THE HIGH COURT has ruled that nobody can be granted Irish citizenship if they have spent a single day outside the country in the past year.The unexpected judgment, handed down by Mr Justice Max Barrett, could affect thousands of people applying for Irish citizenship on the basis of residence in the country.Experts called the ruling “absurd”, pointing out that the law on citizenship has never been interpreted so strictly before.Under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, foreign nationals wishing to naturalise as Irish have to be legally resident in the State for at least five years out of the last nine (or three out of the last five if married to an Irish citizen).This includes one year of “continuous residence” in the 12 months up to the date of application.In practice, the Department of Justice and Equality had been allowing citizenship applicants to be out of the country for up to six weeks in that final year, and “possibly more in exceptional or unavoidable circumstances”.But Mr Justice Max Barrett ruled this six-week rule goes “beyond what is legally permissible in this regard, because… the Act of 1956 does not confer any discretionary power on the Minister”.Pointing to the dictionary definition of “continuous”, the judge held that “an applicant must show a one-year period of residence in Ireland that is ‘unbroken, uninterrupted, connected throughout in space or time’”.Immigration lawyer Aoife Gillespie said the effect of the decision is that “an applicant must literally never leave the State [in those 12 months]. Generally, one can apply for citizenship …
Because his grandfather moved to Syria as a Palestinian refugee in 1948, Ziad is not a Syrian citizen, but has a Syrian travel document. It highlights for me the value of living in a country whose political system prioritises compromise over division, and a country where most people see the value of working with their neighbours. There are lots of other reasons why this feels like home now, and why I’ll be proud to be given Irish citizenship, but right now, looking at what’s happening in the UK, that’s a pretty powerful one.”Because his spouse is Irish, Stebbing needed only three years of documentation, but, as well as the basics, including any passports in his 23 years here, he needed a marriage cert, an employer’s letter, bank and mortgage statements, P60s, bills for three years; some documents had to be witnessed.He applied in June 2018. Citizenship can be acquired by birth, or descent, or through naturalisation, but aspiring citizens must apply and undergo a process that can take just a few months, but in rare cases can last years.The process of becoming an Irish citizen got even more complicated on July 17th, when the High Court ruled that one year’s “continuous residence” was required before applying for citizenship. This site uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide services and advertising. A senior manager in Inis says there has been a tenfold increase in applications from Britain, but this from a very low base. Please enter your email address so we can send you a link to reset your password. Read the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts for a complete description of citizenship by naturalisation. His circumstances are complicated. I was filming every time there was confrontation’ 10 ways to prepare, present and save thousands when selling your homeHow a Victorian villa came back to family life with clever design detailsHow helping others is helping us power through the pandemic
Housam Ziad and Suad Al Darra: ‘We are lucky to live in Ireland but the visa situation is making us feel frustrated, isolated and alone.’ Photograph: Aidan Crawley for The Irish TimesCitizenship ceremonies are generally moving and upbeat events, where 3,000 new citizens swear an oath of fidelity to Ireland, but the path to that happy moment can be fraught and confusing.Citizens have a range of rights, may hold an Irish passport and can vote in all referendums and elections.