Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD has announced that people are now able to apply for Irish citizenship online.
The “digitisation” of this process is part of the Department of Justice’s Immigration Service Delivery Modernisation Programme, which aims to “improve efficiencies in the immigration system.”
The online citizenship application service will allow potential new Irish citizens to complete their application form, upload necessary supporting documentation and pay fees online, making the application process easier and more efficient in a digital age.
It will also allow the Immigration Service to more easily manage applications for citizenship, which have increased in recent years.
The paper-based application will remain available to those who cannot access an online service.
“One of my strategic priorities as Minister for Justice is to deliver a fair and balanced immigration system which is fit for the digital age,” said Minister McEntee, commenting on the new policy.
“Accelerating innovation and digital transformation across the Justice sector to ensure our systems are modern, efficient and accessible is key to this.
“…Applications for Citizenship have been rising in recent years, totalling over 17,000 in 2022 and over 16,000 to date in 2023. The digitisation of the Citizenship application process will also improve the capacity of my Department to efficiently process the growing number of applications.
“From a sustainability and customer service perspective, reducing paper based systems is a strategic objective across Government, and I am pleased that my Department is also making positive progress in that regard.”
The number of applications for citizenship have increased significantly in recent years, with 12,307 applications in 2019, compared to 17,139 in 2022 and around 16,000 so far in 2023.
Approximately 31,000 applications are currently being processed.