Irish Citizenship by Descent for Canadian Citizens

Can I Get Irish Citizenship Through My Grandparents?

You may be eligible to apply for Irish citizenship through the Foreign Births Register if one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland. This includes grandparents born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.

You must submit an application for Foreign Birth Registration and provide documents proving the relevant family relationship.

These documents can include birth certificates, marriage certificates where names have changed, identification documents, and evidence that your Irish-born grandparent was born on the island of Ireland.

If your application is approved and your birth is entered in the Foreign Births Register, you become an Irish citizen from the date of registration. You can then apply for an Irish passport.

Can I Qualify Through a Great-Grandparent?

Having an Irish-born great-grandparent does not, by itself, give you an entitlement to Irish citizenship. You may qualify only if the parent through whom you are claiming citizenship was already an Irish citizen when you were born.

For example, your parent may have acquired Irish citizenship through the Foreign Births Register before your birth.

If your parent was not an Irish citizen until after you were born, you cannot normally acquire Irish citizenship through that family connection.

Can I Apply for Foreign Birth Registration From Canada?

Yes. Eligible Canadian citizens can apply for Foreign Birth Registration from Canada and do not need to move to Ireland before applying.

Eligibility depends on the applicant’s qualifying family connection, such as an Irish-born grandparent or a parent who was already an Irish citizen when the applicant was born.

You complete and pay for the application online through the Department of Foreign Affairs website. You must then print the completed form, sign it in front of an eligible witness, and send it with the required supporting documents to the Foreign Births Register by post.

Foreign Birth Registration applications are processed in Dublin. Irish embassies and consulates in Canada do not process Foreign Birth Registration applications.

Can I Claim Irish Citizenship Through Other Relatives?

Having an Irish aunt, uncle, cousin, or more distant relative does not, by itself, give you an entitlement to Irish citizenship by descent.

You must have a qualifying connection through an Irish-born parent, an Irish-born grandparent, or a parent who was already an Irish citizen when you were born.

Can I Get Irish Citizenship Through Marriage?

Marriage to an Irish citizen does not automatically confer Irish citizenship on a Canadian citizen. It is also not a citizenship-by-descent route.

A spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen may be eligible to apply for Irish citizenship through naturalization. Applicants must meet the applicable requirements, including being married to or in a civil partnership with an Irish citizen for at least 3 years, living together, and having lawfully resided on the island of Ireland for 3 of the 5 years before applying.

This must include one continuous year of residence immediately before the application. Applicants must also meet identity, good character, residence intention, and citizenship ceremony requirements.

What If I Do Not Qualify for Irish Citizenship by Descent?

If you do not qualify for Irish citizenship through descent or Foreign Birth Registration, another route may be available depending on your circumstances.

These can include naturalization, citizenship through adoption, or other provisions under Irish nationality law. The eligibility requirements differ from those for citizenship by descent.

Application Process for Irish Citizenship by Descent

The process depends on your family connection to Ireland. If you were born outside Ireland to a parent born on the island of Ireland, you are already an Irish citizen and can apply for an Irish passport without registering in the Foreign Births Register.

You may need to apply for Foreign Birth Registration if you were born outside Ireland and are claiming citizenship through an Irish-born grandparent.

Registration may also be required if your parent was an Irish citizen when you were born, but was also born outside Ireland. Once your entry is made in the Foreign Births Register, you are an Irish citizen and can apply for an Irish passport.

What Is the Foreign Births Register?

The Foreign Births Register is maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs. It enables eligible people born outside Ireland to become Irish citizens through an Irish-born grandparent or a parent who was already an Irish citizen at the time of birth.

Before starting the online application, collect the required documents. The Department of Foreign Affairs requires original documents unless it states otherwise. The documents required can vary depending on your family circumstances.

For an adult applicant, the core documents include:

• Your original civil birth certificate
• Your original civil marriage certificate, where applicable, or an official name-change document
• A photocopy of a state-issued photo identity document, such as a passport, driver’s licence, or national identity card, certified by the application-form witness as a true copy of the original
• Two original proofs of address
• Four passport-sized colour photographs, with two signed and dated by the witness

You must also provide documents that prove your connection to the Irish citizen on whom your application is based.

Depending on your circumstances, this may include original civil birth certificates, marriage certificates, name-change documents, certified photo identification, or certified copies of death certificates for your parent, grandparent, and other relevant family members.

How To Apply for Foreign Birth Registration

1. Gather the documents needed to prove your identity, address, and qualifying family connection
2. Complete the Foreign Birth Registration application on the Department of Foreign Affairs website and pay the fee online
3. Print the completed application form and sign it in the presence of an eligible witness
4. Ask the same witness to sign and date two passport photographs, certify your photo ID copy, and apply their official stamp to the application form
5. Send the signed application form and all supporting documents by post to the relevant Foreign Birth Registration office

Your witness must be personally known to you, must not be a relative, and must be currently practising in an approved profession.

Eligible witnesses include lawyers, notaries public, police officers, teachers, medical doctors, accountants, pharmacists, and bank managers. If the witness has no official stamp, include their business card with the application.

The Foreign Birth Registration fee is €278 for applicants aged 18 or over. This includes a €270 registration and certificate fee and an €8 non-refundable postage and handling fee.

For applicants under 18, the total fee is €153. This includes a €145 registration and certificate fee and an €8 non-refundable postage and handling fee.

Applications are processed in the order in which complete applications are received. The Department of Foreign Affairs currently advises applicants to allow approximately 12 months for the processing of Foreign Birth Registration. Incomplete applications may be returned without being processed.

Applying for an Irish Passport

After your birth has been entered in the Foreign Births Register, you can apply for an Irish passport. Passport Online is available to almost all Irish citizens worldwide and is the quickest application route.

You complete the passport application online and send any required supporting documents by post. You can follow the application’s progress through the Department of Foreign Affairs Passport Tracker after the Passport Service receives your application and documents.

The current average processing time for a first-time online adult or child passport application is 20 working days.

This timeframe starts after the Passport Service receives the required supporting documents and does not include postage. Your application may take longer if further documents are required. Do not arrange travel until you have received your passport.

Can I Keep My Canadian Citizenship?

Yes. Ireland permits dual citizenship, and Canada allows Canadian citizens to acquire another nationality without giving up Canadian citizenship.

If you qualify for Irish citizenship, you can hold both Canadian and Irish citizenship and apply for passports from both countries.

Canadian citizens with dual nationality should use a valid Canadian passport when travelling to Canada by air, as Canadian authorities require it.