EU national registration upon arrival for naturalization

[nepthys]

Hello,

Upon reviewing the application form for naturalization to Irish citizenship it says that you must also submit proof of residency in the form of a Garda registration card or stamp.

I researched this and some sources say EU nationals don't need to register upon arrival, which I was also told by the Garda office, some say you do.

I also looked up the stamps categories page and there is no stamp for EU nationals.

Considering that EU passports aren't stamped, how are you supposed to produce such evidence of residency and your arrival? My residency is only documented by employment with my company and through the tax office. I have been continuously employed with a single company since 3 days after arriving to Ireland.

I also read that the time that your residency isn't properly documented will not be considered toward naturalization process.

There was a mention that you should submit a letter which documents your residency written by Department of Justice.

I was also wondering, given the lengthy waiting period, is it possible to submit your application before your 5 years of residency are completed?

Does anybody have any accurate information regarding this?

Thank you!

Best Regards

[JAJ]

The forms haven't been updated, possibly.

The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001 did have such a requirement (effective 30 November 2002) for EU member state citizens (other than British citizens) to have residence permits.
http://www.bailii.org/ie/legis/num_act/ ... .html#sec6

However, the new legislation in 2004 changed this, from 1 January 2005:
http://www.bailii.org/ie/legis/num_act/ ... html#sec11

Now as long as residence is not specifically excluded, it is counted.

You might want to write to the Department of Justice and ask for clarification.

It may also be a good idea to get a residence permit anyway. If you have been working in Ireland for 5 years and have been an EU/EEA member state citizen all along, you are now a Permanent Resident (bear in mind that this is not a pre-requisite for naturalisation).

[bloody foreigner]

I asked GNIB the same question (for someone else) and was told that things like bank statements, bills, etc would serve as proof and that the 5 years would start from the earliest one (decided not to proceed as it takes too long and one EU passport is basically the same as the other).

This is only what they said on the phone, and as we all know, if you ask two different people you'll get two different answers.

However, I would agree with JAJ that if there is a stamp/permit available you should get it - it leaves them very little room for arguement.

Regarding applying before the 5 years are reached - the official answer is "No", but people who did apply with insufficient residency were being told to reapply using the same reference number when they had completed the 5 years. This effectively meant that you could apply early just to grab a place in the queue and then resubmit later. It's a little bit "Irish", but there you are. I don't know if they still do that, or if they have figured out this loophole yet.

[JAJ]

I asked GNIB the same question (for someone else) and was told that things like bank statements, bills, etc would serve as proof and that the 5 years would start from the earliest one (decided not to proceed as it takes too long and one EU passport is basically the same as the other).

All it will need is for one EU country to impose "temporary" immigration control in the coming recession and the whole system of free movement of labour between EU states could be a memory within months.

If you already have an Irish residence permit you would likely be allowed to remain (but not re-enter if you left), that said, you should consider taking out Irish citizenship if eligible.

What EU state are you from and will you keep or lose this nationality if you become Irish?

[nepthys]

Hi and thank you to both. I was hoping that it is the case of submitting something like a tax office letter, bank statement or employment letter, this seems reasonable enough.

I agree with JAJ, it's a matter of having the safer EU citizenship I guess. Then again, after this Lisbon treaty situation, Irish one might be tricky haha.

I come from Slovenia and under the current law would lose my original citizenship since Slovenia doesn't recognize dual citizenships while Ireland does. This may still change I suppose.

[JAJ]

I agree with JAJ, it's a matter of having the safer EU citizenship I guess. Then again, after this Lisbon treaty situation, Irish one might be tricky haha.

I come from Slovenia and under the current law would lose my original citizenship since Slovenia doesn't recognize dual citizenships while Ireland does. This may still change I suppose.

Are you sure you would lose your Slovenian citizenship:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenian_nationality_law
http://www.coe.int/t/e/legal_affairs/le ... hipact.asp

also:
http://www.mnz.gov.si/fileadmin/mnz.gov ... RS-Eng.doc

All of these suggest that your Slovenian citizenship would remain valid upon becoming an Irish citizen, provided you wanted to keep it, and provided you did not do anything contrary to Slovenia's national interests.

You may wish to contact the Slovenian Embassy (don't accept verbal advice) to see if the situation is still as outlined above.