Irish Citizenship Application

Reckonable residence

You must show that you built up enough reckonable residence to be granted Irish citizenship. This entails that you must have spent at least 1825 days in Ireland under certain types of stamps. This includes 365 days of continuous residence immediately before your application.

For EEA, Swiss, or UK nationals, every period spent in Ireland counts towards reckonable residence. As a non-EEA, Swiss, or UK national, holding any type of Long Stay visa such as an employment visa counts towards reckonable residence. Also, any time spent in Ireland as an Irish citizen’s civil partner or spouse counts towards reckonable residence.

The following stamps all count as reckonable residence:

• Stamp 1
• Stamp 1G – time spent as the spouse of a work permit holder
• Stamp 3
• Stamp 4
• Stamp 5

You can prove your period of reckonable residence in Ireland by showing your immigration permission stamps or documents from the Department of Justice, indicating the permissions you have been granted.

There is an online calculator on the Immigration Service Delivery website that you can use to determine if you meet the residency conditions for Irish citizenship by naturalization. You must complete the online residency calculator when submitting your naturalization application as a US citizen. In addition, you must score 150 points each year that proof of residency is required.

You should ensure that you keep your immigration registration up-to-date. Any gaps in your immigration status in Ireland could make your citizenship application ineligible and thus rejected. You should be able to explain any long periods spent outside of Ireland.

As a non-EEA, Swiss, or UK national, certain periods of residence do not count as reckonable residence. Such residency periods include;

• Stamp 1G – time spent on Third Level Graduate Scheme under this stamp.
• Stamp 1A
• Stamp 2 – time spent under a student visa.
• Any time you spent in the State while undocumented.
• Any time you spent in the State under a Tourist Visa for non-EEA nationals.

Before applying for Irish citizenship, check that you meet all the requirements. After establishing that you meet the requirements, proceed with the application process. The process follows several steps.

Step 1: Fill out the relevant application form

You must download and fill out the updated citizenship application form from the immigration service delivery website. After filling out the form, you will be required to submit it and other supporting documents. If you submit an outdated version of the form, it will be returned to you, and you will have to start the process all over.

The application form to fill out depends on the route you’re applying for citizenship. There are four different application forms:

• Form 8: Application for a person of full age, including young adult
• Form 9: Application by a naturalized parent on behalf of a minor
• Form 10: application on behalf of a minor of Irish descent or Irish associations
• Form 11: application on behalf of a minor born in the State from 1st January 2005 who is not entitled to Irish citizenship by birth.

Under Irish law, a young adult is any individual between 18 and 23 years who depends on their parents for accommodation and general living expenses. Such young adults must have legally entered Ireland as part of a family unit, must be attending secondary school or third level education in the state, and must not be financially independent.

A minor is any individual under 18 years who is not married at the time of their application.

Minors cannot complete their application by themselves, and as such, the relevant application must be completed by their parent, guardian, or someone acting on their behalf.

Step 2: Gather and Submit Required Documents

You are required to submit certain documents in support of your application. The specific documents to submit depend on the citizenship route through which you’re applying and your particular circumstance.

As an adult applying for naturalization through Form 8, you must submit the following documents.

• Your original valid passport
• A copy of the biometric page of your valid passport
• All passports which have been held from the date of your arrival in Ireland, including biometric pages and pages with immigration and permission stamps
• Two recent color passport-sized photographs, signed and dated at the back by a witness who signs the statutory declaration on the application form.
• Certified copy of your birth certificate
• Certified copy of your current in-date Irish Residence Permit/GNIB Card
• A copy of your permission to remain letters issued by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service
• Copy of completed online residency checker form
• Copies of bank statements for all of your bank account for at least three of the last six months
• A letter from your current employer showing the date you started employment
• Copies of three payslips from within the last six months and a copy of your P60 or a tax statement from the Revenue Commissioners for each year of residence
• where applicable, a certified copy of your marriage/civil partnership certificate

An accredited translator must translate all documents that are not in English, and then you submit both original copies and copies of the certified translations. After gathering these documents, you will submit them by post to the Citizenship Division of ISD. Ensure your documents are well packaged in suitable envelopes.

While you must provide all required documents, it does not guarantee that your application will be accepted.

Step 3: Pay the Application fee

You must pay an application fee for each citizenship application you make. The current fee is €175. This fee cannot be waived and is non-refundable.

If your application is approved, you must pay a certification fee before receiving your Certificate of Naturalization. The certificate fees by category are:

• €950 for adults
• €200 for minors
• €200 for the widow, widower, or Surviving Civil Partner of an Irish citizen:

Refugees do not make any payment for certification fees.

You must make the application and certification fee payments through a bank draft drawn on an Irish bank and payable to the Secretary-General, Department of Justice & Equality.

Currently, it takes about 23 months to receive a decision from the date an application is made. However, each application is unique and processing times vary based on individual circumstances.

When you submit your application, Irish immigration officials check that you have filled out the most recent version of the application form, paid the application fees, properly signed the statutory declaration, and submitted all required documents. If any documents are missing, you will be given 28 days to provide them. Your application will be rejected if you cannot provide those documents or have not properly filled the statutory declaration.

After processing, your application will be sent to the Minister for Justice & Equality for consideration. The Minister has absolute discretionary power to accept your Irish citizenship application.

If your application is approved, ISD will send you a letter advising you of the Minister’s proposal to grant you a Certificate of Naturalisation subject to completing the naturalization process.

To fully become an Irish citizen, you must attend a citizenship ceremony and declare fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the state. You will be given your certificate of Naturalization when you attend the ceremony. You must keep this certificate safe. Minors are not required to attend the citizenship ceremony.

To complete your application for citizenship and prepare for the ceremony, you must;

• Send some final documentation to ISD, including your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) or GNIB card and passport-sized photos for your Certificate of Naturalisation.
• Pay the certification fee.

Citizenship ceremonies are held periodically throughout the year. You will receive an invitation to your ceremony at least 4 weeks before the ceremony is due.

After you become an Irish citizen, you may apply for an Irish passport via the Department of Foreign Affairs.

If your application is refused, ISD will send you a letter informing you of the Minister’s decision and the reasons for refusal.

Refused applications cannot be appealed, and there is no refund of paid fees.

You can re-apply for citizenship by naturalization at any time.

However, ensure that you pay careful attention to the reasons for the previous refusal when reapplying for citizenship.

Irish citizenship through marriage or civil partnership

If you’re married to or are the civil partner of an Irish citizen, you can easily gain Irish citizenship through naturalization. You can apply for Irish citizenship as a spouse/civil partner after legally residing in Ireland for three years rather than five. This includes 1 year of continuous residence in the year directly before the date of your application.

To be eligible for citizenship as the civil partner or spouse of an Irish citizen, you must:

• Be 18 years or above at the time of applying for citizenship
• Have been in a relationship (marriage or civil partnership) with the Irish citizen for at least 3 years
• Have been living together for at least three years in an ongoing marriage/civil partnership. You must provide three different proof of residence documents showing your names and address for each year you have lived in Ireland.

Applying for citizenship as a spouse otherwise follows a similar process as that already described. You will download and fill out form 8 and submit all required documents to ISD. The documents you submit will include a certified copy of your marriage/civil partnership certificate.

Citizenship for refugees

You can apply for Irish citizenship if you have refugee status or are a stateless person. You will be eligible after three years of reckonable residence in Ireland. It is crucial to keep your immigration registration up-to-date during your residency.

As part of the naturalization process for citizenship as a refugee, you will need to include three different proof of residence documents for each year of the reckonable residence.

Citizenship through descent or by Irish associations

You can apply for Irish citizenship if you are of Irish descent or have Irish associations. Citizenship by descent is open to individuals with Irish ancestry going as far back as their great-grandparents.

If you were born outside of Ireland, you could apply for foreign birth registration if;

• One of your grandparents was born in Ireland.
• One of your parents was an Irish citizen at your birth.

When you satisfy these conditions, you can then proceed with registering your birth in the foreign birth register. You can do so for both you and any dependent child of yours.

An estimated 33 million U.S. citizens are eligible for Irish citizenship by descent. In addition, the process is relatively fast and affordable.

When registering a birth in the foreign births register, you will need to submit the following documents;

• Original birth certificate showing your parent’s details
• Certified photocopy of identification such as passport or driving license
• Two proofs of address
• Original civil birth certificate of the ancestor you’re basing your application on
• Certified photocopy of current identification, such as passport or driving license, of the person you are basing the application on
• Original marriage certificate or change of name document (if applicable)

At Total Law, we have excellent immigration lawyers vastly experienced in Irish immigration and citizenship processes.

Our immigration experts will help you determine if you’re eligible for Irish citizenship and the applicable route. They will guide you through the entire application process, ensuring that you get all the documents and fill out the application form without errors. Our immigration lawyers offer you support and advice throughout the process to ensure that it is smooth and successful.
Contact us today at +1 844 290 6312 to start your successful journey toward becoming an Irish citizen.