Welcome to the slow paperwork process of Ireland! Yes, I too will be submitting my Form 5 application papers in the Spring & have been told of the 18-24 month wait as well.
All you need to submit is exactly what you have listed. There is a downloadable check-list on
www.justice.ie as well to ensure that you have everything submitted. They will also want proof of your income tax situation - which is that you send in your most recent P60 & ask for a P21 from your local taxation office. I was told that it would only take a few days/weeks. Also, the Gardi will do a background check on you for criminal offences, but that is up to them to organize that, not you. You will need to have 3 references from 3 Irish citizens (not relatives) which is listed on the back pages of the application forms. If you have registered with the police everytime you moved, you should have all the 'leave to remain' stamps in your passport, I guess that's why they ask for all pages of all passports that you have had covering your residence time in Ireland. My advice is to keep everything, every bank statement, payslip, tax certificates, etc, that way whatever they ask for, you will have.
One thing that may be difficult if you have moved around a lot is that they want every address of house/apt that you have lived for the past 9 years, with specific dates. So, I'd advise that you sit down with some paper before you fill out the forms and make your list. I find checking old passports and rent books good for trying to remember when you arrived & left. If there are any gaps in the days/weeks of your residences, you will have to account for them to the Dept, which may cause delays, so I'd get it sorted well in advance.
Once you submit your application with all required photocopied docs, you will get a letter within 15 days from the Dept of Justice stating that they recevied your application & you will be issued with a reference number which you will have to quote on all future telephone & correspondence to the Dept if you have queries. From what I have heard, that is basically it. There is no interview or medical or citizenship test. Just waiting.
As you are aware, you still have to get continued permission from the Gardi to stay in the country while you are waiting for your citizenship to come through, whether it be work permits, work authorizations, etc...and keep your GNIB card in date. Also, notify the Gardi and the Dept of Justice if you move house to keep your address up to date. They also recommend that you notify the Dept if you leave the country for vacation so they will be able to contact you if need be.
Once a decision has been made, you will receive notice through registered mail. If approved, you can apply for an Irish passport soon after. You may have already read that the decision to grant citizenship is totally up to the Minister, so I guess it is possible to have all the requirements and still not be approved....however, I try not to dwell on this possibility. I'm sure that as long as a person is a law-abiding, self-sustaining member of the community, there (hopefully) will be nothing to worry about!
Well, that is it (well as far as I know!) let us know how you get on. Good luck!
Regards,
Maria