This is the fourth and final part in a series of articles by Grace Dowling on acquiring Irish citizenship. You can also read part 1 on eligibility, part 2 on the application form, and part 3 on witnessing. This article examines what happens after your naturalisation application is successfully approved by the Minister.

If your naturalisation application is successful, you will be sent a letter advising you of the Minister’s decision to grant you a certificate of citizenship. In order to receive the certificate, you will be required to pay the prescribed certification fee, which is as follows:

  • €950 for adults
  • €200 for minors or widows / widowers

It is worth noting that if you are a recognised refugee or stateless person, then you will not be required to pay the certification fee. If that is not the case, then you must pay the prescribed fee via a bank draft drawn from an Irish bank and made payable to “Secretary General, Department of Justice.” 

In addition to paying the certification fee, before you receive your certificate of citizenship, you will be required to send some final documents to the Department of Justice (as detailed in the letter notifying you of the success of your application). Typically, these documents include your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) or GNIB card, and passport-sized photos for your certificate.

Unless you are a minor, you will then be required to attend a citizenship ceremony, during which you must make a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the state. It is at this ceremony that you will actually receive your citizenship certificate; for minors, however, since they are not required to attend citizenship ceremonies, they can expect to receive their certificates by post.

From the date that your certificate is issued, so long as your certificate remains unrevoked, you will be considered an Irish citizen and as such entitled to certain privileges such as applying to receive an Irish passport. The Minister may only revoke a certificate of citizenship if they are sure of any of the following circumstances:

  • That the certificate is fraudulent and / or contains untrue or incomplete information.
  • The recipient has, by any overt act, failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation or loyalty to the state. 
  • The recipient has resided ordinarily outside of Ireland for a continuous period of seven years and without reasonable excuse has not during that period registered annually in the prescribed manner their declaration of their intent to retain Irish citizenship with an Irish diplomatic mission or consular office, or with the Minister. The only exception to this circumstance is in the case that the recipient has attained citizenship through having Irish descent or associations.
  • The recipient is simultaneously also a lawful citizen of a country that the state of Ireland is presently at war with.
  • The recipient has by any voluntary act other than marriage acquired another citizenship.

If the Minister intends to revoke your certificate of citizenship (thereby rendering you no longer a citizen of Ireland), you will receive notice from the Minister stating this intention as well as the grounds of revocation and the right that you have to apply to the Minister for an inquiry based on the reasons for revocation. In that case, if you seek out such an inquiry, the Minister will refer the case to a committee of inquiry consisting of a chairman having judicial experience and other persons as the Minister may see fit. The findings of such an inquiry would then be reported by that committee to the Minister.

The risk of revocation can be avoided by ensuring that your naturalisation application and the procuring of your citizenship certificate are done in the correct manner, which we at Fitzsimons Redmond LLP, would be more than happy to assist with.

The above is provided for information purposes and is not intended as legal advice. We, at Fitzsimons Redmond LLP, would be happy to talk to you about your application for Irish citizenship. Please contact us on 01-676 3257 or email lisa@fitzsimonsredmond.ie.

By Grace Dowling

Legal Assistant at Fitzsimons Redmond LLP