Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 September 2026
274. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if any analysis has been undertaken by his Department, the immigration service or any agency under his remit regarding the long-term residency, emigration or retention rates of naturalised Irish citizens; and if he will provide details of any such analysis. [66029/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra275. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department collects or maintains data on the number or proportion of persons who acquire Irish citizenship through naturalisation and who remain resident in the State for five years, ten years and 15 years after naturalisation. [66028/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra280. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of declarations of intention to retain Irish citizenship received from naturalised Irish citizens residing outside the State in each year since 2015, in tabular form. [66030/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 274, 275 and 280 together.
As the Deputy is aware, any person granted Irish citizenship through naturalisation must intend in good faith to continue to reside in the State after their naturalisation.
Since 2011, approximately 236,000 people have been granted Irish citizenship through naturalisation. My Department does not collect or maintain data on the residence status of persons after they have attended a citizenship ceremony and received a certificate of naturalisation. Accordingly, my Department does not hold data on the number or proportion of naturalised citizens who remain resident in the State for five, ten or fifteen years following naturalisation. Similarly, my Department does not maintain datasets relating to the long-term residence, emigration or retention rates of naturalised Irish citizens.
Where a naturalised citizen resides outside the State, for whatever reason, the person concerned should complete a “Declaration of Intention to Retain Irish Citizenship” (Form 5). This form should be submitted annually for so long as the person remains ordinarily resident outside Ireland.
Further information is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/intention-to-retain-irish-citizenship/
It has not been possible to compile the figures of Form 5 declarations received from 2015 as the Deputy has requested. I will write to the Deputy directly once this information is to hand.
The below table outlines the number of Form 5 declarations received by my Department in each year since 2021.
|
Year |
Form 5 |
|
2021 |
632 |
|
2022 |
688 |
|
2023 |
753 |
|
2024 |
768 |
|
2025 |
785 |
*Please note, figures are correct at time of issue, however, all statistics may be subject to data cleansing.
