Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
253. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if an application for naturalisation will be reconsidered in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3801/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe granting of Irish citizenship through naturalisation is governed by the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended. It is open to any individual to lodge an application for a certificate of naturalisation if and when he or she is in a position to meet the statutory conditions for naturalisation prescribed in the Act. The statutory residence conditions are that the applicant must have a period of one year's continuous residence in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, have had a further total residence amounting to four years (in the case of an application based on being the spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen the Act reduces this further period to two years during the preceding four years).
Where an applicant is found to be non-resident or whose permission to remain in the State is out of date for substantial periods of time, such periods will not be reckonable for the purposes of satisfying the statutory residency conditions for naturalisation stipulated in the Act. This is of particular importance with regard to the requirement to have one year’s continuous residence in the State immediately prior to the date of application, and may also mean the requirement of total residence is not met.
I am informed by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, of my Department that the application for naturalisation in respect of the person referred to by the Deputy will be reviewed if written confirmation from her Immigration Officer is supplied outlining the reason for the gap in her Permission to Remain stamp. All non-EEA nationals are required to keep their permission to remain in the State up-to-date at all times, and to have such permission registered. Failure to do so may adversely affect an application for a certificate of naturalisation
Queries in relation to the status of individual immigration cases may be made directly to the INIS of my Department 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 the INIS is, in the Deputy’s view, inadequate or too long-awaited.
