I'm looking at possibly applying for a job in Dublin and would be interested in obtaining Irish citizenship. I'm a UK citizen, so getting job permits for Ireland is pretty easy. I travel a fair amount for work and am slightly confused by the requirements.
Here's a concrete example.
- Year 1: Spent 300 days in Ireland (more than six weeks away).
- Year 2: Spent 300 days in Ireland (more than six weeks away).
- Year 3: Spent 300 days in Ireland (more than six weeks away).
- Year 4: Spent 300 days in Ireland (more than six weeks away).
- Year 5: Spent 330 days in Ireland (less than six weeks away).
Would I be eligible for (the residency part of) Irish citizenship?
You must have lived in the State for a certain length of time. The specific requirements are that you:
- Have a period of 365 days* (1 year) continuous reckonable residence in the State immediately before the date of your application for naturalisation and
- During the 8 years before that, have had a total reckonable residence in the State of 1,460 days* (4 years)
You can leave Ireland for up to 6 weeks (in total) per year and still be considered resident in that year. If you leave for more than 6 weeks in one year, you should not count this period when you are calculating your reckonable residence.
Altogether you must have 5 years (5 x 365 days*) reckonable residence out of the last 9 years. *You must add 1 day for any period which includes 29 February (a leap year).
Up until the final part, all seems ok:
- I need to be in Ireland for all but six weeks of the last year before my application;
- I need to spend 1,460 days in Ireland during the previous eight years.
But then the final part: is this now counting years or days? It would be a struggle to stay in Ireland for all but six weeks per year each year, but not a struggle to rack up 1,460 days in Ireland in five years.
Originally posted on Law StackExchange: https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/77846/irish-citizenship-residency-requirements. Someone there recommended asking here.
:person_facepalming:
I'm not 100% sure what "You have to show your residence by enclosing documentary evidence of your history in Ireland" means. Maybe just electricity bills for the last five years counts! If you wouldn't mind expanding on this section, I'd be super appreciative. Sorry for being dumb and missing this section:P
:)