Irish Citizenship for Canadians and Americans Through Descent

So whether you are Irish Canadian or Irish American you may be eligible for Irish Citizenship and be able to apply for an Irish passport. So the question is “Are you eligible for Irish Citizenship?”

Canada and the United States have been the main destination for Irish immigrants for centuries, and in turn have created generations of Irish descendants who are still to this day proud of their ancestry and remain rooted to Ireland. So whether you are Irish Canadian or Irish American you may be eligible for Irish Citizenship and be able to apply for an Irish passport.

So the question is “Are you eligible for Irish Citizenship?”

Here are the different scenarios that make a person eligible for Irish citizenship:

• A person born outside Ireland  to a parent who is an Irish citizen born in Ireland is automatically an Irish Citizen.

This is self explanatory, If your mother or father was born in Ireland and is an Irish citizen, you are automatically an Irish citizen.

• A grandchild of an Irish Citizen born in Ireland is eligible for citizenship provided that the grandchild is placed on the foreign births registry.

If you have a grandparent who was born in Ireland you can apply for Irish Citizenship, but first you have to register with the foreign birth registrar. The foreign birth registrar is an Irish government documented list for children and grandchildren born outside Ireland to a parent who is an Irish citizen. You must submit your registration application before you apply for citizenship. You can register by mailing your application to your nearest Irish embassy.

• A great grandchild of an Irish citizen who was born in Ireland is eligible for citizenship provided that their parent was registered on the foreign births registrar before the time of the great granchild’s birth.

If your great grand parent was born in Ireland, your parents must have registered on the foreign births registrar before you were born in order for you to be eligible to apply for Irish citizenship. You must also register your birth with the registery before applying for citizenship. This lineage can continue indefinitely provided the parent registers their birth before the birth of their child.

There are other ways to obtain Irish Citizenship.

• Marriage to an Irish citizen

If you are married to an Irish citizen you can apply for Irish citizenship if you have legally resided in Ireland with your spouse for a period of 3 years or more within the last 5 years. You must have 1 year of continuous legal residency immediately preceding the date of your application.

• Naturalization

You can apply for Irish citizenship through naturalization if you have legally resided in Ireland for a period of 5 years or more within the last 9 years. You must have 1 year of continuous legal residency immediately preceding the date of your application.