My ears perked up recently when an in-law was discussing the possibility of gaining Irish citizenship. In this case, US-Irish dual citizenship.
But, why? you may ask. Indeed. As we mature and have family, our roots become more important. This, indeed, is the genesis of the idea. Really, it's the important reason.
Another reason? Fun. I mean, it'll be like St. Patrick's Day all year long!
For those of you not swayed by family and fun...
Two Words: European Union. EU.
When you are an Irish Citizen, you are (or at least I still assume) also a citizen of Europe.
Basically, instantly, you can get all the benefits of such citizenship. Property ownership becomes infinitely easier. Getting health care and other insurance is easier when you are overseas.
You can work in the EU without applying for visas and and being hassled. You can get unemployment and long-term health insurance after you've been working for a while in any EU country (currently 15 countries, soon to be 25).
For us, the idea tags along with the concept of possibly moving to Europe. Maybe for 6 months, maybe for a couple of years. But if we did, how would we cope? Well, we'd, uhhh, hmmm.
That's where Irish Citizenship comes in handy. It's about options as much as anything else.
In an act of extreme generosity, the Irish government is, for a time, allowing children not born in Ireland, but who are children of Irish Citizens, to become citizens!
So, for us, it's time to start gathering originals. Birth, marriage and death certificates from Ireland and Illinois and Colorado and a dozen more forms, all originals of course. Sheesh! Lots of forms, but it could very well be worth it.
Update 6/29/05: She got it! Ms. O'Neill's a Full Irish Citizen!
Sounds too good to be true? It's not. But there's a lot of work involved, and they aren't just giving these things away.
First off, consider visiting The SIDHE website which more fully explains membership benefits for US dual citizenship holders.
Here's a link to Ireland's US Embassy website which has some great info on the process, eligibility, costs, the fact that you don't need to pay some intermediary website to attempt this, etc.
Irish Embassy website citizenship info.
Finally, a few notes from what we've learned so far:
1. The application says that your parents have to be citizens. BUT, your parents are AUTOMATICALLY citizens if any of your grandparents were born in Ireland. That means that you can claim citizenship if any of your grandparents were born there.
2. The top link to SIDHE ends with an application to pay them $25.00 to get you all this info. This isn't necessary. You simply write to your local embassy. See this embassy webpage to find out which is your branch.
3. Can US Citizens hold dual citizenship? Seems so. You can NOT lose US citizenship without explicitly declaring that you WANT to give it up, and filling out the proper form, of course. See this US State Department webpage for official-sounding government details.
4. Is this expensive? I heard it could cost $1000 or more.
Nope, that is not true. It'll cost:
A. Self-addressed stamped envelope sent to the Irish Embassy for your state.
B. approx $150 application fee to the Irish government.
C. Cost for certified originals of all forms, about $100 if you don't have them, usually $10-$15 per form.
5. How long does this take? About 2 weeks for the embassy to respond. Then about 4-6 weeks to gather certified forms, then the website says anywhere from 6 months to 1 1/2 years to have your application approved or denied. So, anywhere from 8 months to well more than a year in total. In our case, it took about 16 months to receive final word she was granted citizenship.
6. My wife Kathy is the one applying. Unfortunately, based on recent changes to Irish law, I don't automatically (as her husband) get citizenship anymore. It used to be that I would have. I'd have to live there with her for years... Ditto our sons Max & Liam.
7. The General Register Office is where you can go to get an application for birth and death certificates in Ireland if needed.
About.com has another good minisite with info.
Slainté!
Posted by BilFish at March 25, 2004 08:21 AM