A child born in Ireland may be entitled to an Irish passport by birth if the parents have lived in the country legally for at least three years before the birth. This is not naturalisation: the birthright law took effect in 2008, after a referendum that abolished automatic citizenship for everyone born in the country. An application is submitted, and the authorities check whether the family meets all the criteria.

What the 2008 law changed

Before 2008, children born in Ireland automatically received Irish citizenship. After the change adopted in the referendum, this rule was abolished. Now the right to a birthright passport depends on the parents’ status.

The law applies to citizens of any country: the condition is the same for Syrians, Afghans, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Indians, and everyone else who arrived on legal grounds.

Conditions for applying

Parents must have lived in Ireland legally for at least three years before the child’s birth. It is precisely the legal status that matters: temporary protection, according to the author of the material, also counts as legal status. The years of residence are counted the same way as for naturalisation, but the child does not go through the naturalisation procedure itself.

After the application is submitted, it is checked whether the family meets all the criteria.

Can the passport be taken away

A passport obtained by birth is not revoked. Citizenship and a passport can only be taken away through the revocation of a naturalisation certificate. For children who received a passport under this right, no such grounds arise in the described case.

All the conditions are published openly on Ireland’s official websites, and it’s worth reading them there directly.

A queue outside a government office in central Dublin, people with folders waiting their turn