Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023
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Naturalisation of minors born in State and other matters | ||
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8. The Act of 1956 is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 15A: | ||
“Naturalisation of minors born in State | ||
15B. (1) Upon receipt of an application under this section for a certificate of naturalisation in respect of a minor, the Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, grant the application if satisfied that the minor— | ||
(a) was born in the State, | ||
(b) subject to subsection (2), is of good character, | ||
(c) has had a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State immediately before the date of the application and, during the eight years immediately preceding that period, has had a total residence in the State amounting to two years, and | ||
(d) subject to subsection (3), has, before a judge of the District Court in open court, in a citizenship ceremony or in such manner as the Minister, for special reasons allows— | ||
(i) made a declaration, in the prescribed manner, of fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State, and | ||
(ii) undertaken, in the prescribed manner, to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values. | ||
(2) Where a minor is under 14 years of age on the date of his or her application under this section for a certificate of naturalisation, the condition at paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall apply to him or her only where he or she— | ||
(a) is charged with, and is awaiting trial for, or | ||
(b) is or has been convicted of, | ||
murder, manslaughter, rape, rape under section 4 of the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 or aggravated sexual assault within the meaning of section 3 of that Act. | ||
(3) The condition at paragraph (d) of subsection (1) shall not apply to a minor who is under 14 years of age on the date of the application for a certificate of naturalisation. | ||
(4) The Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, waive the conditions at paragraph (b) or (d), or both, of subsection (1) in respect of a minor who is 14 years of age or over on the date of the application for a certificate of naturalisation, if the Minister considers it appropriate to do so having regard to the particular circumstances of the minor concerned. | ||
(5) An application under this section in respect of a minor shall be made on behalf of the minor by his or her parent or guardian, or by a person who is in loco parentis to him or her. | ||
Calculation of continuous residence for purposes of sections 15, 15A and 15B | ||
15C. (1) When calculating a period of one year’s continuous residence in the State for the purposes of section 15 or 15B, the periods specified in subsection (3) during which— | ||
(a) an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation under section 15, or | ||
(b) a minor (in this section referred to as a ‘minor applicant’) in respect of whom an application for a certificate of naturalisation is made under section 15B, | ||
was not present in the State shall be reckoned as a period of residence in the State. | ||
(2) When calculating a period of one year’s continuous residence in the island of Ireland for the purposes of section 15A, the periods specified in subsection (3) during which an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation under that section was not present in the island of Ireland shall, subject to subsection (4), be reckoned as a period of residence in the island of Ireland. | ||
(3) The following periods are specified for the purposes of subsections (1) and (2): | ||
(a) a period not exceeding, or periods the aggregate of which do not exceed, 70 days, and | ||
(b) an additional period not exceeding, or such additional periods the aggregate of which do not exceed, 30 days, where the Minister is satisfied that the person’s not being present in the State or in the island of Ireland, as the case may be, during such additional period or periods was necessitated by— | ||
(i) in the case of a minor applicant, exceptional circumstances relating to the minor applicant, or the person who made the application on his or her behalf, or both, and | ||
(ii) in any other case, exceptional circumstances relating to the person. | ||
(4) Where section 15A(4) applies to an applicant for a certificate of naturalisation, the periods specified in subsection (3) shall be in addition to any period of residence outside the island of Ireland referred to in section 15A(4). | ||
(5) In this section— | ||
‘day’ does not include part of a day; | ||
‘exceptional circumstances’, in relation to a person not being in the State or the island of Ireland, means one or more of the following: | ||
(a) the family or personal circumstances of the person; | ||
(b) the health requirements of the person or of a family member of the person; | ||
(c) requirements arising out of, or in the course of, the employment, trade or profession of the person; | ||
(d) requirements in pursuance of a course of study or a professional qualification of the person; | ||
(e) any voluntary service by the person for humanitarian purposes; | ||
(f) such other circumstances resulting in the person’s not being present in the State or in the island of Ireland, as the case may be, as the Minister considers to be outside the control of the person; | ||
‘family member’, in relation to a person, means— | ||
(a) the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the person, | ||
(b) a child, step-child, son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the person, | ||
(c) a parent, step-parent, mother-in-law or father-in-law of the person, | ||
(d) a brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, half-brother or half-sister of the person, | ||
(e) a grandparent or grandchild of the person, or | ||
(f) an aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the person. | ||
Saver for certificates of naturalisation | ||
15D. A certificate of naturalisation granted under this Act before the coming into operation of sections 6 , 7 and 8 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 shall be valid so long as the certificate remains unrevoked. | ||
Transitional provisions relating to applications for certificates of naturalisation | ||
15E. (1) Where, before the date on which this subsection comes into operation, an application for a certificate of naturalisation has been made— | ||
(a) under section 15 in respect of a person who is of full age, or | ||
(b) under section 15A in respect of a non-national spouse or civil partner of an Irish citizen, | ||
and, by that date, the application has not been determined under section 15 or section 15A, as the case may be, the application shall be deemed to have been made under section 15 (as amended by section 6 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023) or 15A (as amended by section 7 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023), as the case may be, and this Act shall apply accordingly. | ||
(2) Where, before the date on which this subsection comes into operation, an application for a certificate of naturalisation has been made under section 15 on behalf of a minor and, by that date, the application has not been determined, the application shall be deemed to have been made on behalf of that minor under section 15B (inserted by section 8 of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023) and this Act shall apply accordingly.”. |