Frequently Asked Questions
When you have Irish citizenship, you have European Union citizenship. That means you will have the right to live, work, and travel freely throughout 27 EU member countries. You also gain access to the European Economic Area (EEA), which adds three more countries to these freedoms. You'll also gain the freedom to live, work, and travel through Switzerland.
Irish citizenship is currently the only EU citizenship with the freedom of movement to the UK!
If you have children, they will be able to easily attend university in EU countries. This is often less expensive than American universities, and provides a unique experience which opens doors not typically open to non-EU citizens.
If you are a world traveler, there are some instances where having an EU passport will get you into a country visa or hassle-free when your non-EU passport may not provide the same privilege.
The 27 EU countries are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
The 3 EEA countries (non-EU) are: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Switzerland also grants similar freedoms through bilateral agreements.
The Irish Foreign Births Register (FBR) currently takes an average of 2 years to process applications. Processing times can vary depending on the complexity of your case and the volume of applications being handled.
If you register on the Foreign Births Register before your children are born, they can claim Irish citizenship through you. However, if your children were born before you registered, they cannot automatically claim citizenship — you must register first, and any future children born after your registration will be eligible.
Marriage to an Irish citizen does not automatically grant Irish citizenship. However, your spouse can apply for citizenship through naturalization after living in Ireland for a qualifying period (typically 3 years of residency if married to an Irish citizen, compared to 5 years for others).
No. DNA tests showing Irish ancestry cannot be used as evidence for citizenship applications. Ireland requires documented proof of lineage through official vital records (birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.) connecting you to an Irish-born citizen.
An apostille is an international certification that authenticates the origin of a public document. It is used to verify that a document (such as a birth certificate or marriage certificate) issued in one country is legitimate and can be accepted in another country. In the US, apostilles are issued by the Secretary of State in the state where the document was issued.