I've recently joined the forum, and I'm planning ahead for submitting an application for Irish Citizenship within the next year. Good timing (or maybe not!), as fresh changes to the Application format have just arrived.
Context
- US citizen married to Northern Irish (dual Irish & British citizenship)
- Currently resident in Northern Ireland on a Spouse Visa, almost at 3 years residence
- Preparing to apply for Irish citizenship based on marriage to an Irish citizen
- Reckonable Residence Calculator. Do I use stamps entering & leaving Northern Ireland/UK for calculating reckonable residence and input these onto the online calculator? Or am I exempt from completing the calculator entirely? Note that I have several Irish stamps in my passport but these are for onward transit to Northern Ireland from flight arrivals into Dublin from travel abroad.
- Form 8 Q2 PPS Number, Registration Number (found on GNIB/IRP card), Person ID. Since I don't live in the Republic, I've never been registered with An Garda Síochána and therefore have no GNIB, PPS or Person ID number. Do I simply mark 'N/A' in these fields on the Application Form? Do I provide my UK Biometric Residence Card number in the Form instead (equivalent to IRP card)?
- Form 8 Q5.4 Was any part of your time in the State for the purposes of study? Do I include study within Northern Ireland? I've been on a spouse visa throughout, not a student visa. I'm currently on a full-time MSc Midwifery degree at Queen's University Belfast which is sponsored by the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust.
- Form 8 Q5.6 Have you been absent from the State for more than 6 weeks per annum? I assume I should answer this based on my time in Northern Ireland. Could someone please confirm?
- Form 8 Q9.1 Means of Support. I'm a full-time postgraduate student for MSc Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast. The course is fully funded and sponsored by the NI Department of Health, I complete clinical placements with the Belfast Health & Social Care Trust and I'm paid a NHS Band 5 salary throughout the course. Immediately prior to starting the course, I was directly employed by the Belfast HSC as a Band 5 Staff Nurse. My payslips haven't changed since starting the postgraduate course, I'm still paid by the Belfast HSC. I will still be on the course by the time I'm ready to submit my application.
With all of this in mind, can I select 'Employed' and provide Belfast HSC employment details only? Or do I select 'Studying' or both 'Employed' and 'Studying'? - Form 8 Q14 References. Three references from Irish Citizens. Can they be in-laws, e.g. brother-in-law?
- Proof of Residence documents. Do the copies have to be certified? Can a document be used for both the proof of residency of the final year and for proof of residence within the previous 3 months prior to application? e.g. an annual mortgage statement issued within 3 months prior to application. Do the three proofs of residence in the final three months have to be from a joint statement or can it be two individual statements? e.g. Applicant and Spouse individual bank account statements can count as one proof of residence, or only a joint bank account statement would be acceptable?
- Proof of Residence with only Spouse's name on statement. Could an annual mortgage statement under my Spouse's name be used as proof of residence for each of the three years, if a letter signed by my Spouse were to explain that we live in the same house?
- An Garda Síochána National Vetting Bureau e-Vetting "Applicants residing outside the State will be required to provide a Police Clearance Certificate from the relevant law enforcement agency." I assume this would involve getting a PSNI check. Do I need to worry about this now, as it suggests the e-vetting begins after the Application Form is submitted?
- Confirmation of Tax Compliance in the relevant jurisdiction by the Revenue authority. Previous posts suggest getting a document of this nature from HMRC is a nightmare, I've yet to see a success story. Will submission of P60s be sufficient proof for a PAYE employee working in the NHS?
- Payslips, Bank Statements, Employer's Letter. From earlier posts, I've seen people mention submitting 3-6 months of payslips, bank statements and an employer's letter as part of the Application. However I've yet to see this on the guidance notes of the latest Application Form. Can someone please confirm that these are not a requirement?