Things to know and consider if you are thinking of applying for an Irish passport
IF you or your parents were born in Ireland, or if you were adopted in Ireland, you may be an Irish citizen by birth.
If you are not entitled to Irish citizenship by birth, you may be able to become an Irish citizen by registering your birth on the Foreign Births Register, or by applying for naturalisation.
The following table may help to explain the situation:
Do I have a right to Irish citizenship based on other Irish ancestors?
Unless at least one parent or an Irish-born grandparent was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, you have no automatic right to Irish citizenship on the basis of extended previous ancestry (that is, ancestors other than your parents or grandparents).
In addition, you cannot claim Irish citizenship on the basis that a relation such as a cousin, aunt or uncle was an Irish citizen if none of your parents or grandparents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth.
You can, however, apply for citizenship based on Irish associations, which is at the discretion of the Minister.
Irish association means that you are related by blood or through adoption to an Irish citizen.
If you are considering making an application based on Irish descent or association, you should note the following:
You should have a reasonable period of legal residence in Ireland (at least 3 years) to show that you have a connection to Ireland.
Applications based on descent from an Irish citizen going further back than a great-grandparent are generally refused.
Applications based on being the parent or grandparent of an Irish citizen (by ‘ascent’), or the brother or sister of an Irish citizen are generally refused.
Applications based on Irish descent or associations can take up to 30 months to process.
