Irish citizenship by descent: common questions

Yes. Ireland allows dual citizenship, and so do the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. You keep your current citizenship and passport and add an Irish one.

You lose nothing. If you’re British, you stay British. Under the Common Travel Area, Irish citizens can already live, work, study, use the NHS, claim benefits and vote in the UK without any permission, so having both changes nothing in the UK.

Yes. The rules say “born on the island of Ireland”, which includes Northern Ireland. The one thing to check is if the relative you’re claiming through was born on the island on or after January 1, 2005. Their citizenship then depends on their own parents’ status, so ask the Passport Service.

Usually only if your parent was entered on the Foreign Births Register before you were born. There’s an exception for older registrations: if your parent was entered on the register between July 17, 1956 and June 30, 1986, ask the Foreign Births Registration section, because you may qualify even if you were born before they registered. Otherwise, you can’t become Irish by descent. Naturalization is the usual route left, and it normally means living in Ireland. The Minister for Justice can waive some conditions for people with Irish associations, but that’s at the Minister’s discretion.

If your parent was born in Ireland, you’re Irish from birth, so your children can be entered on the Foreign Births Register through you. If you become Irish through the Foreign Births Register, only children born after your registration date can be registered through you. Children born before it can’t.

Not through your descent. A spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen can apply for naturalization after at least three years of marriage or civil partnership, once they’ve lived on the island of Ireland for three of the last five years, including the full year before applying. Applications go to Immigration Service Delivery at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

Send the document that links the names, usually a marriage certificate. Spellings on older Irish records often vary, for example Mc and Mac, or an anglicized first name.

The Foreign Births Register doesn’t ask for apostilles. If any of your documents aren’t in English or Irish, contact the Foreign Births Registration section to check what translation it needs.

No military service: Ireland doesn’t have conscription. Irish tax depends on where you live, not on your citizenship, so becoming Irish doesn’t on its own mean paying tax in Ireland. US citizens are taxed by the US wherever they live, Irish passport or not.

Adoption can count. The Foreign Births Register asks for the adoption certificate and adoption order, and proof that the adoptive parent was Irish when the adoption took effect. If your parents weren’t married when you were born, contact the Foreign Births Registration section before applying, so you send the right documents.

The Foreign Births Register has a review process if you think a decision is wrong. If a passport application is unsuccessful or canceled, the Passport Service refunds the passport fee.

You can apply yourself without paying anyone. The Department of Foreign Affairs has a phone line (+353 1 568 3331) and web chat, weekdays 9am to 4.30pm Irish time.