Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 May 2012
137 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the entitlement to residency/naturalisation in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24795/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person in question entered the State as a minor dependent of his parents on 9 October 1996. Following consideration of their cases they were granted temporary Leave to Remain in the State. As the applicant was still under 16 years of age at that time, he was not required to register his status with the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
On the 9 December 2009, the person in question presented himself to the Garda National Immigration Bureau in order to register his own status in the State. He presented with a college letter and a receipt for college fees paid. Therefore, as is general policy, he was granted a Stamp 2A.
On 25 February 2010, the person in question wrote to this Department requesting an upgrade of his permission to a Stamp 4. Following consideration of his request, the person in question was granted a Stamp 4. The person in question currently has permission to Remain in the State until 20 August 2014.
A valid application for a certificate of naturalisation was received on behalf of the person referred to by the Deputy from his parent in October, 2009 and my predecessor decided in his absolute discretion to refuse the application. The person concerned was informed of that decision in a letter issued to his parent on 27 October, 2009. It is open to the person concerned to submit a new application at any time.
Section 15 of 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. Among such conditions are that the applicant must—
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.
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.
The on-line Naturalisation Residency Calculator can be used as a guide to whether an individual satisfies the naturalisation residency conditions and, if not, give an indication of how long they should wait before making an application.
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
