Becoming an Irish citizen through marriage

Information

If you are a foreign national who is married to an Irish citizen, you may be able to become an Irish citizen if you meet certain conditions. Foreign nationals married to Irish citizens can apply for citizenship through naturalisation. The conditions relating to residence are more favourable than those for people who are not married to Irish citizens but there is no longer an absolute entitlement to citizenship through marriage. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has discretion to grant or refuse your application.

Up to 29 November 2005, it was possible to become an Irish citizen by making a post-nuptial declaration of citizenship (pdf) but this scheme has now ended.

Rules

If you are the spouse of an Irish citizen who is applying for Irish citizenship you must meet the following conditions:

• You must be married to 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
• You must have been living on the island of Ireland for at least 2 of the 4 years before that year of continuous residence
• Your marriage must be recognised as valid under Irish law
• You and your spouse must be living together as husband and wife
• You must be of full age, good character and intend to continue to live on the island of Ireland
• You must have made a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State.

Certain periods of residence do not count for the purpose of reckonable residence, for example, periods when you did not have permission to remain in Ireland, or you were here on a student visa, or you were seeking asylum.

The application process is the same as for becoming a citizen through naturalisation. There are, however, more favourable residence requirements than those for foreign nationals who are not married to Irish citizens. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has discretion to grant or refuse your application.

If you have previously been married and divorced

You can only claim citizenship by marriage if your current marriage is a valid marriage under Irish law.

You are not free to enter a second marriage unless, at the time of your second marriage, your previous marriage had been terminated by:

• The death of your first husband or wife
• A divorce that would be recognised under Irish law.

A divorce granted by an Irish court will be recognised as having terminated your previous marriage. If your freedom to enter your current marriage was based on an earlier marriage terminated by a divorce, and that divorce was not obtained in Ireland, you will need to find out whether that divorce is one that would be recognised under Irish law.

You will be required to present documentation showing the validity of your current marriage, which would include documentation showing the validity of any previous divorce.

Processing your application for citizenship

You will be informed by registered post when the decision is made on your application. If your application is approved, the letter notifying you of the decision will contain instructions about final procedures that must be completed before the certificate of naturalisation can be issued. 

A certificate of naturalisation confirming your Irish citizenship will normally be issued within 30 days of the letter informing you of the decision.  From 1 August 2008 the fee is €950 which you pay when the certificate of naturalisation is issued.

You can apply for an Irish passport following the confirmation of your Irish citizenship and the receipt of your citizenship certificate.

Rates

From 1 August 2008 the fee is €950 which is paid when the certificate of naturalisation is issued.

How to apply

You apply using Form 8 (pdf) which is available from the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS). The guidance note that accompanies the form gives full details about how to complete it. There is an important notice about applying for a certificate of naturalisation on the INIS website.

The supporting documents required include evidence of your identity and nationality (birth certificate and passport). You will also need to produce documents relating to your status and the duration of your stay in the State, such as your Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) card, declaration of refugee status.

As your application for naturalisation is based on your marriage to an Irish citizen, you will need to produce the documents needed to show your spouse’s status and evidence of your marital status (for example, birth or naturalisation certificate of Irish spouse, marriage certificate). In the application form your spouse must complete a sworn affidavit that you are living together as husband and wife.

As well as these documents, you must produce documents relevant to your financial and employment status (payslips for the previous 3 months, bank statements for the previous 3 months) and confirmation of your income tax situation.

You should only send copies of the above documents with your application form. The copies of birth, marriage and divorce certificates must be certified copies. Certified copies are photocopies of original documents which are made and certified by a solicitor, notary public, Commissioner for Oaths or Peace Commissioner. You will be expected to produce the original documents for inspection at a later stage during the examination of your application.

The information in your application form will be checked against the supporting documentation and any inaccuracy will lead to delays in ruling on your application.

You should not sign the form until you are in the presence of the person who must witness you signing it. The application form contains instructions about who is eligible to be a witness.

Where to apply