Work Permit and Marriage (Reckonable residence)

[ferrellk]

I am from US and have been here on a work permit for 2 years now, and just got renewed for 3 more years.

I have been a relationship with my Irish partner for 2 years now as well. We are talking marriage. We have lived together 6 months already.

If I stay on this work permit, in 3 years I can apply for citizenship. If we wait a year to get married will that add a year on to my wait time for application for citizenship? Or will my time already here count towards the 3-year reckonable residence requirement?

I will probably look for other work once I get my Stamp 4, so am curious how that might affect how long I have to wait to apply for citizenship.

Thanks.

[sideshowsue]

You can use the two years on work permits as part of your reckonable residence. Once you have got 5 years of stamps in your passport, you can send off the application for naturalisation. Just bear in mind that, barring any serious improvement in time required for processing applications, you're probably going to be waiting another 3 years to know whether the application has been be approved.

In short: 5 years of residence + 3 years in the queue = 8 years of living in Ireland. These figures are pretty fixed and any subsequent change in GNIB stamps won't shave a hair off the processing time.

[ferrellk]

You can use the two years on work permits as part of your reckonable residence. Once you have got 5 years of stamps in your passport, you can send off the application for naturalisation. Just bear in mind that, barring any serious improvement in time required for processing applications, you're probably going to be waiting another 3 years to know whether the application has been be approved.

In short: 5 years of residence + 3 years in the queue = 8 years of living in Ireland. These figures are pretty fixed and any subsequent change in GNIB stamps won't shave a hair off the processing time.

To clarify:

If I work 3 years on a work permit, then get married and get stamp 4 (and leave my current job that I am on a permit with) does that 3 years count as reckonable residence? If it does, that means that I can apply for citizenship upon getting married, right? Or do I have to wait another 3 years before applying (a total of 6 years in country legally before applying).

I realize the wait is ridiculously long to get processed, it is unfortunate.

[mktsoi]

You can use the two years on work permits as part of your reckonable residence. Once you have got 5 years of stamps in your passport, you can send off the application for naturalisation. Just bear in mind that, barring any serious improvement in time required for processing applications, you're probably going to be waiting another 3 years to know whether the application has been be approved.

In short: 5 years of residence + 3 years in the queue = 8 years of living in Ireland. These figures are pretty fixed and any subsequent change in GNIB stamps won't shave a hair off the processing time.

To clarify:

If I work 3 years on a work permit, then get married and get stamp 4 (and leave my current job that I am on a permit with) does that 3 years count as reckonable residence? If it does, that means that I can apply for citizenship upon getting married, right? Or do I have to wait another 3 years before applying (a total of 6 years in country legally before applying).

I realize the wait is ridiculously long to get processed, it is unfortunate.

your 3 years on work permit would count as reckonable residence for your tiem you live in ireland. if you married to an irish national, you have to be living here as a married couple 2 out of 3 years before you apply. someone from the forum correct me if i am wrong. the 3 years you were on work permit, if you were not married, the 3 years would still count but you will have to wait for another 2 years for the total up of the 5 years before you can apply. get me?

[sideshowsue]

I am from US and have been here on a work permit for 2 years now, and just got renewed for 3 more years.

I have been a relationship with my Irish partner for 2 years now as well. We are talking marriage. We have lived together 6 months already.

If I stay on this work permit, in 3 years I can apply for citizenship. If we wait a year to get married will that add a year on to my wait time for application for citizenship? Or will my time already here count towards the 3-year reckonable residence requirement?

I will probably look for other work once I get my Stamp 4, so am curious how that might affect how long I have to wait to apply for citizenship.

Thanks.

I think you're confusing the residency requirements for naturalisation. Since you are not already married to your Irish partner and have NOT resided on the island of Ireland as the spouse of an Irish national for 2 of the last 4 years, you MUST meet the 5 years of residency requirement to submit an application for naturalisation.

That said, the two years you have already clocked up in Ireland count towards these 5 required years. Thus, the soonest you can submit an application is 2013 (assuming that you arrived in 2008).

Have you checked the INIS yet? It's all spelt out in the FAQ here: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP07000120#5

Naturalisation of spouses of Irish citizens.
If you are married to an Irish citizen and living in the island of Ireland, you may meet special conditions for naturalisation based on that marriage if:
you are of full age (i.e. eighteen years or older, or married if younger than eighteen)
you are of good character
you are married to your Irish citizen spouse for a period of not less than 3 years,
your marriage is recognised under the laws of the State as subsisting,
you and your Irish citizen spouse are living together as husband and wife and your Irish spouse submits to the Minister an affidavit in the prescribed form to that effect,
you have had immediately before the date of the application a period of one year’s continuous residence in the island of Ireland, and
you have had, during the 4 years immediately preceding that period, a total residence in the island of Ireland amounting to 2 years,
you intend in good faith to continue to reside in the island of Ireland after naturalisation and
you make a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State (see below for the point in the process at which this is required).

Because you have not yet married your Irish partner, you do not fulfill the bolded condition. Therefore you cannot submit an application for naturalisation as soon as you get married.