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. These 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 made, either before a Judge of the District Court in open court or in such a manner as the Minister for special reasons allows, a declaration in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.
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. In light of the changes to the Constitution regarding citizenship by virtue of birth in Ireland (the twenty-seventh amendment of the Constitution), revised arrangements, known as the IBC/05 Scheme, for the non-EEA parents of children born prior to 1 January, 2005, were put in place. Under the IBC/05 Scheme some 16,693 parents of Irish citizen children were granted permission to remain in the State under Stamp 4 conditions.
Persons granted permission to remain under Stamp 4 conditions are entitled to work without the need for a work permit and to set up a business without seeking the permission of the Minister. Furthermore, the permission granted counts as "reckonable residency" for the purposes of citizenship. Therefore, while there is no separate procedure for the parents of Irish citizen children such persons, having met the required period of residence in the State, may apply for citizenship if they so wish. Such applications are dealt with in the same manner and under the same procedures and provisions as all other applications for citizenship.