Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Entitlement to Irish citizenship is determined by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, under which Irish citizenship may be obtained by birth, by descent, or by naturalisation.

If a person or their parent was born on the island of Ireland before 1 January 2005, they are an Irish citizen and they can apply for an Irish passport without making an application for citizenship.

My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR or naturalisation.

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, is a detailed and complex process, often involving official documentation relating to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Such documents take considerable time to validate.

FBR applications are currently being processed within the normal turnaround time of 8-9 months from receipt of all required supporting documents, a decrease in turnaround time of 75% from over two and a half years in 2022. Applications that require further supporting documents will take longer to process.

Further information on citizenship is available at my Department's website: www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/citizenship/

Information on naturalisation is available from the Department of Justice which has responsibility for that process.