Country guide · Ireland

Irish citizenship by naturalisation: living in Ireland

Citizenship-by-Descent.com·Last reviewed November 2026

Educational information only — not legal advice. Always verify with the relevant authority, consulate or registry office.

If you’re not Irish but live in Ireland, you can apply to become an Irish citizen after 5 years of reckonable residence in the last 9, including a full year in Ireland right before you apply. There’s no language test today, it costs EUR 175 plus EUR 950 if approved, and Ireland doesn’t ask you to give up your current citizenship. But a government bill published in draft in September 2026 would raise the period to 8 years, so timing matters.

Check first whether you need to naturalise at all. If a grandparent was born on the island of Ireland, you may already be entitled to citizenship through the Foreign Births Register, with no need to live there. Our Irish citizenship by descent guide explains who qualifies. This page is for everyone else, including people whose descent claim has failed but who still have Irish family.

The rules at a glance

  • Residence: 1 year of continuous residence in the State right before you apply, plus 4 years in the 8 years before that. Five years in all.
  • Absences: up to 70 days outside Ireland in the final year, plus up to 30 more for exceptional circumstances.
  • Permission: only legal residence on a qualifying Stamp counts. Student time doesn’t.
  • Other conditions: 18 or over, good character, and a genuine intention to keep living in Ireland.
  • Language test: none today.
  • Fees: EUR 175 to apply, and usually EUR 950 if approved.
  • Dual citizenship: allowed.

The 5 in 9 rule

Section 15 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 lets the Minister for Justice grant a certificate of naturalisation, in his absolute discretion, to an adult who has had one year’s continuous residence in the State immediately before applying and a total of four years’ residence in the eight years before that. The Immigration Service, which handles applications, calls this the “5 in 9” rule.

Count backwards from the day you plan to apply. The most recent 12 months must be continuous, within the absence limits below. Then you need 4 more years, which the Immigration Service puts at 1,460 days plus any leap days, somewhere in the 8 years before that. Those 4 years don’t have to be in one block. The Immigration Service’s online Naturalisation Residency Calculator does the arithmetic from your permission dates.

The State, not the island. For this route only residence in the Republic counts. Years in Northern Ireland don’t. The spouse route under section 15A is different, as our Irish citizenship by marriage guide explains.

The 70-day absence rule

Section 15C treats the final year as continuous even if you were out of Ireland for up to 70 days in total. The Minister can allow up to 30 more days if the extra absence was necessary because of exceptional circumstances. The Act lists family or personal circumstances, your health or a family member’s, your work, a course of study, humanitarian volunteering, and other things outside your control.

  • Part days don’t count: the days you leave and come back aren’t absences.
  • The year runs back 12 months from your application date. Apply on 11 November and you count from 11 November of the year before.
  • The Immigration Service says an application with more than 100 days away is ineligible, with no discretion at all, and the fee is lost. Delay applying until the last 12 months fit.

If your family lives in another country, this is the rule most likely to trip you up. Two long trips home in a year can use most of the 70 days.

Which Stamps count

Only reckonable residence counts: time living in Ireland legally on a permission that qualifies. The Immigration Service lists these as reckonable:

  • Stamp 0, a temporary permission for people who can support themselves, such as a visiting academic or someone with independent means;
  • Stamp 1, for employment permit holders, Critical Skills holders, intra-company transferees and researchers;
  • Stamp 1G, for third-level graduates and the partners of some permit holders and researchers;
  • Stamp 3, for dependants of someone with a qualifying permission;
  • Stamp 4, long-term residence without an employment permit, including after about two years on a Critical Skills permit; and
  • Stamp 5, permission without condition as to time.

These don’t count:

  • Stamp 2 and 2A, student permissions. Section 16A of the Act excludes time on a permission for education or study. The Immigration Service allows limited discretion for young adults who came to Ireland legally as children and continued their education here.
  • Any gap in permission, even a few days between an expired Irish Residence Permit and its renewal. The Immigration Service warns this can make an application ineligible, not just slower.
  • Time waiting for an international protection decision.

Keep every IRP card and Immigration Service letter. For each year you claim, you also need at least one strong official document showing your name, an Irish address and a date in that year, such as a Revenue Employment Detail Summary, a Social Protection contribution record or a bank statement with regular transactions.

Good character and intention to reside

You must be of good character. The Garda Síochána, Ireland’s police, give the Immigration Service a report on you. Convictions anywhere, including abroad, driving offences, civil or criminal court cases, Garda cautions, open investigations and any bad immigration history can all be considered. Declare everything on the form and explain it. You may be invited to complete Garda e-vetting later in the process. Giving false information can lead to refusal or loss of citizenship, a fine of up to EUR 50,000, or up to 5 years in prison.

You must also intend in good faith to keep living in Ireland after you naturalise. This isn’t a route for people who plan to collect a passport and move back home.

Irish descent or associations: section 16

This is the part of the law that matters most to readers of this site. Many people abroad with Irish roots find their descent claim fails: the Irish-born ancestor was a great-grandparent, or a parent wasn’t on the Foreign Births Register before they were born. Our great-grandparents guide explains why. Section 16 is the fallback.

Section 16(1)(a) lets the Minister, in his absolute discretion, grant naturalisation to an applicant “of Irish descent or Irish associations” even if any or all of the usual conditions aren’t met. That includes the 5 in 9 residence rule. The Act defines Irish associations as being related by blood, affinity or adoption to a person who is an Irish citizen or entitled to be one, or who was when they died, or being their civil partner. It doesn’t define Irish descent. The Immigration Service reads it as being a direct descendant of someone who is or was an Irish citizen, giving a grandparent as its example.

It isn’t a shortcut. The Immigration Service says being related to an Irish citizen doesn’t guarantee approval or that residence conditions will be waived. It has published guidelines and scores each application in four areas:

  • Experiential connection (up to 50 points): 5 points a year of reckonable residence, 10 for being tax resident in Ireland now, and, if you don’t live there, 3 points a trip to Ireland in the past 10 years.
  • Family connection (up to 60): family members who are, or were when they died, Irish citizens ordinarily resident in Ireland. Family here means the section 15C list: spouse or partner, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws and step-relatives, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces.
  • Cultural connection (up to 60): a significant contribution to Ireland or Irish society, and Irish qualifications such as a degree or a Leaving Certificate.
  • Establishment in the State (up to 60): Irish insurance, PRSI contributions, an Irish pension, an Irish driving licence and an active Irish bank account.

The scoring makes the practical point plain. Most points come from living and working in Ireland. Someone living abroad with an Irish-born great-grandmother and no other ties will score low. One who has lived in Dublin for 3 years, pays tax there and has an Irish-citizen aunt living in Ireland is in a much better position, even without the full 5 years. The Immigration Service’s guide doesn’t state a pass mark.

To apply this way you send a detailed cover letter explaining your connection, why you’re asking for a waiver and any personal circumstances, with documents proving the family link. Old Irish birth, marriage and church records may be needed: see our Irish and British records guide. Documents not in English or Irish need a certified translation.

Expect a long wait. The Immigration Service says Irish association cases are currently taking more than 30 months. And a section 16 grant gives you a certificate of naturalisation, so the revocation rules in section 19 apply to you, as our Irish dual citizenship guide explains.

Applying, step by step

  1. Check your dates with the Residency Calculator and your IRP cards, and count your absences in the last 12 months.
  2. Gather documents: a certified colour copy of your passport photo page, a birth certificate, identity documents meeting the Immigration Service’s points threshold, and residence proofs for each year. Certified copies must be signed by a solicitor or notary. Documents from abroad, such as US records, may need an apostille.
  3. Apply online through the Immigration Service’s Online Form Portal and pay the EUR 175 fee.
  4. Answer any requests for more documents on time. If you miss the deadline the application is refused and the fee isn’t refunded. Track progress in the Customer Service Portal.
  5. If approved, pay the certification fee and accept an invitation to a citizenship ceremony. Bring an in-date IRP card and your identity documents.
  6. Make the declaration. At the ceremony you declare fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and undertake to observe the laws of the State and respect its democratic values. The Act allows the Minister to arrange this another way when numbers are high.
  7. Receive your certificate by registered post. Your name, address and certificate date are published in Iris Oifigiúil, the official gazette, with no exceptions. You can then apply for an Irish passport.

The Immigration Service says most but not all applications are processed within 12 months. There’s no appeal against a refusal; you can apply again once you’re eligible.

Cost

  • EUR 175 application fee, lost if the application is refused or found ineligible.
  • Certification fee after approval, usually EUR 950 for standard adult applications according to the Immigration Service.
  • Your own costs: certified copies, translations, apostilles and any solicitor’s fees.

Pending: the 2026 citizenship bill

On 21 September 2026 the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration published the General Scheme of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026. A General Scheme is a draft plan, not a law. On 11 November 2026 no Bill had been introduced in the Oireachtas. For ordinary residence applicants, Head 5 would:

  • replace the 5 in 9 rule with 2 years’ continuous residence right before applying, plus 6 years in the 10 before that: 8 years in all;
  • add an English, Irish or Irish Sign Language proficiency requirement, at a standard the Minister would set;
  • add a civics requirement on Irish society, government and the Constitution;
  • require sufficient resources: a minimum income set by regulation, no prescribed welfare or housing support in the 2 years before applying (with some leeway up to 6 months), and no debts to Revenue, Social Protection or the courts;
  • bar applicants who have committed listed immigration offences; and
  • require you to keep living in Ireland and meeting the conditions while the application is pending.

Head 8 would keep section 16 but say good character can never be waived, for anyone. It would also let the Minister waive the language and civics conditions in prescribed circumstances. Head 9 would make more temporary permissions non-reckonable and would protect applications already made only from those reckonable-residence changes; the scheme doesn’t give the same protection for the new 8-year period.

The Irish Examiner reported on 31 October 2026 that the government wants the law passed by the end of the year and has warned that people who haven’t applied by the time the rules change will face the stricter rules. If you meet today’s rules, applying soon is the safer course. Our language requirements guide and naturalisation comparison show how Ireland compares. We’ll update this page when a Bill is published.

Can you keep your current citizenship?

The Immigration Service says you don’t have to give up another citizenship to naturalise. Whether you keep it also depends on your other country’s law: some countries end citizenship when you voluntarily take another, so check yours. On the Irish side, section 19 of the 1956 Act does let the Minister revoke a naturalisation certificate in some cases, including if the holder later takes another citizenship by a voluntary act other than marriage or civil partnership. It doesn’t touch the citizenship you already hold (US citizenship, for example). Our Irish dual citizenship guide has the details.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to live in Ireland to become a citizen?

Five years of reckonable residence in the last nine, including one full year of continuous residence right before you apply. The Immigration Service calls this the 5 in 9 rule. In law it's one year immediately before the application plus four years in the eight years before that.

Does my time as a student in Ireland count?

No. Time on Stamp 2 or Stamp 2A, the student permissions, isn't reckonable residence under section 16A of the Act. The Immigration Service allows limited discretion for young adults who came to Ireland legally as children and stayed in education here. Work, family and independent-means permissions such as Stamp 0, 1, 1G, 3, 4 and 5 do count.

How many days can I spend outside Ireland?

In the 12 months before you apply, up to 70 days in total, plus up to 30 more if the Minister accepts the extra absence was needed because of exceptional circumstances such as illness, family needs or work. The day you leave and the day you return aren't counted. The Immigration Service says applications with more than 100 days away are ineligible, with no discretion.

My grandparent wasn't born in Ireland, so I can't use the Foreign Births Register. Can my Irish roots still help?

Possibly. Section 16 of the 1956 Act lets the Minister waive any of the usual conditions for someone of Irish descent or Irish associations, including the residence rule. It's an absolute discretion, not a right. The Immigration Service scores these applications on your connection to Ireland, and gives most weight to residence, family in Ireland, culture and being established here. It says the cases are taking more than 30 months.

How much does it cost?

EUR 175 when you apply, which isn't refunded if you're refused, and a certification fee if you're approved. The Immigration Service says the certification fee is usually EUR 950 for standard adult applications.

Is there a language or civics test?

Not today. The government's General Scheme of a 2026 bill would add English, Irish or Irish Sign Language and civics requirements and raise the residence period to eight years. It was not law on 11 November 2026.

How long does it take?

The Immigration Service says most but not all applications are processed within 12 months. Applications based on Irish descent or associations are slower: more than 30 months at present, according to the Immigration Service.

Do I have to give up my current citizenship?

Not for Ireland. The Immigration Service says you don't have to give up another citizenship to become Irish by naturalisation. Whether you keep your other citizenship also depends on that country's law: some countries end citizenship when you voluntarily take another, so check yours. The US, for example, doesn't end citizenship for naturalising in Ireland; it's lost only by a voluntary act done with the intention of giving it up.

Official sources

Checked against these sources on 11 November 2026. The government’s timetable comes from the Irish Examiner, 31 October 2026, a press report, not an official source.