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Irish nationality law

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A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent (heredity), marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalization. Rules are currently based on the Constitution (amended in 2004) and on the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts of 1956, 1986, 1994, 2001 and 2004.

The situation is complicated by the fact that residents of Northern Ireland, who under British nationality law are mostly British Citizens, are also entitled to citizenship on a similar basis as residents of the Republic. The only difference is that those born in the Republic who are Irish Citizen by birth, achieve this citizenship automatically; those from Northern Ireland need to specifically declare themselves to be Irish Citizens in order to be so, unless they have parents or grandparents who are already Irish Citizens.

The resident population of the Republic of Ireland, at just under four million, represents perhaps only half the number of Irish citizens, or those eligible for citizenship. As well as the 1.68 million people of Northern Ireland, a further 1.2 million Irish citizens born in Ireland live abroad. There are a further 1.8 million Irish citizens overseas who were not born in Ireland, but whose status derives primarily from birth to an Irish-born parent, or from registration as an Irish citizen in the Foreign Births Register in the case of those with a grandparent born in Ireland.

The Irish diaspora, which includes descendants of 19th-century famine emigres, is estimated at 80 million. These are not, on the whole, Irish citizens.


Naturalization as an Irish Citizen

Irish Citizenship through naturalization is at the discretion of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and is based on a number of complex conditions.

In principle the residence requirement is three years if married to an Irish citizen, and five years otherwise. For those not married to Irish citizens, residence must be in the Republic of Ireland, while for spouses of Irish citizens, residence in Northern Ireland can also count.

The definition of "reckonable residence" depends on whether the applicant is a British citizen, a citizen of another EEA state or Switzerland, or a non-EEA national. For non-EEA and Swiss nationals, time spent in Ireland as a student or an asylum seeker is not counted as "reckonable residence". Details.

Exemptions to the residence requirements

At the discretion of the Minister it is possible for some or all of the naturalisation requirements to be reduced or waived in certain cases, including persons who are:

  • "recognised refugees"
  • stateless
  • resident overseas in the public service
  • of 'Irish descent or Irish associations'

Revocation of a Naturalisation Certificate

Naturalisation may be revoked by the Minister in cases of fraud or in times of war. Other circumstances in which an Irish citizen by naturalisation can lose his citizenship are:

  • residence outside the Republic of Ireland for a period exceeding seven years without registering annually an intention to retain Irish citizenship
  • acquisition of another citizenship other than by marriage

These provisions are not automatic and require Ministerial action. As of August 2005, figures are not available on the extent to which these powers are used.

Irish Citizenship by Marriage

Married before 30 November 2002

Citizenship may be acquired through marriage to an Irish citizen through the process of Post Nuptial Citizenship irrespective of where the couple reside. The conditions are as follows:

  • application is submitted on or before 29 November 2005
  • the marriage has been in place for 3 years
  • the Irish spouse has held Irish citizenship for at least 3 years
  • the Irish spouse is not a naturalised Irish citizen, an Irish citizen on the basis of a previous marriage, or an Irish citizen by virtue of an honorary grant

Where these requirements are not met, it is generally necessary to apply for naturalisation after a period of 3 years resident in Ireland or Northern Ireland. Details.

Married after 30 November 2002

Citizenship must be aquired through the normal naturalisation process. The residence requirement is reduced from 5 years to 3 for the spouse of an Irish citizen.

Irish Citizenship by Descent (Heredity)

Citizenship is automatic for the children of an Irish-born citizen regardless of where they are born. Grand-children of Irish-born citizens may become Irish citizens following registration at an Irish consulate. This clause is commonly known as Foreign Births Registration or, colloquially, the grandparent rule.

Children born outside Ireland or Northern Ireland to naturalised Irish citizens, or Irish citizens by marriage, can also acquire Irish citizenship this way, provided the Irish parent acquired citizenship before they were born.

Irish citizenship acquired by Foreign Birth Registration is effective only from the date of registration. For those registered on or before 30 June 1986, Irish citizenship is deemed to be effective from the date of birth, or 17 July 1956 if the person was born before that date.

There is no specific rule preventing the third, fourth or subsequent generations born overseas from acquiring Irish citizenship provided the parent registers as an Irish citizen before the child is born. Otherwise the only way to get Irish citizenship for the child will be to move to Ireland and subsequently apply for the child to be naturalised after a period of residence in the country.

Details.

Irish Citizenship by Birth

Born in 2004 or earlier

Those born on the island of Ireland on or before 31 December 2004 are generally automatically Irish citizens, or entitled to be so.

Born in 2005 or later

For those born on 1 January 2005 or later to be entitled to Irish citizenship by birth at least one parent must be:

  • an Irish citizen (or entitled to be an Irish citizen); or
  • a British citizen; or
  • a permanent resident of either Ireland or the United Kingdom; or
  • legally resident in Ireland for three out of the 4 years preceding the child's birth. 'Reckonable residence' for this purpose generally mirrors the rules for naturalisation.

Details.

Naturalisation of Non-Citizen Children

Those born in the Republic of Ireland in 2005 or later who are not Irish citizens by birth may be able to become naturalised Irish citizens later. Usually will apply where the parents subsequently become naturalised citizens, or where the child meets the normal residence requirement and a parent applies on his or her behalf.

Stateless Children

Where an Irish born child is stateless (does not have the citizenship of any other country) the Minister has the power to waive the residence requirement for a certificate of naturalisation.

Children of Diplomats

Children of diplomats born in Ireland or Northern Ireland before 2005 are entitled to Irish citizenship.

For those born in 2005 or later there is no entitlement to Irish citizenship unless:

  • the parents are British diplomats; or
  • the parents are diplomats accredited to the United Kingdom and not the Republic of Ireland. This may include some consular officials based in Northern Ireland.

Irish Citizenship by Adoption

The rules depend on whether an adoption was completed in the Republic of Ireland or elsewhere.

Irish Adoptions

Under s11 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 where an Irish citizen adopts a child under the Adoption Act 1952 the child acquires Irish citizenship automatically.

Foreign Adoptions

Recognition of foreign adoptions under Irish law is based mainly on the Adoption Act 1991 (amended in 1998). The interaction of adoption and citizenship law is complex and no parent with an adopted child should assume their child has Irish citizenship unless the child has been issued with a full validity Irish passport or citizenship certificate. Adoption Act 1991

Honorary Grant of Irish Citizenship

Section 12 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 allows the President, on advice of the Government, to:

... grant Irish citizenship as a token of honour to a person, or the child or grandchild of a person who, in the opinion of the Government, has done signal honour or rendered distinguished service to the nation.

Although known as honorary Irish citizenship this is in fact legally a full form of citizenship, with entitlement to an Irish passport and the other rights of Irish citizenship on the same basis as a naturalised Irish citizen.

Among the people who have had honorary Irish citizenship conferred on them are [1]:

Passports for Investments

Between 1988 and 1996 Irish citizenship was awarded to foreign national who invested large sums in Ireland. Under the scheme, known as "passports for investments", 143 people became Irish citizens in return for a total investment of IR£90m (€114m). There was a good deal of press critisim of the scheme and it's implementation [2] [3]. One particularly scandalous incident occurred when then Taoiseach Charles Haughey handed over 11 Irish passports to Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz at a dinner party. The Sheikh is a brother-in-law to Osama Bin Laden [4]. Also in the news is Viktor Kozney who is wanted extradition to the US on fraud charges. He holds 6 Irish passports. [5] [6]

The scheme operated under section 15 of the 1956 Act, using a loose interpretation of the "Irish Associations" provision which was tightened up in the 2004 constitutional amendment.

Loss and Resumption of Irish Citizenship

Under current Irish law there is no provision for an Irish citizen by birth, descent or marriage to lose that status involuntarily.

Irish citizenship may only be lost by:

  • formal reunciation under Irish law (a renunciation made to other authorities, such as the US naturalisation oath is not valid); or
  • revocation of a naturalisation certificate

A former Irish citizen who was born in Ireland or Northern Ireland may resume Irish citizenship by declaration. Other former Irish citizens must qualify for naturalisation should they wish to recover their citizenship.

Passport

Ireland does not currently issue any official form of national ID other than a passport. An Irish Passport is designed in the standard EU model, with a machine readable ID page at the back and either 32 or 48 visa pages. The cover bears the harp, the national symbol of Ireland, along with the words European Union and Ireland in both English and Irish. The first page has the following inscription in Irish and English:

Iarrann Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha na hÉireann ar gach n-aon lena mbaineann ligean dá shealbhóir seo, saoránach d'Éirinn, gabháil ar aghaidh gan bhac gan chosc agus gach cúnamh agus caomhnú is gá a thabhairt don sealbhóir.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland requests all whom it may concern to allow the bearer, a citizen of Ireland, to pass freely and without hindrance and to afford the bearer all necessary assistance and protection.

All Irish citizens have a constitutional right to an Irish passport. Passports are generally valid for 10 years. Children and retired people may also apply for a cheaper 3 year passport.

Northern Ireland

Due to varying allegiences, people in Northern Ireland consider themselves to be, amongst other things, British, Irish or a mixture of both. Many people who feel primarily Irish use an Irish passport either in addition to, or instead of a British one. Indeed, some people of a Unionist persuasion use an Irish passport to enter countries which are more favourable to Ireland than to the United Kingdom.

Britain contains 869,000 Irish-born. In 1997 the number of Irish citizens in Britain - including those born in Britain to parents born in Ireland - was estimated by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in its White Paper on Foreign Policy at two million. Many of these British-born Irish citizens are not aware of their status as it is automatic from birth. Until 1949, all persons born in Ireland who wished to obtain a British passport were granted one by the British authorities.

Although most people in Northern Ireland are not legally Irish Citizens at birth, gaining Irish Citizenship is a formality for those born in Northern Ireland before 2005. Persons who move to Northern Ireland from elsewhere do not generally have an entitlement to Irish citizenship. Instead they may become naturalised British citizens after meeting normal UK residence and other requirements. Statistics for the number of Northern Irish residents who avail of this situation are not explicitly kept. However, 122,000 Irish passports were issued to residents of Northern Ireland between 1998-2003 [7] and a further 430,000 passports were issued by the Embassy of Ireland in London. An estimated two million residents of the Republic hold valid Irish passports.

Conversely, the British Embassy in Dublin issues 70,000 British passports each year to residents of the Republic [8].

Because of the reciprocal "non-alien" status of the two nationalities in each other's country, thus making it practically virtually irrelevant whether one holds Irish, British, or both, passports, the maintenance of British citizenship in the Republic of Ireland or Irish citizenship in the United Kingdom can be seen as largely a personal political statement. The only restrictions on British Citizens in the Republic is in voting, as they cannot participate in Presidential Elections or in referenda.

British Nationality and the Republic of Ireland

Main article: British nationality and the Republic of Ireland

Although the Irish Free State became independent from the United Kingdom in 1922, a comprehensive Irish nationality code was not created until 1935. While under United Kingdom law, Irish persons retained British nationality (in common with other Commonwealth nations) until 1949.

Persons from the Republic of Ireland do not have any special access to British citizenship. Those who do hold British citizenship will generally have that status because of their own birth or naturalisation in the United Kingdom, or by descent from a parent with that status.

The exception is that those born before 1949 in the Republic of Ireland are entitled to reclaim British subject status under section 31 of the British Nationality Act 1981. British subject status is a form of British nationality, but does not amount to British citizenship.

British subjects may register as British citizens after 5 years residence in the UK. Otherwise, Irish persons seeking to become British citizens are required to apply for naturalisation after 5 years resident in the UK, or three years if married to a British citizen.

A British born grandparent does not generally give rise to a claim to British citizenship. This is different from Irish law.

Mutual Citizenship Rights between the UK and Ireland

The Ireland Act 1949 is the most significant act in the United Kingdom that deals with Irish nationality recognition and has a number of effects in British law on employment, residence, voting and related law.

Residence

British and Irish citizens have the right to live in each other's country without formalities:

  • these rights predate the European Union free movement of labour provisions, and are more generous
  • for those wishing to acquire dual citizenship, naturalisation is generally possible after 5 years residence, or three if married to a citizen. Both countries have broadly similar criteria for naturalisation.

Ireland does not grant automatic residence rights to those with forms of British nationality other than British citizenship. For example, British Overseas citizens and British Nationals (Overseas) have no automatic residence or other rights under Irish law unless they first acquire British citizenship.

Voting

In the UK, the Representation of the People Act grants Irish citizens the right to vote and stand for Parliament without necessarily being British citizens. (This is also the case for Commonwealth Citizens who have the right to vote in all UK elections and may also stand for Parliament, e.g. a South African Citizen living in the UK may vote in all elections and may even become Prime Minister without being a British Citizen. Irish citizens have these rights in the UK even though Ireland is not a member of the Commonwealth.)

The Irish Nationality And Citizenship Act, passed by the Oireachtas in 1956, and the 1984 constitutional amendment, granted similar rights to UK citizens, with the exception of the right to vote for the President of Ireland or in national referenda. However British citizens do not have the right to stand for public office unless they become Irish citizens.

Irish diaspora

There are approximately 80 million people of Irish decent living abroad, forming the Irish diaspora. 1.2 million of these were born in Ireland [9], and further 3 million people are estimated to be eligible for citizenship through hereditary rules.

It is estimated that there are 2.72 million currently valid Irish passports in circulation. Entitlement to citizenship under Irish law is generous by comparison with citizenship law in other countries. It includes people married to Irish citizens for at least three years, grandchildren, and in some cases great-grandchildren, of people born in Ireland. It is estimated that about 705,000 passports were issued by Irish Embassies and Consulates abroad – about 430,000 by the Embassy of Ireland in London and about 275,000 by its other missions – and the remainder by the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork. [10]

Constitutional history

The legal concept of Irish citizenship originates from Article 3 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State:

Every person, without distinction of sex, domiciled in the area of the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) at the time of the coming into operation of this Constitution, who was born in Ireland or either of whose parents was born in Ireland or who has been ordinarily resident in the area of the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) for not less than seven years, is a citizen of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) and shall within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) enjoy the privileges and be subject to the obligations of such citizenship: Provided that any such person being a citizen of another State may elect not to accept the citizenship hereby conferred; and the conditions governing the future acquisition and termination of citizenship in the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) shall be determined by law. [11]

This is in contrast to the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty which spoke only of "common citizenship of Ireland with Great Britain" [12] This phrase was also included as part of the Oath of Allegiance (to the Constitution of the Irish Free State and of "faithfulness" to the British Crown), one of the factors leading to the Irish Civil War of 1922-23.

Notwithstanding the 1922 provisions, the British nationality legislation continued to apply to the Irish Free State - in common with the other Dominions such as Australia or Canada - until 1949 under British law. No comprehensive Irish citizenship legislation was enacted until the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1935 which repealed the British provisions under Irish law.

The 1937 Constitution's article 9 maintained previous citizenship simply: "On the coming into operation of this Constitution any person who was a citizen of Saorstát Éireann immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution shall become and be a citizen of Ireland..

The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 largely superseded the 1935 legislation, and for the first time, made Irish citizenship widely available in Northern Ireland.

The Ninth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, in 1984, allowed specific groups of non-citizens to vote in Dáil elections. The Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland in 1998, as part of the Belfast Agreement, changed Articles 2 and 3 from declaring a territorial claim over Northern Ireland:

Articles 2 and 3 (before)

2. The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas.
3. Pending the re-integration of the national territory, and without prejudice to the right of the Parliament and Government established by this Constitution to exercise jurisdiction over the whole of that territory, the laws enacted by that Parliament shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws of Saorstát Éireann and the like extra-territorial effect.

Articles 2 and 3 (after):

2. It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland. Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.
3.1. It is the firm will of the Irish nation, in harmony and friendship, to unite all the people who share the territory of the island of Ireland, in all the diversity of their identities and traditions, recognising that a united Ireland shall be brought about only by peaceful means with the consent of a majority of the people, democratically expressed, in both jurisdictions in the island. Until then, the laws enacted by the Parliament established by this Constitution shall have the like area and extent of application as the laws enacted by the Parliament that existed immediately before the coming into operation of this Constitution.
3.2. Institutions with executive powers and functions that are shared between those jurisdictions may be established by their respective responsible authorities for stated purposes and may exercise powers and functions in respect of all or any part of the island.

The introduction of this guarantee was largely intended to ensure that people from Northern Ireland would not be deprived of Irish citizenship. However after Article 2 was changed complaints started to be made that foreign asylum seekers and/or illegal immigrants were deliberately presenting themselves at hospitals in the Republic or in Northern Ireland in the late stages of pregnancy in order to secure citizenship for their children.

In January 2003 the Supreme Court added to this controversy by ruling that it was constitutional for the Government to deport the parents of children who were Irish citizens. In May 2004 the European Court of Justice ruled that a non-native mother whose child was born in Northern Ireland and thus acquired Irish citizenship had the right to live with her child in the United Kingdom. The implications of this ruling were that the parent of an Irish citizen who is still a child would have the right to reside anywhere in the European Union. The mother had been living in Wales and had been liable to deportation there but had travelled to Northern Ireland on legal advice to give birth.

The effect of the Twenty-seventh Amendment was not to immediately remove the right to citizenship by birth but rather that it would cease to be a constitutional right. After the amendment the right to citizenship by birth still existed in law and it remained for the Oireachtas (parliament) to pass ordinary legislation that would remove it. Furthermore the amendment did not remove the constitutional right to citizenship by birth from everyone. Today a constitutional right to citizenship still exists for anyone who is both:

  • Born on the island of Ireland (including its "isles and seas").
  • Born to at least one parent who is, or is entitled to be, an Irish citizen.

Under Subsection 2° no one who was already an Irish citizen before the amendment was adopted would have their citizenship taken away from them. It should be noted that, while the changes shown above are those made to the English language version of the constitution, constitutionally it is the Irish text that has precedence.

In 2004 Kenneth John Bigley, a British national and Civil Engineer working on reconstruction projects in Iraq was kidnapped and beheaded, along with Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, both U.S. citizens. Before his murder, numerous appeals were made by groups such as the Muslim Council of Britain and the UK government for his release. The Irish government became involved when it emerged that Bigley's mother Lil, 86 years old at the time of his kidnapping, was born in Dublin, which meant Bigley himself was an Irish citizen under Irish law. It was hoped this would aid his release, as Ireland did not participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Irish government went so far as to issue Bigley an Irish passport in absentia. This was possible because under Irish law, a person born to an Irish citizen born in Ireland is considered a citizen from birth. Irish Labour Party spokesman on foreign affairs Michael D. Higgins and Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams made appeals on al Jazeera, showing the passport. Mr Bigley was murdered on 7 October 2004 following a failed rescue attempt by British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) agents.

See also

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