Documents Needed to Apply for Irish Dual Citizenship
LIST OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO APPLY FOR DUAL CITIZENSHIP WITH IRELAND
For many Americans, Ireland can be the country with the most direct path to acquire dual citizenship. Eligibility laws are clear, although not the most simple to navigate. Ireland has fairly lenient laws recognizing that any individual who can prove their Irish heritage back to their grandparents, and in some cases great-grandparents, may be eligible for Irish citizenship.
Many people desire to connect with their ancestral roots and celebrate generations of Irish heritage. Holding an Irish passport allows you to freely travel, work, and study throughout the 27 EU member countries as well as access to Ireland’s public healthcare and high-quality education.
The first step is to ensure you qualify and meet all of the Irish dual citizenship requirements as required by law.
If one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland, and you and your parent were born outside Ireland, you can apply for citizenship with the Foreign Births Register. Also, if one of your parents was not born in Ireland but had become an Irish citizen prior to your birth through the Foreign Births Register or through naturalization, you can register with the Foreign Births Register.
Alternatively, if you or either one of your parents was born in Ireland, you are automatically an Irish citizen and don’t need to register with the Foreign Births Register.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the documents needed to apply for Irish dual citizenship:
Assembling the Documents Needed for Irish Citizenship
In order to ensure the best chance of approval, you should know the importance of accuracy with Irish dual citizenship required documents.
With this in mind, vital records such as marriage, birth or death certificates must be provided in long-form only and original, unless otherwise stated.
But what exactly are the documents needed for Irish citizenship?
Checklist for the Irish Dual Citizenship Documents
The following documents must be included in the application for you (or your child if you are applying on their behalf):
Documents relating to the applicant:
- A completed, signed, and witnessed application form
- Your original civil birth certificate (showing parental details). This might need to be translated into English if it is in a foreign language.
- Your original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)
- A certified photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers license, national identity card)
- 2 separate original proofs of address. If you are applying on behalf of a child, you must also include a letter from the child’s school or doctor.
- 4 color passport-sized photographs (2 of which to be witnessed) – do not attach these to the application form
In addition, documents relating to the Irish ancestor that proves your lineage (parent or grandparent):
- The original civil birth certificate of the Irish citizen parent and grandparent
- The original civil marriage certificate of Irish citizen parent and grandparent (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)
- A certified photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers license, national identity card) OR an original civil death certificate (if applicable)
If you are applying because your grandparent was born in Ireland, you must include the documents listed above for both your grandparent and Irish parent.
Additional documents (if applicable):
If your parent became an Irish citizen through:
- Naturalization: original naturalization certificate
- The Foreign Births Register: original Foreign Birth Registration certificate
- Post-nuptial declaration: original post-nuptial citizenship certificate
- Adoption (for parent born abroad): original adoption certificate and adoption order
Applying with siblings
If you are applying simultaneously with your brothers or sisters, you can send your applications together in one envelope. You can use the same original documents for the Irish citizen you are applying through. You should include a letter explaining that you want the documents to be used for all the applications.
Please note that these documents must be originals and cannot be photocopied. Depending on the case, you might also require a certified translation.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Having your form and photograph witnessed
Submitting your application with all the required paperwork is not enough; it must also be witnessed. This is to certify that a person is witnessing you sign your form and can verify your identity.
You must sign the printed copy of your application form in front of the witness. The witness will also sign and verify your passport photos as a true copy of the original. If you are applying on behalf of a child, you must submit passport photos of both you and the child.
You should use the same witness for both the form and the photographs.
The witness can be one of the following, who is personally known to you, and currently practicing in their profession:
- Garda Síochána/ Police Officer
- School Principal/ Vice Principal/ Teacher/ School Secretary/ Pre-school Manager/ Montessori Teacher/ Lecturer
- Member of Clergy
- Medical Doctor
- Nurse
- Physiotherapist
- Speech Therapist
- Pharmacist
- Dentist
- Lawyer
- Notary Public/ Commissioner for Oaths
- Peace Commissioner
- Bank Manager/ Assistant Bank Manager or Credit Union Manager or Assistant Manager
- Accountant
- Elected Public Representative
- Vet
- Chartered Engineer
The role of the witness is to:
- Sign and verify the passport photos. Four photos are submitted in total, two of which must be verified.
- Certify that the copy of your state-issued identification is a true copy.
- Stamp the form with their official stamp or send a business card if the witness does not have an official stamp, and add their occupation, address and telephone number, or include their professional register reference number, if applicable.
The witness is not required to give a copy of ID or passport, as long as they have provided their contact details and verified your documents with their official work stamp, then this should suffice.
NEXT STEPS: IRISH FOREIGN BIRTH REGISTRY & IRISH PASSPORT
Submitting to the Irish Foreign Birth Registry
After compiling all necessary documents, you will submit them via the Irish Foreign Birth Registry website, along with their online form. Forgetting a document or sending one with errors can cause delays in your application. Once you have filled out the online form, you must print it and sign it before a witness. The next step will require you to pay a fee. It is €278 for adults and €158 for children.
You will send your application to the address printed on the top right-hand corner of your application form. In most cases this will be the Foreign Birth Registration Department in Dublin.
Obtain your Irish birth certificate
The current processing time of applications is 9 months. Once your application is approved, you will receive an Irish birth certificate. This will recognize your Irish citizenship and allow you to apply for an Irish passport.
Please take special care to ensure your citizenship application includes correct and accurate information. If you need assistance in learning how to apply for dual citizenship in Ireland, contact us and we can assist you with the dual citizenship process.
This page was last updated with the help of Marco Permunian
