Steps to Obtaining Irish Citizenship
Those not entitled to Irish citizenship by birth or descent can potentially become Irish citizens by naturalisation, provided they go through the correct legal pathways.
The attainment of Irish citizen status grants you the right to submit an Irish passport application, opening up your travelling opportunities to over 187 countries without having to get a visa or under very lenient visa conditions.
Irish Visas and Long Stay Residence Permit
To obtain a permanent residence permit or Irish citizenship, you must fill out a long-stay "D" visa application. The different visas made available by the Irish Department of Justice are tied to permits, illustrated by "stamps" on your passport with a designated number from 1 to 6. These stamps would also be stated on your Irish Resident Permit (IRP)
Only people who hold the correct visa types (mostly related to work and family ties) can acquire a permanent residence permit. Student visas are not qualified.
Examples of eligible visas for long-stay residency include:
- Employment visa
- Employment (scientific researcher) visa
- Van Der Elst visa
- Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) or "Ireland Golden Visa" (only for unlimited extensions - more on this below)
- Join family visas (for spouses or dependent family members of Irish citizens or permanent residents)
Although the "Ireland Golden Visa" programme does not allow for a single permanent residence permit for an indefinite amount of time, those under the programme are free to ask for permit extensions as often as needed, provided they fulfil the conditions. For this reason, they are included in the above list. To apply, you must have an investment fund of at least €1 million, among other conditions.
Also, be mindful that some work authorisations are unsuitable for a permanent residence permit application, such as those granted to Intra-Company Transferees or employees of foreign embassies.
The time spent under a qualifying permit is deemed "reckonable residence" for the purposes of a permanent resident permit. The Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) will only use the stamps in your passport or the validity of your expired Irish Resident Permit cards as references when calculating your reckonable residency period.
Eligibility
To apply for a permanent residence permit, you'll need to:
- Have spent five years (60 months) of continuous reckonable residence under any of the eligible permits (Stamp 1 or Stamp 4) unless exempt.
- Have a demonstrable "good character" (meaning you have not breached any immigration laws nor aroused the suspicion of the Irish Police).
- Not have broken the conditions of your previous residence permits.
- Be employed at the time of application (excluding self-employment).
- Be currently residing in Ireland under legal status.
Irish Citizenship By Naturalisation
Those with the right to a permanent residence permit may or may not be entitled to apply for Irish citizenship. It's also not required to have a permanent residence permit to become a naturalised Irish citizen, though it's wholly recommended.
Nevertheless, most Irish citizenship applicants must still satisfy a reckonable residence requirement of five years, which is bound by the following rules:
- Twelve months of continuous reckonable residence right before applying.
- Prior to the aforesaid period, you must have accrued four years of total reckonable residence in an eight-year timeframe.
You can leave Ireland for up to six weeks per year without the risk of that year being excluded from your reckonable residence period calculation. If your absence surpasses the six-week limit, you must justify this excess by alluding to serious health or work reasons.
Reckonable residence, within the context of Irish citizenship applications, refers to the time spent:
- On an employment permit.
- With a spouse or civil partner who's an Irish citizen, a Critical Skills Employment Permit holder or on the Third Level Graduate Scheme.
- On Stamp 4.
- On Stamp 5 or on a Without Condition As To Time (WCATT) permission.
You must also fulfil other prerequisites. To wit:
- Be 18 years old or above. If you are below 18, your guardian or parent must include you in their application, provided that certain preconditions are met.
- Be of "good character" (as evidenced by your criminal records).
- Pay a fee of €175 per applicant.
- Make a sworn statutory declaration.
Citizenship for Spouses
In the event that you're the legal spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen, you'll need to satisfy a slightly different set of conditions, mainly concerning the time of reckonable residence and your legal relationship. In that sense, you must:
- Be 18 or over
- Have been married for three or more years.
- Have lived in Ireland for at least three years within a five-year period.
- Have been continuously residing in Ireland or Northern Ireland for twelve months before you apply.
- Show your intention to live on the island after becoming an Irish citizen.
- Be living with your spouse at the moment of applying.
The Irish Naturalisation Certificate
The Irish citizenship by naturalisation process takes around twelve months, though there could be delays depending on the number of petitions the ISD receives during that period.
If your application is successful, the ISD will ask for your Irish Resident Permit (if you're not from an EEA country, Switzerland, or the UK). You'd also have to pay a certification fee of €950 unless you are applying on behalf of a minor or are a widower, widow, or surviving civil partner of an Irish national, in which case the fee is reduced to €200. Refugees and stateless individuals pay no fees.
For the record, you are not required to renounce your original nationality to enjoy Irish citizen status, for Irish law accepts dual citizenship.
Apply for Irish Passport
The Irish passport is one of the most powerful passports worldwide, allowing holders to travel to all member states of the EU and EEA, as well as some of the most favoured holiday destinations, without requiring a visa or only needing an eVisa or "visa on arrival". It's also a relatively easy passport to renew.
Irish passport applications can be filled out online (Passport Online) or through the Passport Express (Post Passport) service. Applying in person at the Passport Office is not recommended, as its counter service is reserved chiefly for emergency renewals.
To make an Irish passport application, you must submit your original naturalisation certificate and, if available, your original foreign passport. You should have your Irish passport ready in roughly 20 working days (online) or eight weeks (by post, not including postage time).