Tag Archive for: Irish passport

UPCOMING CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY

UPCOMING CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY – SEPTEMBER 2025

An update from the Department of Justice, dated the 14th of August, confirms that the next Citizenship Ceremonies will take place at the Convention Centre, Dublin, on Monday, the 15th of September and Tuesday, the 16th of September 2025.

Please do not contact the Department of Justice to confirm your attendance. Invitations will be issued in due course to successful applicants.
Candidates are required to bring the following:

• A valid passport

• Any additional form of identification

During the ceremony, candidates will be expected to take an Oath of Fidelity to the Nation. Certificates of Naturalisation will be sent by registered post at a later date.

Berkeley Solicitors is available to provide advice and support for anyone commencing the Naturalisation application process.

If you have any queries relating to Naturalisation please contact Berkeley Solicitors to arrange a consultation with one of our experienced legal advisors.

This blog article has been prepared on the basis of current immigration law and policy, which is subject to change. Please keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page where articles relating to updates and changes in immigration law and policy are regularly posted.

CLIENT OF BERKELEY SOLICITORS APPROVED FOR NATURALISATION BASED ON IRISH ASSOCIATIONS UNDER NEW GUIDELINES

CLIENT OF BERKELEY SOLICITORS APPROVED FOR NATURALISATION BASED ON IRISH ASSOCIATIONS UNDER NEW GUIDELINES

Berkeley Solicitors would like to congratulate our client who has received an approval of a naturalisation application based under Irish Associations, on the basis of the updated guidelines.

The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 provides that the Minister for Justice has the discretion to grant a certificate of naturalisation where the applicant is of Irish descent of Irish associations, despite the normal conditions for naturalisation not being met.

For the purposes of this Act, a person is considered to be of Irish associations if they are related through blood, affinity or adoption to, or are the civil partner of:

  • a person who is (or is entitled to be) an Irish citizen; or
  • a deceased person who was (or was entitled to be) an Irish citizen at the time of their death.

It is not enough for a person to simply establish that they are of Irish associations. The Minister will use his absolute discretion in considering these applications.

On 2nd April 2025, the Department of Justice published updated guidelines for those looking to apply for Irish citizenship by Irish Associations.

The new guidelines include a Table of Indicative criteria to assess applications under Irish Associations. Under these new guidelines, the Minister will take into account the following indicative categories:

  • Experiential connection to the State
  • Family connections to the State
  • Cultural connection to the State
  • Establishment in the State.

Points are awarded for satisfying certain scoring criteria related to the above categories. Applicants will need to achieve a score of at 50% or more in two or more of the above categories in order to qualify.

Berkeley Solicitors is pleased to have received a positive decision for our client in respect of naturalisation by Irish Associations under the new guidelines.

Further details of the new guidelines are available here.

If you or your family have any queries relating to applying for naturalisation via Irish Associations, please contact Berkeley Solicitors to arrange a consultation with one of our experienced legal advisors.

This blog article has been prepared on the basis of current immigration law and policy, which is subject to change. Please keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page where articles relating to updates and changes in immigration law and policy are regularly posted.

CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY UPDATE

MINISTER FOR JUSTICE COMMENCES NEW LEGISLATION ALLOWING FOR REVOCATION OF IRISH CITIZENSHIP BY NATURALISATION

Section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 empowers the Minister to revoke naturalised Irish citizenship in certain circumstances and sets out the procedure to do so.

Following the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Damache v Minister for Justice [2021] IESC 6, this procedure could not be utilised as it was found to be unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court held that the process as provided for in Section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 did not contain sufficient procedural safeguards to meet the high standards of natural justice applicable to a person facing such severe consequences.

The Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has signed an order to recommence legislation allowing for naturalised Irish citizenship to be revoked in serious cases, effective from 7th April 2025.

We refer to our previous blog post on this topic, available here.

In a statement, Minister O’Callaghan outlines that the issues raised in the Supreme Court judgement of Damache have been addressed in the new procedure.

Section 19 of the 1956 Act (as amended) allows the Minister for Justice to revoke a certificate of naturalisation in cases where:

(1) the certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation whether innocent or fraudulent, or concealment of material facts or circumstances,

(2) the person has failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State,

(3) the person is ordinarily resident outside Ireland for a continuous period of seven years and without reasonable excuse has not annually registered an intention to retain Irish citizenship,

(4) the person is a citizen of another country which is at war with Ireland, or

(5) the person has voluntarily acquired another citizenship.

The new procedure is as follows:

Where the Minister is satisfied that one or more of the above reasons to revoke a certificate of naturalisation exists, the Minister shall issue a notice of intention to revoke the certificate of naturalisation on the person concerned. This notice must inform the affected person of the intention to revoke their certificate of naturalisation, and set out the reasons for this.

The notice can be served on an affected person in numerous ways, including by post or electronically.

Once the notice has been issued, the affected person will have a period of 28 days to respond and make representations regarding the revocation of their citizenship.

The Minister must then notify the affected person of the decision. If the Minister decides to revoke the certificate of naturalisation, the reasons for this decision must be set out.

A person who is the subject of a decision to revoke their certificate of naturalisation will have the right to request that an independent Committee of Inquiry be held to look into the Minister’s decision.

The Committee of Inquiry will consider the Minister’s decision to revoke the certificate of naturalisation and may decide to affirm or set aside the decision.

For further information, please see the press release published by the Irish government here.

Berkeley Solicitors are available to provide support and assistance to any persons affected by the new revocation process.

This blog article has been prepared on the basis of current immigration law and policy, which is subject to change. Please keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page where articles relating to updates and changes in immigration law and policy are regularly posted.

UPCOMING CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY

NEW REVOCATION PROCEDURE FOR NATURALISED IRISH CITIZENS

The Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 has passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas and is now awaiting being signed into law by the President. Once enacted, the Bill will insert new provisions into the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended) that deals with the revocation of citizenship for naturalised Irish citizens. The previous system for revocation was struck down by the Supreme Court four years ago in the Supreme Court case of Damache v Minister for Justice [2020] IESC 63 for failing to meet the “high standards of natural justice” which the Court held must apply to the process of revocation of certificates of naturalisation. The Supreme Court held that any such process must comply with fair procedures and contain adequate safeguards for persons facing the revocation of their citizenship.

Section 19 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (as amended) currently allows the Minister for Justice to revoke a certificate of naturalisation in cases where (1) the certificate was procured by fraud, misrepresentation whether innocent or fraudulent, or concealment of material facts or circumstances, (2) the person has failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, (3) the person is ordinarily resident outside Ireland for a continuous period of seven years and without reasonable excuse has not annually registered an intention to retain Irish citizenship, (4) the person is a citizen of another country which is at war with Ireland, or (5) the person has voluntarily acquired another citizenship. These reasons for revocation are unchanged by the new Bill. The Supreme Court case of Damache struck down the process the Minister had previously used to revoke naturalisation, and therefore there was and remains no pathway for the Minister to revoke naturalisation, until such time as the new Bill is signed into law by the President.

 

Berkeley Solicitors has reviewed the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 with a view to advising clients who may be issued with notices of intention of revocation of citizenship. The new Bill raises concerns in respect of short timeframes for naturalised citizens facing the revocation process to engage (as little as six weeks in total from proposal to revocation pursuant to sections s.19(IC) and (IJ)), the requirement to only use one method to serve of the notice of intention to revoke, the level of independence afforded to the Committee of Inquiry in circumstances where the Minister will prescribe their procedures and the availability of oral hearings, and the exception to the requirement to give reasons to a naturalised citizen facing the revocation process when issues of national security are raised (s.19(1O)).

 

There are also concerns about the ambiguous nature of some of the listed reasons for revocation, in particular, in what circumstances a person can be deemed to have failed in their duty of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State. On this point, Minister McEntee has stated:

“This power is used sparingly and has been used less than ten times in total from 1956 to-date. The revocation of Irish citizenship is only undertaken in the most serious of circumstances, including on grounds of fraud, deception and national security.”

 

For further information, please see the press release published by the Irish government: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/e7e2f-ministers-mcentee-and-browne-welcome-passage-of-the-courts-civil-law-criminal-law-and-superannuation-misc-provisions-bill/

A copy of the Court, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 as passed by Dáil Éireann is available at: https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/bill/2024/48/eng/ver_a/b48a24s.pdf

 

Berkeley Solicitors are available to provide support and assistance to any persons affected by the new revocation process.

This blog article has been prepared on the basis of current immigration law and policy, which is subject to change. Please keep an eye on our blog and Facebook page where articles relating to updates and changes in immigration law and policy are regularly posted.