The citizenship law change at a glance
Four things to know before you read anything else.
- What is proposed
- Longer residence before naturalisation, a language requirement, a self-sufficiency test and a longer qualifying period for spouses.
- Is it law?
- No. The bill has not been published or passed, and there is no start date.
- Who is not affected
- Existing Irish citizens and passport holders, and people claiming citizenship by descent.
- What to do now
- Check whether you already qualify under the current rules, before deciding when to apply.
What is changing under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026
The proposed citizenship rule changes for 2026, side by side with the rules that apply today.
| Requirement | Current rule | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Residence required | 5 years | 8 years, including 6 in the last 10 and 2 continuous years immediately before applying |
| Language | No requirement | English, Irish or Irish Sign Language |
| Financial | No test | Must show economic self-sufficiency |
| Spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen | 3 years married | 5 years married |
Who the changes could affect most
The people with most at stake are those who are close to qualifying but not there yet: anyone approaching five years of reckonable residence, spouses and civil partners between three and five years into their marriage, and people whose residence history has gaps that push their eligibility date back. If you already qualify, the question is timing. If you are some way off, the new test is likely to be the one you will meet.
How the language and self-sufficiency requirements would be measured, and what evidence would be needed, has not been published.
What has not changed
- Citizenship by descent. If you are entitled to citizenship through an Irish-born parent or grandparent, the proposals do not change that.
- The Foreign Births Register. Registration is a separate process run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and is not part of the proposals.
- Existing Irish citizens and passport holders. If you are already an Irish citizen, your citizenship and your passport are unaffected.
Nothing has changed in law yet. If you are close to five years, the useful thing to do now is check your own timeline carefully, not rush in an application that could be refused.
Should you apply now? How to check where you stand
A short self-check for naturalisation applications under the rules that apply today.
Answer these five questions for yourself. You do not need to send them to anyone, and nothing here is a sales pitch. They are the same questions we start with when we review a citizenship application.
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How long have you been legally resident in Ireland?
Most adults need five years of reckonable residence in the nine years before applying. Spouses and civil partners of Irish citizens need three.
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Is your residence reckonable?
Stamp 1, 1G, 3, 4 and 5 generally count. Time on a student permission (Stamp 2 or 2A) does not.
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Have you lived here for the full year immediately before you would apply?
You need one year of continuous residence right before the application. Absences are allowed only within set limits, and longer ones must be explained with evidence.
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Are there any gaps in your permission?
Time when your permission had expired, or before a renewal was granted, generally does not count and can move your eligibility date.
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What permission do you hold now, and when does it expire?
Your permission type affects which rules apply to you, and you should hold valid permission while your application is being decided.
If you answered yes to the first three, you may already qualify under the current rules. It is worth taking advice before the position changes.
This is a guide, not a legal assessment. Absences, gaps and permission types all have details that can change the answer.
Married to or in a civil partnership with an Irish citizen
What the proposed change from three to five years means for citizenship through marriage.
Today, if you are married to or in a civil partnership with an Irish citizen, you can apply for naturalisation once the marriage or civil partnership has lasted three years, if you also have three years of reckonable residence on the island of Ireland in the five years before you apply. One of those years must be continuous and immediately before the application.
The proposals would raise the minimum length of the marriage or civil partnership from three years to five. The full detail, including whether the residence period for spouses changes too, will only be clear when the bill is published.
If you are between three and five years into your marriage or civil partnership, you are the group most directly exposed to this change. If you meet every current condition now, you may be able to apply under the rules as they stand. Whether an application made before the change would be decided under the old test has not been announced, so have your position checked before you decide.
If you are not yet at three years, there is nothing to apply for yet. Keep your evidence of residence and of your life together in order, so you are ready whichever rules apply when you become eligible. If you still need permission to live in Ireland, see our guide to the Spouse of Irish Citizen visa.
Why Ferrys Solicitors
Who you will deal with, where we are, and what happens when you get in touch.
Mariana Cambauva
Legal Executive · Ormond Quay Office
Mariana is a legal executive in our immigration team, advising clients on Irish citizenship, naturalisation and immigration permissions. She handles citizenship work at our Ormond Quay office. Full profile
- Office
- Inn Chambers, 15 Ormond Quay Upper, Dublin 7, D07 YK6A
- Immigration line
- +353 89 266 9206 (call or WhatsApp)
- Office phone
- (01) 677 9408
- Established
- 1989, with five offices across Dublin
- Languages
- English and Portuguese
- Regulation
- Ferrys Solicitors LLP is a firm of solicitors regulated by the Law Society of Ireland and the Legal Services Regulatory Authority.
What happens when you get in touch
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Initial consultation
A conversation by phone, video or at our Ormond Quay office about your residence history and what you want to achieve.
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Eligibility assessment
We check your permissions, reckonable residence, absences and documents against the current rules, and tell you plainly whether to apply now or wait.
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Application
If you go ahead, we prepare and submit your application and handle correspondence with Immigration Service Delivery while it is decided.
Fees
We quote our fees in writing after the initial consultation, before any work on your application starts. Government application and certification fees are separate and are paid directly to the State.
Read what clients say about us in our Google reviews.
Irish citizenship law change: your questions answered
Straight answers, including where the honest answer is that nobody knows yet.
No. The Government has approved the drafting of a bill, but as of 11 September 2026 the bill has not been published, it has not been passed by the Oireachtas and no start date has been set. Until that happens, the current citizenship rules apply.
That is not yet known. No transitional arrangements have been announced, so nobody can promise that an application made before the change will be decided under the current rules. We will update this page as soon as the bill is published.
Nothing announced so far changes citizenship by descent. The proposals are about naturalisation. Citizenship through an Irish-born parent or grandparent, and registration on the Foreign Births Register, are separate routes. People who are already Irish citizens, including existing Irish passport holders, are not affected.
Under the current rules, most adults need five years of reckonable residence in the nine years before applying, including one full year of continuous residence immediately before the application. Spouses and civil partners of Irish citizens need three years. Under the proposals the general requirement would rise to eight years, but that is not the law yet.
Reckonable residence is time you have lived in Ireland on an immigration permission that counts towards citizenship. Stamp 1, 1G, 3, 4 and 5 generally count. Time on a student permission (Stamp 2 or 2A) does not, and neither does time without valid permission. Working out your exact total from your permission history is where applications most often go wrong.
Not under the current rules. The proposals would require applicants to show competence in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language. How that would be assessed, to what level and from when has not been published.
This is not yet known. It will depend on the transitional provisions in the bill, and none have been announced. Because citizenship applications can take many months to decide, it is a real question for anyone applying now, and one we will answer on this page once the bill is published.
No. You can apply yourself, and many people do. A solicitor is most useful when your history is not straightforward: gaps between permissions, long absences, changes of stamp, a previous refusal, a conviction or tax issues. It is also worth having your reckonable residence checked before you pay the application fee.