Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 547: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a person in the advanced processing stages of a citizenship application may leave the State for a period of time to attend to a very seriously ill family member in their native country without jeopardising their application; the procedure such a person should follow to ensure their absence is registered as temporary rather than as a loss of residency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19939/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, requires that an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation has had a period of one year's continuous residence in the State immediately before the date of application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to four years. Applicants must also intend to have their usual or principal place of residence in the State after naturalisation.

Should the applicant fulfil the aforementioned criteria, his/her application will move to be processed. During the processing stage, while it may not be deemed prejudicial to the application should the applicant wish to leave the State for short periods, each case is considered individually. In circumstances where the person in question does wish to leave the State while his/her application is being processed, he/she should notify the Citizenship Section of my Department of the dates of travel and the reasons for same.