C |
(Child of B/grandchild of A) |
Must register to obtain Irish citizenship |
|
D |
(Child of C/great grandchild of A) |
May register for Irish citizenship, provided that “C” had registered by the time of “D's” birth |
Note: If “C” had registered prior to 31 December 1986, “D” would be able to register at any time. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1986 introduced a provision whereby registration in the FBR after the aforementioned date granted citizenship from the date of registration only.
Pending the reintegration of the national territory, a person, not otherwise an Irish citizen through descent, born in Northern Ireland after 6 December 1922 may declare himself or herself, in the prescribed manner to be an Irish citizen. If the person is not of full age, i.e. 18 years, his-her parent or guardian may make the declaration.
The President may grant Irish citizenship as a token of honour to a person or to the child or grandchild of a person who, in the opinion of the Government, has done signal honour or rendered distinguished service to the nation.
Naturalisation
Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts, 1956 and 1986, provides that the Minister for Justice may, at her absolute discretion, grant a certificate of naturalisation, where statutory provisions are complied with. These provisions require that an applicant has resided in the State for 5 years, is of good character and intends to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation. Section 16 of the Acts provides that the Minister may, in specific instances, waive some or all of the statutory requirements when considering an application.
Marriage to an Irish citizen (post-nuptial citizenship)
Section 8 of the Acts provides that a person who is not an Irish citizen may, following 3 years marriage to an Irish citizen, lodge a declaration accepting Irish citizenship as post-nuptial citizenship, provided that the marriage is subsisting at the date of lodgment of the declaration and the couple are living together as husband and wife and the spouse who is an Irish citizen submits an affidavit to that effect.