HOW TO OBTAIN
AN IRISH VISA,
IRISH CITIZENSHIP,
OR AN IRISH PASSPORT!
The Rules for Getting Married in Ireland.
DO I NEED A VISA TO VISIT
IRELAND?
If
you are a citizen of the United States, Canada, Mexico, or the European Union you do not require
a visa to visit Ireland. However, if you are planning
on staying in Ireland for longer than 90 days, or
if you are interested in working and/or living in
Ireland, please see the Irish Embassy's Living
and Working in Ireland information
page.
IRISH CITIZENSHIP OR AN
IRISH PASSPORT
To obtain a Passport, you
must first be an Irish citizen. Obtaining your Irish
citizenship can require some work, but the benefits
include breezing through immigration on trips throughout
the European Union and greater ability to find work
in the EU. The following is some basic information
on the process.
Will I jeopardize my U.S.
citizenship if I become
an Irish citizen?
No. The U.S. government
recognizes dual citizenship. You must, however,
use your U.S. passport when departing or entering
the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of State,
if you get in trouble in the EU, the U.S. government
will still protect you unless thwarted by the host
country.
Am I eligible for Irish
citizenship?
If you are Irish-born or have
an Irish-born parent, you automatically are considered an Irish
citizen. There is no need to apply for citizenship but if you were born outside Ireland, you will need to register as a Foreign Born Citizen.
You are also eligible, and may apply
for Irish citizenship, if you have a grandparent and,
in a very, very few instances, a great-grandparent
who is or was an Irish-born citizen. The rules and restrictions
governing citizenship come with the application or
go to the
Irish Embassy website. You are also eligible if
you have been married for three years to a person
who has him/herself been an Irish citizen for three
years (although since 2006 you are required to live for some time in Ireland). Lastly, you are eligible if you are a child
of a naturalized Irish citizen, provided you were
born after your parent was naturalized. (If you are
considering having a family it behooves you to get
your Irish citizenship before you havechildren so
that they also will be eligible.)
How do I apply?
You can also get an application
form directly from
the
CONSULATE GENERAL OF IRELAND,
100 PINE ST., 33RD FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111
(415) 392-4214
or email sanfrancongen@dfa.ie.
www.consulateofirelandsanfrancisco.org
What documents do I need?
If you are applying as the
grandchild of an Irish-born
citizen, you will need to provide one
original and one copy of:
Birth certificates (what's called the long
form, not the short form) for yourself; the parent you
are claiming citizenship through; and your Irish-born
grandparent. In some cases baptismal certificates
can be accepted if the birth certificate is unavailable.
Marriage certificates for
you (if applicable), your parent, and your grandparent.
Death certificates,
if your parent or grandparent has died.
Depending on the situation, other documents may also
be requested. If you are applying as the child of
a naturalized citizen (provided you were born
after your parent became an Irish citizen)you will need to
provide one original and one copy of our parent's Irish naturalization
certificate.
Birth certificates for you
and your naturalized parent.
Marriage certificate for your
parent and yourself, if applicable.
Death certificate of your parent,
if deceased.
All applicants also will
need to provide a photocopy of their passport
and photocopies of three additional proofs of identity,
such as a driver's license, pay slip, or employment
ID card.
You also need to provide two
identical passport-sized photos. There are very specific photo quality standards that apply to the photos that are acceptable - check with the Irish Embassy or Consulate for details.
How do I get the documents
I need?
Collecting all the important
papers, marriage, birth, and death certificates,
can be the trickiest part of the process. You
need to know where your
grandparent and/or parent were born and married
(and/or died as the case may be); then you
contact the keeper of vital records in those
areas and request what you need. You also need
to get your birth certificate (and marriage
certificate, if married). The
Irish Consulate in San Francisco (415-392-4214
or email sanfrancongen@dfa.ie)
can give you the names of the
vital records agencies
in individual counties in Ireland.
Ireland's General Register Office can provide records of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the Republic of Ireland provided sufficient information is furnished. The Office has records of marriages other than Roman Catholic marriages dating to 1845, and records of Births, Deaths and Roman Catholic Marriages dating to 1864.
Click here to apply for an Irish
Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, or Marriage Certificate for yourself, a parent, grandparent or other Irish ancestor. The application forms specify the basic detail of information that is required.
The
process gets tricky when you don't know the particulars of your grandparent's
or your parent's birth
and/or marriage. Places and dates
are critical for securing the proper documents.
In the U.S.,
records are kept by states (except
in Massachusetts where they are kept by cities and
towns) and you can call directory assistance
to ask for the number of the Office of
Vital Records (Hartford, Conn., and the boroughs
of New York City have their own offices).
Marriage certificates
also are available from churches.
What is the fee?
There are different Application fees for children
and adults - contact the Irish Consulate for charges. Fees must be paid by certified
check or money order.
If applying in person, you may use cash. Once
you have your citizenship, you may apply for a Passport. The 10-year Passport fee for most adults is €80 (about $110), and there's
no charge for new Passports or Passport renewals for
those over 65 years of age. However, verify all fees
with the Irish Consulate (415-392-4214 or email sanfrancongen@dfa.ie).
Note: Individual agencies
also charge fees for certified
copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates.
How long will the Citizenship process take?
It could take months and in some cases, years, especially
if you don't have proper
documentation. Oftentimes the process
hits a snag when applicants hand in the short
form of a birth certificate rather than the
long form. And things can slow down when a baptismal certificate is presented
instead of a birth certificate.
That's where other documents may
also be requested. However, the next step, getting your passport, takes
a lot less time.
What are the benefits of Irish Citizenship?
The chief benefits of dual Irish-US citizenship are that,
with an Irish Passport
you can avoid the long non-EU-citizen lines at immigration
anywhere in the European Union, and you
can also work anywhere in the EU without a work permit. Irish citizenship will also permit you to obtain emergency medical care at reduced rates in Ireland. In addition, you can purchase real estate in Ireland or in any EU member country. Broader
benefits, such as voting, Social Service,
discounted college tuition, etc., generally
have residency requirements, and in some cases require
that you have paid Irish taxes. One last benefit, once you become an Irish citizen, any children born to you after that date will also be eligible for Irish citizenship.
The
information above is correct to the best of our
knowledge. But this document is not a legal document
and the information above is intended for
guidance only. For
more specific
information, please contact:
CONSULATE
GENERAL OF IRELAND,
100
PINE ST., 33RD FLOOR
SAN
FRANCISCO, CA 94111
(415) 392-4214
sanfrancongen@dfa.ie
www.consulateofirelandsanfrancisco.org
