Irish Citizenship Application for Canadian Citizens

Marriage/civil is one of the quickest routes to citizenship by naturalization.

Citizenship by marriage allows the spouse/civil partner of an Irish citizen to apply for citizenship after three years of lawful living in Ireland. In essence, you must have been lawfully living in Ireland for at least three of the previous five years, which includes 1 year of continuous residence in the year directly before the date of your application.

You will need to complete Application Form 8 and submit the documents listed above to apply through this route. You will also need to include a certified copy of your marriage/civil partnership certificate in your documents when applying.

To be eligible for Irish nationality and citizenship based on marriage/civil partnership with an Irish citizen, you need to meet certain requirements:

• You must be at least 18 or over at the time of applying for citizenship
• You must have been married to, or in a civil partnership, with an Irish citizen for at least 3 years.
• You must have lived together with your civil partner for at least three years.
• You must be able to provide three different proofs of residence documents showing your name and address for each year you have lived in Ireland.

Citizenship Application for a non-EU/EEA/Swiss Dependant Young Adult

If you are applying for citizenship as a dependent young adult, you will need to complete the Application Form 8 and submit the documents described above, including a letter from your college stating your registration date and attendance. To be considered a dependent child, you must meet the following criteria:

• You must be aged between 18-23 when they apply.
• You must have entered Ireland legally as part of a family unit.
• Currently attending secondary school in the country, or went directly from secondary school into third-level education.
• Not financially independent and continuously dependent on your parents

Citizenship by birth or descent allows you to be eligible for citizenship by birth or descent, even if you were not born in Ireland under certain circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria for Citizenship by Birth

You become eligible for citizenship by birth under certain circumstances, which follows:

• Born on the island of Ireland before 1st January 2005
• Born in Ireland after 1st January 2005, and at least one parent was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth.
• Born on the island of Ireland on or after 1st January 2005, at least one parent is British or is entitled to live in Northern Ireland or Ireland without restrictions.
• A child born in Ireland on or after 1st January 2005 to a parent who was granted refugee status

However, you are not automatically entitled to Irish citizenship if you were born in Ireland after 1st January 2005 to foreign national parents.

To be eligible for citizenship by birth, at least one of your parents must prove that they have/had lived in Ireland for 3 of the previous 4 years as reckonable residence immediately before the birth.

If you are not born in Ireland and do not live in Ireland, you could be eligible for citizenship by descent.

There are analogies that qualify you to apply for Irish citizenship. These are:

• You are eligible to apply for citizenship by descent if either of your parents was born in Ireland and was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth.
• You may be entitled to Irish citizenship if you were born outside of Ireland and one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth and was born outside of Ireland.
• You are eligible to apply for Irish Citizenship if your parent was deceased at the time of your birth but would have been an Irish citizen if they were alive at that time.
• You may be eligible for Irish nationality if one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, regardless of where your parents were born. However, you may not be able to claim Irish Citizenship further in your ancestry than your grandparents or ties to any other family relation other than your parents are grandparents.
• You also automatically become an Irish citizen if you were adopted by an Irish citizen or a couple where one of the guardians was an Irish citizen.

Registering a Birth on the Foreign Births Register

If you are applying for Irish Citizenship through descent, you may need to register your birth in the Foreign Births Register.

You can decide to register births on the Foreign Births Register for yourself and a dependent child.

The application fee differs, €278 for adults and €158 for children.

To apply, you will need to provide the following documents:

• The original birth certificate, which shows your parent’s details
• Certified photocopy of current identification, such as passport or driving license of your descent.
• Certified photocopy of identification such as passport or driving license
• Two proofs of address
• Original civil birth certificate of person you are basing application on
• Original marriage certificate or change of name document (if applicable)

When applying for Irish citizenship, the first step is establishing your route towards citizenship, after which you can then further your application process. The application process is as follows:

1. Fill in the relevant application form.
2. Gather all the required documentation together. The documents you are to submit are dependent on the citizenship route through which you are applying and your particular circumstances.
3. Send in your application with your documents to the relevant application office.
4. Once your application is received and successful, you will need to attend a citizenship ceremony, while those who applied for citizenship through the descent of a grandparent or through one of their parents being an Irish citizen at the time of their birth are to register their birth with the Foreign Births Register.

When applying for Irish citizenship, you will need to pay some fees.

The cost for an Irish citizenship application is €175. This fee is non-refundable regardless of the reason.

Once your application is accepted, you will need to pay for your official Certificate of Naturalisation. The fees for this certificate are as follows:

• Adults: €950
• Minor: €200
• Widow, Widower, or Surviving Civil Partner of Irish citizen: €200
• Recognized refugee or stateless person: €0

The payment for citizenship application and Official Certificate of Naturalization must be done in an Irish bank and made payable to the Secretary-General, Department of Justice & Equality.

The citizenship ceremony is the final step of your naturalization and citizenship process. Once your application process has been received, you will be invited to a citizenship ceremony.

You will need to make a formal declaration of fidelity and loyalty to the Republic of Ireland at the ceremony.

You will receive an invitation to your ceremony at least a month before the ceremony is due.

There are no additional fees to pay to attend citizenship ceremonies, as the cost of these are covered in your application fee.

Applicants are to expect a decision within six months from their application date.

Depending on your circumstances and application route, the processing time could be longer.

The Irish immigration officials will check that you have completed the correct application form, completed the statutory declarations, paid the application fee, and submitted all required documentation during processing. An incomplete application may cause a delay.

Total Law’s excellent immigration lawyers are vastly experienced in dealing with Irish citizenship applications and providing advice and support to smooth your application process.

Our immigration lawyers will help you determine if the exam visa is right for you and that you meet the eligibility criteria, help you gather the supporting documents to ensure there are no delays or denials, and help you file an appeal should your application be denied.