Irish Citizen with US Spouse

[cdare]

Hi there,

I'm an Irish citizen who lives in the US, with my US citizen spouse, whom I married here. We are hoping to move back to Ireland in September, can anyone offer me advice on where to start looking for information? I tried calling the Irish Consulate here in Boston, but they wanted to charge me $2/minute to get visa info.

Many thanks,
Chris

[archigabe]

Try

http://www.citizensinfo.ie/
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categ ... to-ireland

[rnc312]

My wife is an Irish citizen (by descent) and our son and I are both American. Our son is unfortunately not entitled to Irish citizenship by descent because he was born prior to my wife being added to the foreign births registry.

We are considering a move to Ireland in a few years. From what I have read on here it sounds like it may take at least five to six years for me to obtain Irish citizenship by naturalization (including processing time).

What about our son? Being that my wife is already an Irish citizen, would she be allowed to apply for our minor son's naturalization once he met the residency requirement?

I read somewhere that a naturalization application on behalf of a child cannot be made until one of the parents has naturalized. Does that mean we cannot apply for my son's naturalization until I myself am granted citizenship?

Thank you!

[JAJ]

My wife is an Irish citizen (by descent) and our son and I are both American. Our son is unfortunately not entitled to Irish citizenship by descent because he was born prior to my wife being added to the foreign births registry.

We are considering a move to Ireland in a few years. From what I have read on here it sounds like it may take at least five to six years for me to obtain Irish citizenship by naturalization (including processing time).

What about our son? Being that my wife is already an Irish citizen, would she be allowed to apply for our minor son's naturalization once he met the residency requirement?

I read somewhere that a naturalization application on behalf of a child cannot be made until one of the parents has naturalized. Does that mean we cannot apply for my son's naturalization until I myself am granted citizenship?

Thank you!

Under section 16(a) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, your son could in theory be naturalised as an Irish citizen without needing to meet any residence requirements.
http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Consolid ... onINCA.pdf

But there is absolutely no information available on what policies exist to apply this discretion.

Have you thought of moving to Northern Ireland? That way, you and your son will have access to British citizenship (although there is a chance the residence period for British citizenship may be increased in future).

Spouses of Irish citizens can become naturalised Irish if living in Northern Ireland. Not clear about children, again it would come back down to Irish government policy which is an unknown.

[rnc312]

I have thought about Northern Ireland -- and England as well.

I guess we're persuaded to choose Ireland because our son would hopefully be able to qualify for free fees at an Irish university.

[JAJ]

I have thought about Northern Ireland -- and England as well.

I guess we're persuaded to choose Ireland because our son would hopefully be able to qualify for free fees at an Irish university.

How old is your son? Under current law at least, if he's a British and/or Irish citizen and has resided in the European Economic Area for three years, wouldn't he be entitled to that anyway?

[rnc312]

My son is four years old.

Is it true that the Irish government provides free tuition for Irish university undergraduate students if they are citizens of Ireland and meet the residency requirement prior to enrollment?

The U.K. government did the same for its college students, I believe, up until a few years ago ... or have I've been misinformed?

[JAJ]

My son is four years old.

Is it true that the Irish government provides free tuition for Irish university undergraduate students if they are citizens of Ireland and meet the residency requirement prior to enrollment?

The U.K. government did the same for its college students, I believe, up until a few years ago ... or have I've been misinformed?

There is a citizenship and residence requirement for home fees status, as a general rule.

However under EEA rules, they must treat citizens of other EEA states in the same way as Irish citizens. Will these rules still exist in 14 years time? If the EU hasn't fallen apart then most likely they will.

[rnc312]

Right, fourteen years is an awful long time and only time will tell about the EU's future.

[smartk2]

Hi,

To answer your query cdare: I am an Irish citizen and I married my husband who is a US citizen in May 2007 in USA (much easier than getting married in Ireland). We had both been travelling and living in India for most of the year prior to that. We then both travelled to Ireland together after our marriage. When we passed through Immigration at the airport the officer asked how long my husband would be staying and he told him we had just got married and were moving to Ireland to live. The guy was very polite and stamped my husband with a special stamp which gave him a month in the country during which he must register at the GNIB in Burgh Quay or at a local Garda station. We registered with the Garda in Kilkenny where I am from. All we needed was our passports and marriage certificate and after about 10 mins of waiting Tom got a 1 year Stamp 4 GNIB ID card. I didn’t even have to prove I was living in Kilkenny or that I was working (which I wasn’t) but I did however mention that a common friend when I spoke to the immigration officer on the phone to ask him when we should come in to get registered. This GNIB card allowed him to start work immediately. He just had to apply for a PPS number which is similar to a Social Security no. If you are going to be living in Dublin you will have to go to GNIB on Burgh Quay which will involve a longer wait and you may have to produce more documentation. My husband will have to reapply in May for another card which the Garda in Kilkenny said would be for 3 years. I know of people who applied in Dublin and got a 3 year card first time around. There doesn’t seem to be a standard procedure. I wouldn’t bother with Irish embassies. I called the Irish Embassy in New York as we were not in Ireland and they couldn’t tell me anything. Absolutely ridiculous! I emailed the Dept of Justice and got a reply 2 months later! If you need to ask anything I recommend calling them at the number below, the website is not great:
Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service,
13/14 Burgh Quay
Dublin 2 01-6167700
Lo Call: 1890 551 500
Website: www.inis.gov.ie
Helpline available 10am to 12.30pm each Monday, Wednesday and Friday, excluding Bank and Public Holidays.

[smartk2]

Just in case..the 1890 number is not going to accessible from outside Ireland so you should call + 353 1 6028202