Irish citizenship for non eu spouse

[candycrusher]

Hi All,

I am married to an Irish citizen. We got married in Jul 2010. I have lived in Ireland from Nov 2006 to March 2013. At the moment we live in Asia, as my Irish spouse got transferred to Asia for work. My stamp 4 Irish spouse visa is still valid till March 2020.

My query is:

- will I still be able to apply for Irish citizenship even though we not based in Ireland at the moment? we do intend to move back to Ireland in a couple of years
-which category shall I apply under? Marriage to an Irish Citizen? or Irish Association?

Thanks

[jeupsy]

You won't be able to apply before moving back to Ireland and living here for at least one year (but you also need a total of 3 years residence in Ireland in the 5 years previous to your application, so if you wait too long before you come back to Ireland the time you have already spent won't be taken into account and you will need to wait for 3 years after moving back).

See details here: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/mo ... riage.html

[candycrusher]

Thanks.

But the last time I was back in ireland to renew my spouse visa, the garda told me i can now apply for my citizenship if i wanted. so thats why I am abit confused.

[jeupsy]

The Garda probably though you were living in Ireland (he was actually not supposed to renew your Stamp 4 if you are not based in Ireland).

If you were to apply for citizenship you would have to lie on the form and say you are living in Ireland ... definitely not something I would recommend.