Citizen application. Leaving the country

[south]

I've recently applied for citizenship and have received notification that my application has been received and is in the system. As all others I'm expecting a minimum 2 year wait .

In the mean time I've decided to go to New Zealand on a student visa for 9 months. Does anyone know if there's a restriction on the time that you are allowed to leave the country for while waiting for citizenship approval?

[joesoap101]

Doing this would result in a false statement being made on your naturalisation application which could have very serious implications. When you apply you say that you intend to live in Ireland after naturalisation so if you leave before then you clearly lied on the application. I wouldnt recommend it, but you can take the chance.

[JAJ]

Doing this would result in a false statement being made on your naturalisation application which could have very serious implications. When you apply you say that you intend to live in Ireland after naturalisation so if you leave before then you clearly lied on the application. I wouldnt recommend it, but you can take the chance.

A 9 month absence wouldn't in itself conflict with the statement of intent to continue residing in the country. However that's not to say it wouldn't cause problems - best not to take the chance if citizenship is important.

Incidentally, naturalised Irish citizens living outside the country are required to register annually an intention to retain citizenship and after 7 years, citizenship can be revoked if this is not done.

Also, if a naturalised Irish citizen subsequently becomes a citizen of another country, the Minister has authority to revoke Irish citizenship.

There is no evidence that these provisions of the Nationality Act are routinely enforced, but any naturalised Irish citizen ought to be aware of them.

[HenrySpencer]

sorry to butt in Jaj, just reading wat you saying about those restrictions on naturalised irish citizens. i obtained my irish citizenship through the old post nuptial way, do i have the same restrictions placed on me? thansk for any help.

[south]

Thanks for the info guys. Not what I was hoping for but at least now I know.

Out of curiosity would the same rules apply for residency? If you have a 5 year longterm residency stamp in your pasport would you be able to leave the country for a few months at a time?

Thanks again for the help!

[JAJ]

sorry to butt in Jaj, just reading wat you saying about those restrictions on naturalised irish citizens. i obtained my irish citizenship through the old post nuptial way, do i have the same restrictions placed on me? thansk for any help.

The restrictions do not apply to citizenship obtained that way.

[mktsoi]

hi south

i was just about to submit my application this week as well for citizenship. i spoke to someone in DoJ. they said to me it take at least 2.5 year for the citizenship application to process. like JAJ said. 9 months not the problem. the only thing you have to keep in mind is your gnib card. you suppose to have a valid gnib cardbetween the day you submit your application and the day they grant you the citizenship. if you just going for 9 months and you have the valid gnib card and permission to remain when you come back. i guess it is not a big problem.

about the long-term residence. i spoke to someone in the DoJ as well. they will renew it after 5 years base on you record in their file, but they never said anything else after to me. so if after you get your long-term residence and you decide to study for 5 years and not working. they might or might not renew it. i dont know, but you know how it is in ireland. some people work in the government dont know what they talking about and working on the job. this is pretty bad.

[joesoap101]

There is a requirement to immediately notify the DOJ when you leave the country while your application is being processed. This includes even short absences, however I believe they ignore short holidays spent outside Ireland- however if they contact you and realise you are out of the country your application will be refused. Trust me they are looking for reasons to refuse people. If you were open to advice of any kind, don't do it. If obtaining Irish citizenship is not really important to you then you could take the chance and you may even get away with it.