Information on Naturalisation/Irish Citizenship

Naturalisation is a process whereby a foreign national can apply to become an Irish citizen. An application for a certificate of naturalisation will be considered under the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956, as amended. The Act provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, in his absolute discretion, grant an application for a certificate of naturalisation provided certain statutory conditions are fulfilled. The granting of Irish Citizenship through naturalisation is a privilege and an honour and not an entitlement.

Information leaflet No. 3: Information on becoming an Irish Citizen through Naturalisation

Disclaimer

The Laws governing citizenship in Ireland are set out in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2004 (Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (No. 26 of 1956) as amended by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1986 (No. 23 of 1986), the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1994 (No. 9 of 1994) and the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001 (No. 15 of 2001) and the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 (No. 38 of 2004). The purpose of this leaflet is to provide general information on the provisions of those laws which are currently in force and on your entitlement, if any, to Irish citizenship.

This leaflet is not a legal interpretation

 Contents:

  1.  What is naturalisation and who can be naturalised? 
  2.  How do I go about making an application? 
  3.  What happens to my application when I lodge it?
  4.  Fees. 
  5.  Frequently asked questions about naturalisation. 
  6.  Useful Contacts. 

For full text, see Irish Citizenship Information Leaflet No.3 Updated 07/04/09 (106 KB PDF)   This document is a pdf 

(updated March 2009)