Irish Citizenship Application - Irish References

Hi,

I just thought to ask about the 3 references to be provided as part of the Irish citizenship application. I am wondering from your experience if these references should be people that know you very well such as good friends or colleagues to vouch for you, and if they are indeed contacted by phone during the application process.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

They must know you well enough to be able to answer questions and provide references if asked to.

My friend texted me two weeks ago and said she's got a letter via post asking her to write a reference on me. They've also asked her to send a copy of her ID and proof of address.

Two other referees which are my husband and former landlord haven't been contacted yet.

They do contact them randomly (otherwise what's the point of having their addresses on the file).

Hi,

With regards to the 3 Irish references, I am wondering if the form is filled with a scanned signature will be enough, or does it have to be filled and signed manually on the printed form?

Thank you very much.

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 09, 2021 5:30 pm

Hi,
With regards to the 3 Irish references, I am wondering if the form is filled with a scanned signature will be enough, or does it have to be filled and signed manually on the printed form?

Thank you very much.

It must be hand filled and signed manually by each of the individuals acting as referee.

Vorona wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 09, 2021 5:57 pm

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 09, 2021 5:30 pm

Hi,
With regards to the 3 Irish references, I am wondering if the form is filled with a scanned signature will be enough, or does it have to be filled and signed manually on the printed form?

Thank you very much.

It must be hand filled and signed manually by each of the individuals acting as referee.

Thanks very much Vorona for the reply. Do you have please references to confirm it should be hand written. I could not see anything like that in here:
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-cont ... m-CTZ3.pdf

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:10 am

Thanks very much Vorona for the reply. Do you have please references to confirm it should be hand written. I could not see anything like that in here:
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-cont ... m-CTZ3.pdf

Page 16
Use a black pen and PRINT IN BLOCK CAPITALS

Vorona wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:33 pm

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:10 am

Thanks very much Vorona for the reply. Do you have please references to confirm it should be hand written. I could not see anything like that in here:
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-cont ... m-CTZ3.pdf

Page 16
Use a black pen and PRINT IN BLOCK CAPITALS

Thanks very much Vorona for pointing that out. I will have my references reviewed accordingly.

If 2 of my references changed address do I have to inform the citizenship team? And if yes does an email suffice?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:05 pm

Vorona wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:33 pm

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:10 am

Thanks very much Vorona for the reply. Do you have please references to confirm it should be hand written. I could not see anything like that in here:
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-cont ... m-CTZ3.pdf

Page 16
Use a black pen and PRINT IN BLOCK CAPITALS

Thanks very much Vorona for pointing that out. I will have my references reviewed accordingly.

Black pen is stated because black ink is picked up on OCR scanning devices better than any other colours. Also black color is the unofficial color used in official documents, probably because it photocopies well. Due to Covid, I could no longer distribute my application form around as my references live in different parts of Ireland, so I had to scan and get them to fill the references section and then print them off to include them in my application. My solicitor said that this would be sufficient, particularly during covid lockdown.

Whilst Black Ink would be correct, there is no requirement for it to be hand written.

There is no legal requirement to use fill in the form by hand. That is against Article 25 of eDIAS Regulation 910/2014, which specifically said that 'electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility
as evidence'.

An 'electronic signature' is defined as 'data in electronic form which is attached to, or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign' in the regulation, therefore a scanned copy of signature or an e-signature such as DocuSign has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature.

Now, putting aside the regulations, the reality is that some INIS staff can be stubborn and never wanted to embrace new technology. It did happen a lot of times that people were asked to confirm the signature or explain the difference between the signature in the form and those in their passport or in INIS's records. This is permissible by eDIAS as well, since the legal entity has every right to make sure that the electronic signature does actually belong to the said person.

Therefore, you should make sure that the telephone number and address for the 3 references are all correct. There is a big chance that INIS will ask them to confirm the signature and their references.

Btw, can you not find 3 local persons? Like get to your next door neighbours or your local shop assistants? Or even just colleagues by meeting them at their grocery shop?

Omason wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:22 am

If 2 of my references changed address do I have to inform the citizenship team? And if yes does an email suffice?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I am in the same situation ...

My situation was slightly different regarding references. I was with my Irish partner for many years but since we split would be difficult for me to approach her or her family for references, so that made things difficult. I didn't want to put landlords down as they cannot really represent me, one never met me but gladly took my rent for 3 years. So I used 2 friends-cum-work colleagues from different workplaces in Ireland, both of whom have moved to different parts of the country since Covid. Third is a family friend who is Irish citizen but who now lives in the UK and has known me for years.

So throw in Covid and it certainly added logistical difficulties in just meeting up face-to-face and getting them to sign it. Particularly with all the multiple lockdowns. I submitted my application right after my 5 year residency mark as I knew there was going to be delays/backlogs and didn't want to waste any unnecessary time on it any longer.

But you are spot on though, you never know what kind of person in the INIS is going to pick up your application and whether or not they will treat it differently/suspiciously even though it is perfectly legal thing to have everything electronically signed.

Hopefully Covid situation may go some way to allow for some understanding on the applicants part.

cleire8 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:32 am

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 5:05 pm

Vorona wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 12:33 pm

Leo_55 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:10 am

Thanks very much Vorona for the reply. Do you have please references to confirm it should be hand written. I could not see anything like that in here:
https://www.irishimmigration.ie/wp-cont ... m-CTZ3.pdf

Page 16
Use a black pen and PRINT IN BLOCK CAPITALS

Thanks very much Vorona for pointing that out. I will have my references reviewed accordingly.

Black pen is stated because black ink is picked up on OCR scanning devices better than any other colours. Also black color is the unofficial color used in official documents, probably because it photocopies well. Due to Covid, I could no longer distribute my application form around as my references live in different parts of Ireland, so I had to scan and get them to fill the references section and then print them off to include them in my application. My solicitor said that this would be sufficient, particularly during covid lockdown.

Whilst Black Ink would be correct, there is no requirement for it to be hand written.

Thank you for your feedback. I am a similar situation where I can not physically meet my referees. Plus since the application form is an editable file, I have just had my referees fill type in their information and fill the document and add to it a scan of their signature. And yes there is no mention of 'hand written' in the application form.

Hi,

I just found out today that one of my references did not use a black pen to write and also he wrote in a lower case letter. I just submitted the application last week.

Do you think my application may be refused because of this reason?

Many thanks,
KH

Please keep the same questions in the same thread. As I mentioned in your own thread, no it won't be refused. Worst case scenario is that they will ask you to re-fill out that page.

(Plus, if they really want to refuse you on this basis, there's nothing you can do anyway as your application has already been submitted.)

littlerr wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 23, 2021 12:04 pm

Please keep the same questions in the same thread. As I mentioned in your own thread, no it won't be refused. Worst case scenario is that they will ask you to re-fill out that page.

(Plus, if they really want to refuse you on this basis, there's nothing you can do anyway as your application has already been submitted.)

Thank you for your great answer and thank you for reminding me.

Yes, I got it.

KH