Irish Citizenship

Naturalisation is the process through which a foreign national living in Ireland may apply to become an Irish citizen. To apply for naturalisation in Ireland, you must have been physically resident in Ireland for a certain length of time.

All applications to become a naturalised Irish citizen are decided by the Minister for Justice and Equality. The Minister has absolute discretion as to whether or not to grant naturalisation. There are strict rules about applying for naturalisation as an Irish citizen. The Applicant must be 18 years or older (you must be married if you are under the age of 18) or, be a minor born in the State (from 1 January 2005) and, be of good character - the Garda Síochána (Ireland's national police) will be asked to provide a report about your background. Any criminal record or ongoing proceedings will be taken into consideration by the Minister for Justice and Equality in deciding whether or not to grant naturalisation. Details of any proceedings, criminal or civil, in the State or elsewhere, should be disclosed in the application form, and;Have had a period of 365 days* (1 year) continuous reckonable residence in the State immediately before the date of your application for naturalisation and, during the 8 years preceding that, have had a total reckonable residence in the State amounting to 1,460 days* (4 years). Altogether you must have 5 years (5 x 365 days*) reckonable residence out of the last 9 years.

If you are a foreign national who is the spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen, you may be able to become an Irish citizen if you meet certain conditions. Foreign nationals married to or in a civil partnership with Irish citizens can apply for citizenship through naturalisation The application process is the same as for foreign nationals who are not the spouses or civil partners of Irish citizens but there are more favorable residence requirements. The Minister for Justice and Equality has discretion to grant or refuse your application.  

If you are the spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen who is applying for Irish citizenship, you must meet the following conditions. 

You must be married to or in a recognised civil partnership* with the Irish citizen for at least 3 years. You must have had a period of 1 year's continuous reckonable residence - in the island of Ireland immediately before the date of your application, and during the 4 years preceding that, have had a total reckonable residence in the island of Ireland amounting to 2 years. Altogether you must have a total of 3 years reckonable residence out of the last 5 years. Your marriage or civil partnership must be recognised as valid under Irish law. You and your spouse or civil partner must be living together as a married couple or civil partners. You must be of full age, good character and intend to continue to live on the island of Ireland.