Irish Citizenship by Birth

If you were born outside of Ireland and your parents were not Irish citizens but one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, you might be eligible to get Irish citizenship by descent.

To become an Irish citizen by descent, you need to have your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register. Once your details are entered into it, you will officially become an Irish citizen and you will be able to get your Irish passport.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to claim Irish citizenship through other ancestors of Irish descent such as cousins, uncles, or aunts. For you to be able to become an Irish citizen by descent, one of your parents or grandparents has to have been an Irish citizen at the time of your birth. Moreover, typically to get your Irish citizenship by descent, you should have a reasonable period of legal residence there, confirming that you have a connection to the country.

If a child who is not an Irish citizen is adopted by an Irish citizen or a couple where at least one person is an Irish citizen, the adopted child becomes an Irish citizen too through Irish associations.

When an Irish citizen living abroad decides to adopt a child there, they need to apply for the adoption to be entered in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions. After they do that, the adoption will have the same status as adoptions made in Ireland. That means that the adopted child will become an Irish citizen.

In a situation where an Irish citizen living in Ireland is waiting for adoption made abroad to be recognized in Ireland, they need to get immigration clearance from the Department of Justice to be able to bring the adopted child into the state. The clearance will be given to adoptive parents only after they complete the assessment procedure and receive a declaration from the Adoption Authority of Ireland.

Some people might be able to claim Irish citizenship by making a declaration. To be eligible for this route towards Irish citizenship, one of the following has to apply to your situation:

• You were born in Ireland between 2 December 1999 and 31 December 2004 to a foreign national who, at the time of your birth, had the right to diplomatic immunity in Ireland (for example ambassadors of foreign countries)
• You were born between 2 December 1999 and 31 December 2004 in the Irish sea or Irish air space to a foreign national on a foreign ship or aircraft
• You were born in Ireland and you made a declaration of alienage under Section 21 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. That means that you made a declaration stating that you are no longer an Irish citizen. In such circumstances, you have the right to resume your Irish citizenship by making a special declaration.

Get in touch with our lawyers and they can help you determine whether you can get Irish citizenship through a special declaration.

Anyone who is applying for Irish citizenship by birth or descent needs to register their birth in the Foreign Births Register managed by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Once you complete the registration, you will be considered an Irish citizen from that point onwards.

To register your birth, you need to provide the following documents:

• Your birth certificate
• Photocopy of your passport or national ID
• Two proofs of your address
• Four passport-size photographs
• Birth certificate of the person you want to get citizenship through
• Photocopy of the state-based identification document of the person you want to get citizenship through
• Death certificate if the person you are basing the application on is deceased

If you hire one of our lawyers, they can tell you in detail what documents you need to gather. Thanks to their help, you can be sure that you provide sufficient evidence to confirm your eligibility for your Irish citizenship.

At IAS, we have a team of experienced immigration lawyers who have helped many clients successfully claim their Irish citizenship by birth. We can help you determine whether you are eligible and if so, we can guide you through the process of registering your birth in the Foreign Births Register.

If you hire one of our lawyers, they will help you gather all the documents that might be necessary. This way, you can make sure that you provide enough evidence to prove your eligibility for Irish citizenship by birth or descent.

Your lawyer will be around to answer all your questions and clear any doubts you might have. Thanks to their help the whole process will be straightforward and stress-free.

Call us today +1 844 290 6312 and find out more about how IAS can help.