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.