NEW FEES FOR CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS

The Department of Justice and Equality recently introduced an application fee of €175 for all Naturalisation applications made after the 10^th November 2011. This fee is non-refundable and will apply even if you have lodged an ineligible application, for example where you do not have the required reckonable residency. Therefore it is important that all applicants ensure that they are entitled to apply for Naturalisation before they submit the application!

Brophy Solicitors
21.11.11

CITIZENSHIP UPDATE

Amendments to the Irish Naturalisation and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2004 provided for in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2011

Part 10 Section 33 of the Act provides for the following amendments:

• That civil partners will receive the same treatment as married couples in the context of citizenship matters. This means that civil partners of Irish citizens will now only need three years reckonable residency to apply for Naturalisation.  Applicants will have to provide documentary evidence of the partnership and will still have to comply with the other requirements for Naturalisation i.e. be of good character, self-sufficient etc. Brophy Solicitors welcomes this legislation, which brings equality in the processing of Naturalisation applications between spouses and partners of an Irish citizen.

• That the citizenship ceremonies take place in a manner prescribed by the Minister. Until recently a person granted citizenship took an oath before a District Court Judge and the new citizen subsequently received their Certificate of Naturalisation by post. Howover a  pilot ceremony took place in Dublin Castle on 24^th June where Justice Bryan McMahon, retired judge of the High Court, assumed the role of presiding officer. At this ceremony new citizens recited a declaration of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State. It is hoped that similar ceremonies will be run throughout the country in future. 

• That the Minister will prescribe the fees for applications for Naturalisation. The current fee is €950. 

Brophy Solicitors
09.08.11

LONG TERM RESIDENCY

Muhammed Saleem v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, judgement of Mr Justice Cooke, 2^nd June 2011

The Long Term Residency administrative scheme allows persons who have been legally resident in the State for a minimum of five years (i.e. 60 months) on the basis of work permit conditions to apply for a five year residency extension of their permission to remain and thus become exempt from employment permit requirements. In practice, this means a person with 60 months of stamp 1, stamp 4 or stamp 3 is eligible to apply and on a successful application they will be granted a five year stamp 4 permission to remain.

A common difficulty that arises is the applicant fulfils the 60 month reckonable residence requirement at the date of application, but during the course of the processing of the application (which has averaged at 18 months over the last number of years) the applicant becomes undocumented. The Ministerial guidelines on the INIS website are very clear regarding the requirement to have the requisite periods of residency at the date of application, but are silent on a similar requirement during the processing of the application. Lest there be any doubt that the requirement to remain fully documented continues at all times, the case of Muhammed Saleem v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, (unpublished judgement of Mr Justice Cooke, dated 2^nd June 2011), certainly confirms this point.

Mr Saleem had acquired 60 months of stamp 1 permission on foot of work permits at the date of his application for Long Term Residency in July 2008. In October 2009, Mr Saleem became undocumented, having been previously made redundant. Judicial Review proceedings were issued in October 2009 in respect of the Minister’s delay in determining the application. Mr Saleem was notified of the refusal of his application in May 2010, the ground for refusal being that his permission to remain was not up to date.

At substantive hearing, it was argued on Mr Saleem’s behalf that had not Minister not delayed in determining the application, Mr Salaeem would have been documented and thus within the Minister’s requirements. Mr Justice Cooke held against the Applicant. In doing so, Mr Justice Cooke emphasized that a migrant worker does not have a “right” to a residence permission (as issued pursuant to Section 4 of the Immigration Act 2004), and the grant of such permission is fully within the Minister’s discretion. He stated, “the effect of the publication of a particular scheme such as the long term residency scheme, is at most, to give rise to an expectation on the part of a migrant worker that an application made on foot of the scheme will be considered and either granted or rejected in accordance with he terms and conditions on that scheme”.

Mr Justice Cooke confirmed that it was always a condition of the scheme that an applicant be in gainful employment and legally resident in the State both at the time of the application, and throughout the period when it was bring processed. Regarding the delay submissions, Mr Justice Cooke indicated that it would be impossible to find that the Minister’s delay was so unreasonable to amount to a breach of duty, taking into consideration the evidence at to the volume of such applications received and processed by the Department.

Brophy Solicitors

29.7.11