Moving to Ireland with an Irish citizen spouse

Here’s a common query that we are faced with from time to time. A couple (typically American) is examining retiring in Ireland. One of the spouses has Irish citizenship and they want to understand the process for the non-Irish spouse to obtain citizenship in Ireland. Perhaps they’ve bought a house or some property and want to understand how one spouse’s Irish citizenship can help the other spouse gain the same.

The first question is whether there’s any automatic right to citizenship. The answer here is no - Ireland use to provide this right - known as citizenship through post-nuptial declaration - however it was only ever available for wives of Irish citizens (not husbands) and was ended in 2005.

This leaves naturalization as the standard route. This requires three years of reckonable residence in Ireland during which the applicant and their Irish spouse are co-habiting in Ireland. There’s no bright line rule for how many days a year in Ireland are required in order for the requisite period to be counted as reckonable residence however what’s important is the pattern of living which means whether they can show, when viewed in the round, that they’ve been ordinarily resident in Ireland. There is however a rule regarding absences in the final 12 months prior to applying during which the applicant must not have been absent from Ireland for more than 70 days (or in limited circumstances, 100 days). Examples help to bear this out.

Trina and Roger

Trina and Roger are retirees from Dallas. Roger was able to obtain Irish citizenship by descent (his paternal grandfather was born in Co. Waterford) and, after multiple trips to Ireland as retirement neared, he and his wife Trish decided to purchase a cottage in Co. Kerry. Their plan is to spend a few months each summer in the cottage in Ireland as a way to escape the hotter months in Texas. Trish wants to know if she’s eligible for Irish citizenship based on these facts. Unfortunately, the answer is no - Trish can enter Ireland without a visa for stays of up to 90 days at a time, so there’s no issue with Trish spending a few months each summer in Ireland, however in order for her time in Ireland to count as reckonable residence, she’d need first to obtain immigration permission in the form of Stamp 4 (which provides the applicant the temporary permission to live/work in Ireland), then start treating Ireland as her primary home for a couple of years and then commit to remaining in the country for the required 295/296 days in the year immediately prior to her applicant for citizenship.

Ernie and Esther

Ernie and Esther have a similar fact pattern to Trina and Roger, in that Esther has Irish citizenship through descent (through Esther’s maternal grandparents), however they’re planning on moving to Ireland. They’re selling their home in San Antonio and planning to move to Clifden, Co. Galway. They first investigate the process for obtaining Stamp 4 so they can sure that as soon as Ernie enters Ireland as part of their move that his time in Ireland will start counting as reckonable residence. They obtain health insurance in Ireland, purchase a car, become active participants in the community and ship most of their possessions to Ireland. They do travel back to the USA to visit family a couple of times a year for a couple of weeks at a time, but they view Ireland as home. After three years of living in Ireland, Ernie would be eligible to apply for Irish citizenship.