Immigration to Ireland - Please Help

[karamba101]

Hi there,

Me and my partner are planning to get married in the near future and we are thinking about moving to Ireland. She is Irish, i'm Russian and we are currently living in the UK.

We're not sure though how to interpret the following rule (quoted from http://www.oasis.gov.ie website): "You can make a post-nuptial declaration of Irish citizenship if your Irish citizen spouse did not acquire Irish citizenship through naturalisation..."

My partner (about 10 years ago) became an Irish citizen via the ancestry route. Is this considered naturalisation? This rule seems very odd to me. It would mean that there's no way I can live in Ireland as an Irish citizen together with my wife. We don't actually mind staying in England but the problem is my UK visa expires in December.

Please help if you know the answer to our question. We will very much appreciate any help.

[marialear]

Hi,

The naturalization route is usually made by someone who has no ancestey ties to Ireland. Naturalization is when an non-Irish person has been living and working legally in Ireland for some time (a total of 5 years) and decides that they want to become Irish. It involves an application form and references, background check, things like that.

Your future partner aquired citizenship through ancestry which is completely different to naturalization. It would appear that once you get married, you can apply for the post-nuptial declaration and become Irish yourself.

Check out the details for sure through. Details of citizenship and immigration into Ireland are within the Department of Justice, see www.justice.ie. Or contact the Immigration Council in Dublin via www.immigrantcouncil.ie. Both places sould be able to give you the formal procedures you have to complete to gain Irish citizenship.

Good luck,

Maria

[karamba101]

Many thanks for your reply. It sheds some light on our question.. We will take a look at the links.