Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act , 1956

PART I. Preliminary.

1. Short title.

1. —This Act may be cited as the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956.

2. Definitions.

2. —(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1935” means the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1935 (No. 13 of 1935);

F1["Act of 1996" means the Refugee Act 1996;]

F1["Act of 2003" means the Immigration Act 2003;]

F1["Act of 2004" means the Immigration Act 2004;]

F2[…]

F3["citizenship ceremony" means a ceremony held—

(a) before a judge, or a retired judge, of the District Court, Circuit Court, Court of Appeal, High Court or Supreme Court or such other person as may be designated for that purpose by the Minister, and

(b) at a place and in a form approved by the Minister,

at which an applicant makes the declaration and gives the undertaking referred to insection 15(1)(e), section 15A(1)(h)orsection 15B(1)(d), as the case may be;]

F4["civil partner" means a civil partner within the meaning of section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;]

“consular office” includes a consulate-general, consulate or vice-consulate, whether in charge of a career or honorary consular officer;

“diplomatic officer” means an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, chargé d'affaires, counsellor or secretary of embassy or legation, or attaché;

F1["EEA state" means a state, other than a Member State, that is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;]

F1["EEA Agreement" has the same meaning as it has in the European Communities (Amendment) Act 1993;]

“foreign aircraft” means an aircraft which is not an Irish aircraft;

“foreign ship” means a ship which is not an Irish ship;

F2[…]

F5[…]

“Irish citizen” means a citizen of Ireland;

“Irish aircraft” means an aircraft registered in the State;

“Irish ship” means a ship registered in the State or a ship which, if not registered in the State or under the law of any other country, is wholly owned by a person qualified to own a ship registered in the State or by persons all of whom are so qualified;

F1["Member State" means a Member State of the European Communities;]

F1["mental incapacity" means, in relation to a person, incapacity by reason of a mental condition to manage and administer the person's affairs;]

F6["the Minister" means the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform;]

“naturalised Irish citizen” means a person who acquires Irish citizenship by naturalisation, whether under this or any other enactment;

F7["non-national" means a person who is not an Irish citizen;]

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“public service” when used in relation to the employment of a person, refers to employment in the service of the Government, whether or not in the civil service, or in the service of any public corporation or authority maintained wholly or partly out of public funds or in respect of which a Minister of State is responsible.

F1[(1A) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended, and

(c) a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended, whether before or after the commencement of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004, by or under any subsequent enactment.]

F8[(2) In this Act a reference to the island of Ireland includes a reference to its islands and seas.]

3. Regulations.

3. —(1) The Minister may make regulations in relation to any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed, but no such regulation shall be made in relation to the amount or collection of fees without the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(2) Every regulation made by the Minister under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either House within the next subsequent twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4. Expenses.

4. —All expenses incurred by the Minister or by the Minister for External Affairs in carrying this Act into effect shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

4A. F9[Service or notices of documents.

4A.—(1) A notice or other document that is required or authorised by or under this Act (other than section 27) to be served on or given to a person shall be addressed to the person concerned by name, and may be so served on or given to the person in one of the following ways:

(a) by delivering it to the person;

(b) by leaving it at the address at which the person ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address;

(c) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter, or by any other form of recorded delivery service prescribed by the Minister, addressed to the person at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides or, in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, to that address;

(d) by sending it to the person by electronic means in accordance with subsection (2), in a case in which the person has given notice in writing to the Minister of his or her consent to it (or notices or other documents of a class to which it belongs) being served on or given to him or her in that manner.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(d), a notice or other document is sent to a person by electronic means in accordance with this subsection—

(a) if it is sent to an email address that the person has furnished to the Minister for that purpose, or

(b) in a case in which the person is registered on an electronic interface, by leaving it on that electronic interface.

(3) Where a notice or other document referred to in subsection (1) has been sent to a person in accordance with—

(a) paragraph (c) of subsection (1), the notice or other document shall be deemed to have been duly served on or given to the person on the third working day after the day on which it was so sent, and

(b) paragraph (d) of subsection (1), the notice or other document shall be deemed to have been duly served on or given to the person when the sender’s facility for the delivery of notices or other documents by electronic means generates a message or other record confirming the delivery of the notice or other document by the electronic means used.

(4) In this section, "electronic interface" means a secure information technology platform, portal, exchange, network or other similar interface maintained by, or on behalf of, the Minister which requires personal log-in details.]

5. Repeals and saving for existing citizenship.

5. —(1) The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1935 (No. 13 of 1935), and the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1937 (No. 39 of 1937), are hereby repealed.

(2) Every person who, immediately before the passing of this Act, was a citizen of Ireland shall remain an Irish citizen, notwithstanding the foregoing repeals.

PART II. Citizenship.

6. F10[Citizenship by birth in the island of Ireland.

6.—F11[(1) Subject tosection 6A(inserted by section 4 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004), every person born in the island of Ireland is entitled to be an Irish citizen.]

(2)F11[(a) Subject tosubsection (5), a person who is entitled undersubsection (1)to be an Irish citizen shall be an Irish citizen from the date of his or her birth if—

(i) he or she does any act that only an Irish citizen is entitled to do, or

(ii) in the case of a person who is not of full age or who is suffering from a mental incapacity, any act is done on his or her behalf that only an Irish citizen is entitled to do.]

(b) The fact that a person so born has not done, or has not had done on his or her behalf, such an act shall not of itself give rise to a presumption that the person is not an Irish citizen or is a citizen of another country.

(3) A person born in the island of Ireland is an Irish citizen from birth if he or she is not entitled to citizenship of any other country.

(4)F12[…]

(5) A person born in the island of Ireland who has made a declaration of alienage undersection 21shall remain entitled to be an Irish citizen, but shall not be an Irish citizen unless, in the prescribed manner, that person declares that he or she is an Irish citizen; and such person shall be an Irish citizen from the date of the declaration.]

F13[(6) In this section "person" does not include a person born in the island of Ireland on or after the commencement of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004—

(a) neither of whose parents was at the time of the person's birth—

(i) an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen,

(ii) a British citizen,

(iii) a person entitled to reside in the State without any restriction on his or her period of residence (including in accordance with a permission granted under section 4 of the Act of 2004), or

(iv) a person entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on his or her period of residence, and

(b) at least one of whose parents was at that timeF14[a person referred to in section 2(1) or section 2(1A) of the Immigration Act 2004].]

6A. F15[Entitlement to Irish citizenship of persons born to certain non-nationals.

6A.—(1) A person born in the island of Ireland shall not be entitled to be an Irish citizen unless a parent of that person has, during the period of 4 years immediately preceding the person's birth, been resident in the island of Ireland for a period of not less than 3 years or periods the aggregate of which is not less than 3 years.

(2) This section does not apply to—

(a) a person born before the commencement of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004,

(b) a person born in the island of Ireland—

(i) to parents at least one of whom was at the time of the person's birth an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen,

(ii) if the person was born to parents one of whom was deceased at the time of the person's birth and—

(I) the other parent was at that time, or

(II) the deceased parent was, immediately before he or she died,

an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen, or

(iii) if the person was born to parents both of whom were deceased at the time of the person's birth, and at least one of whom was, immediately before his or her death, an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen,

(c) a person born in the island of Ireland—

(i) to parents at least one of whom was at the time of the person's birth a British citizen or a person entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on his or her period of residence,

(ii) if the person was born to parents one of whom was deceased at the time of the person's birth and—

(I) the other parent was at that time, or

(II) the deceased parent was, immediately before he or she died,

a British citizen or a person entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on his or her period of residence, or

(iii) if the person was born to parents both of whom were deceased at the time of the person's birth and at least one of whom was, immediately before his or her death, a British citizen or a person entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on his or her period of residence,

(d) a person born in the island of Ireland—

(i) to parents at least one of whom was at the time of the person's birth a person entitled to reside in the State without any restriction on his or her period of residence (including in accordance with a permission granted under section 4 of the Act of 2004),

(ii) if the person was born to parents one of whom was deceased at the time of the person's birth and—

(I) the other parent was at that time, or

(II) the deceased parent was, immediately before he or she died,

a person entitled to reside in the State without any restriction on his or her period of residence (including in accordance with a permission granted under section 4 of the Act of 2004), or

(iii) if the person was born to parents both of whom were deceased at the time of the person's birth and one of whom was, immediately before his or her death, a person entitled to reside in the State without any restriction on his or her period of residence (including in accordance with a permission granted under section 4 of the Act of 2004),

or

(e) a person born in the island of Ireland—

(i) neither of whose parents was at the time of the person's birth—

(I) an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen,

(II) a British citizen,

(III) a person entitled to reside in the State without any restriction on his or her period of residence (including in accordance with a permission granted under section 4 of the Act of 2004), or

(IV) a person entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on his or her period of residence, and

(ii) at least one of whose parents was at that timeF16[a person referred to in section 2(1) or section 2(1A) of the Immigration Act 2004].

(3) In this section "British citizen" means a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.]

6B. F17[Residence in the island of Ireland for the purposes of section 6A.

6B.—(1) Where a parent of a person to whomsection 6A(inserted by section 4 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004) applies dies before the person's birth, the period commencing on the date of the parent's death and expiring on the date of the person's birth shall be reckonable for the purposes of calculating a period of residence in the island of Ireland under that section, if—

(a) the parent was, immediately before his or her death, residing in the island of Ireland, and

(b) the period in respect of which he or she was, immediately before his or her death, resident in the island of Ireland is reckonable for the purposes of that section.

(2) Where a national of—

(a) a Member State (other than the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland),

(b) a state (other than a Member State) that is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement, or

(c) the Swiss Confederation,

makes a declaration in such manner as may be prescribed that he or she has resided in the island of Ireland for such period as is stated in that declaration, he or she shall, for the purposes ofsection 6A, be regarded as having been resident in the island of Ireland—

(i) for that period, if during the entire of that period he or she was a national of a Member State, an EEA state or the Swiss Confederation, or

(ii) if he or she was such a national for part only of that period, for that part of the period,

unless the contrary is proved.

(3) (a) If a person who is the guardian of, or inloco parentisto, a person (in this paragraph referred to as the "second-mentioned person") who—

(i) has not attained the age of 18 years, and

(ii) is the child of a person (in this paragraph referred to as the "parent") who was, at the time of the second-mentioned person's birth, a national of a state referred to insubsection (2),

makes a declaration in such manner as may be prescribed that the parent resided in the island of Ireland for such period as is specified in that declaration, the parent shall, for the purposes ofsection 6A, be regarded as having been resident in the island of Ireland—

(I) for that period, if during the entire of that period he or she was a national of a Member State, an EEA state or the Swiss Confederation, or

(II) if he or she was such a national for part only of that period, for that part of the period,

unless the contrary is proved.

(b) If a person who is duly authorised to act on behalf of a person (in this paragraph referred to as the "second-mentioned person") who—

(i) is suffering from a mental incapacity, and

(ii) is the child of a person (in this paragraph referred to as the "parent") who was, at the time of the second-mentioned person's birth, a national of a state referred to insubsection (2),

makes a declaration in such manner as may be prescribed that the parent resided in the island of Ireland for such period as is specified in that declaration, the parent shall, for the purposes ofsection 6A, be regarded as having been resident in the island of Ireland—

(I) for that period, if during the entire of that period he or she was a national of a Member State, an EEA state or the Swiss Confederation, or

(II) if he or she was such a national for part only of that period, for that part of the period,

unless the contrary is proved.

(c) If a person (in this paragraph referred to as the "declarant") who—

(i) has attained the age of 18 years, and

(ii) is the child of a person (in this paragraph referred to as the "parent") who was, at the time of the declarant's birth, a national of a state referred to insubsection (2),

makes a declaration in such manner as may be prescribed that the parent resided in the island of Ireland for such period as is stated in that declaration, the parent shall, for the purposes ofsection 6A, be regarded as having been resident in the island of Ireland—

(I) for that period, if during the entire of that period he or she was a national of a Member State, an EEA state or the Swiss Confederation, or

(II) if he or she was such a national for part only of that period, for that part of the period,

unless the contrary is proved.

(4) A period of residence in the State shall not be reckonable for the purposes of calculating a period of residence undersection 6Aif—

(a) it is in contravention of section 5(1) of the Act of 2004,

(b) it is in accordance with a permission given to a person under section 4 of the Act of 2004 for the purpose of enabling him or her to engage in a course of education or study in the State, or