Major changes to Irish citizenship have been proposed.

These changes are not yet law. The legislation is still being drafted and must pass through the Oireachtas before coming into effect.

The Irish Refugee Council strongly opposes these changes and is urging Government to reconsider. 

Key proposed changes:

• Increase the qualifying periods of reckonable residence from 5 to 8 years for most applicants. For refugees, this would be 8 years from the grant of status (the minister letter)
• Introduce language tests in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language, and an Irish civics, society and politics test; and
• Ensure applicants for citizenship by naturalisation are financially self-sufficient
  

We do not yet know when the changes may be implemented, therefore we encourage anyone who is currently eligible, to apply for naturalisation as soon as possible.

Below please find some information and guidance on the current process and rules.

Current rules - Reckonable residence

Under the current rules, If you hold refugee status, subsidiary protection or permission to remain, you must have held your stamp 4 status for 5 years, to be eligible to apply.

The 5 years must include at least one full year of continuous residence immediately prior to applying:

This means you must not have been outside of Ireland for more than 70 days in the 12 months immediately before your application date. An additional 30 days may be allowed in rare and exceptional circumstances.

Current rules - How to apply

You can find a full guide on how to apply for citizenship here

Exceptions for refugees

Refugees apply for citizenship in the same way as any other migrant, however they are a couple of key exceptions when it comes to documentation provision. 

• Passports
  Refugees are not required to submit a national passport as part of their application. They may submit a passport affidavit instead.

The affidavit must be signed by a solicitor, notary public, commissioner for oaths or peace commissioner

• Residency Documents for Refugees
  If you are or were living in IPAS accommodation, you can email IPAS and ask them to provide written confirmation you are/were residing in IPAS accommodation.

For more details on the exceptions, please read this section of the guide carefully.

Further information or support with applying

The Irish Refugee Council does have experience supporting people with submitting naturalisation applications.

If you have questions about the process or need support we suggest you get in touch with one of the following organisations:

Citizens information
New Communities Partnership - they charge a fee for supporting with the application
Crosscare migrant project
MRCI
Immigrant Council of Ireland