The law surrounding citizenship in Ireland is mainly to be found in The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 to 2004. (Here is the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 updated to 31st July 2023.)
The conditions for a certificate of naturalisation are set out in section 15 (1) of Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956.
Conditions for issue of certificate.
F29[15.—(1) Upon receipt of an application for a certificate of naturalisation, the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, grant the application, if satisfied that the applicant—
F30[(a) is of full age;]
(b) is of good character;
(c) has had a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State immediately before the date of the application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to four years;
(d) intends in good faith to continue to reside in the State after naturalisation; and
F30[(e) has, in accordance with subsection (1A) or, as the case may be, subsection (1B), and in the prescribed manner—
(i) made a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and
(ii) undertaken to faithfully observe the laws of the State and respect its democratic values.]
F31[(1A) The declaration referred to in paragraph (e) of subsection (1) shall be made, and the undertaking referred to in that paragraph shall be given—
(a) subject to subsection (1B), in a citizenship ceremony, or
(b) in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons, allows.
(1B) The Minister may—
(a) dispense with the requirement under subsection (1A)(a) that the declaration be made and the undertaking be given in a citizenship ceremony, and
(b) allow the applicant to make the declaration and give the undertaking in such manner as the Minister may specify,
where the Minister is of the opinion that, having regard to the number of applications of which he is in receipt, it is appropriate to do so in the interests of ensuring that such applications are dealt with in an efficient manner.]
This was a paper based exercise until October 2023 but statutory instrument 498 of 2023 (Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2023) allows for online applications. Online applications are now the recommended method of applying.
Section 15A (1) sets out the requirements for the naturalisation of spouses Irish citizens.
Section 15B (1) deals with naturalisation of minors born in the State.
F39[Naturalisation of minors born in State
15B.— (1) Upon receipt of an application under this section for a certificate of naturalisation in respect of a minor, the Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, grant the application if satisfied that the minor—
(a) was born in the State,
(b) subject to subsection (2), is of good character,
(c) has had a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State immediately before the date of the application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to two years, and
(d) subject to subsection (3), has, before a judge of the District Court in open court, in a citizenship ceremony or in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons allows—
(i) made a declaration, in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and
(ii) undertaken, in the prescribed manner, to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.
(2) Where a minor is under 14 years of age on the date of his or her application under this section for a certificate of naturalisation, the condition at paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall apply to him or her only where he or she—
(a) is charged with, and is awaiting trial for, or
(b) is or has been convicted of,
murder, manslaughter, rape, rape under section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 or aggravated sexual assault within the meaning of section 3 of that Act.
(3) The condition at paragraph (d) of subsection (1) shall not apply to a minor who is under 14 years of age on the date of the application for a certificate of naturalisation.
(4) The Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, waive the conditions at paragraph (b) or (d), or both, of subsection (1) in respect of a minor who is 14 years of age or over on the date of the application for a certificate of naturalisation, if the Minister considers it appropriate to do so having regard to the particular circumstances of the minor concerned.
(5) An application under this section in respect of a minor shall be made on behalf of the minor by his or her parent or guardian, or by a person who is in loco parentis to him or her.]
Section 15C provides how the calculation of continuous residence is carried out for the purposes of the act.
15C.— (1) When calculating a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State for the purposes of section 15 or 15B, the periods specified in subsection (3) during which—
(a) an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation under section 15, or
(b) a minor (in this section referred to as a “minor applicant”) in respect of whom an application for a certificate of naturalisation is made under section 15B,
was not present in the State shall be reckoned as a period of residence in the State.
(2) When calculating a period of one year’s continuous residence in the island of Ireland for the purposes of section 15A, the periods specified in subsection (3) during which an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation under that section was not present in the island of Ireland shall, subject to subsection (4), be reckoned as a period of residence in the island of Ireland.
(3) The following periods are specified for the purposes of subsections (1) and (2):
(a) a period not exceeding, or periods the aggregate of which do not exceed, 70 days, and
(b) an additional period not exceeding, or such additional periods the aggregate of which do not exceed, 30 days, where the Minister is satisfied that the person’s not being present in the State or in the island of Ireland, as the case may be, during such additional period or periods was necessitated by—
(i) in the case of a minor applicant, exceptional circumstances relating to the minor applicant, or the person who made the application on his or her behalf, or both, and
(ii) in any other case, exceptional circumstances relating to the person.
(4) Where section 15A(4) applies to an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation, the periods specified in subsection (3) shall be in addition to any period of residence outside the island of Ireland referred to in section 15A(4).
(5) In this section—
“day” does not include part of a day;
“exceptional circumstances”, in relation to a person not being in the State or the island of Ireland, means one or more of the following:
(a) the family or personal circumstances of the person;
(b) the health requirements of the person or of a family member of the person;
(c) requirements arising out of, or in the course of, the employment, trade or profession of the person;
(d) requirements in pursuance of a course of study or a professional qualification of the person;
(e) any voluntary service by the person for humanitarian purposes;
(f) such other circumstances resulting in the person’s not being present in the State or in the island of Ireland, as the case may be, as the Minister considers to be outside the control of the person;
“family member”, in relation to a person, means—
(a) the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the person,
(b) a child, step-child, son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the person,
(c) a parent, step-parent, mother-in-law or father-in-law of the person,
(d) a brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, half-brother or half-sister of the person,
(e) a grandparent or grandchild of the person, or
(f) an aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the person.]
The good character requirement for naturalisation is an important one and giving untrue answers to questions on the online application form is an offence and may result in the application being refused or revoked.
The applicant for naturalisation must also intend in good faith to reside in the State after naturalisation.
Section 6 of the act deals with citizenship by birth in the island of Ireland and section 6A deals with entitlement to Irish citizenship of persons born to certain non-nationals.
Irish citizenship can also be obtained through Foreign Birth Registration by a person with a grandparent born in any part of Ireland.
Section 19 of Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 deals with revocation of certificates of naturalisation.
Revocation of certificates of naturalisation.
19. —(1) The Minister may revoke a certificate of naturalisation if he is satisfied—
(a) that the issue of the certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation whether innocent or fraudulent, or concealment of material facts or circumstances, or
(b) that the person to whom it was granted has, by any overt act, shown himself to have failed in his duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, or
(c) that (except in the case of a certificate of naturalisation which is issued to a person of Irish descent or associations) the person to whom it is granted has been ordinarily F52[resident outside the State or, in the case of an application for a certificate of naturalisation granted under section 15A, resident outside the island of Ireland] (otherwise than in the public service) for a continuous period of seven years and without reasonable excuse has not during that period registered annually in the prescribed manner his name and a declaration of his intention to retain Irish citizenship with an Irish diplomatic mission or consular office or with the Minister, or
(d) that the person to whom it is granted is also, under the law of a country at war with the State, a citizen of that country, or
(e) that the person to whom it is granted has by any voluntary F53[act, other than marriage or entry into a civil partnership,] acquired another citizenship.
(2) F54[…]
(3) F54[…]
(4) Where there is entered in a certificate of naturalisation granted to a person under the Act of 1935 the name of any child of that person, such entry shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to be a certificate of naturalisation under the Act of 1935.
(5) A certificate of naturalisation granted or deemed under subsection (4) to have been granted under the Act of 1935 may be revoked in accordance with the provisions of this section and, upon such revocation, the person concerned shall cease to be an Irish citizen.
(6) Notice of the revocation of a certificate of naturalisation shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil.
Duty to give reasons for refusal
The Minister has a great deal of discretion when it comes to applications for naturalisation. It was thought that the absolute discretion afforded to the Minister meant he/she was not obliged to give reasons for refusal.
That position has been changed by the decision of the Supreme Court in Mallack v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform [2012] IESC 52.
Useful resources
The INIS has now introduce a scorecard system regarding the proofs and information needed to establish an applicant’s identity and residency in the State.
Take a look at the Citizenship Guidance Document here.
Here is a useful Citizenship Guidance Document provided by the Department of Justice.
Here is the link to the Department of Justice website page which deals with citizenship applications.