February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The procedures by which a non-national may claim Irish citizenship through marriage to an Irish citizen is set to change at the end of next month. The deadline day for citizenship applications under the current rules is Nov. 29.
Up to and including that date, a non-national will be able to claim citizenship under the present requirements, which permit applications while residing in the U.S., or other countries outside Ireland itself.
After Nov. 29, however, there will be new rules including a requirement that the applicant be resident in Ireland for a specified period of time.
Those intending to apply for post-nuptial Irish citizenship under the current regulations were being advised this week to contact the Irish embassy in Washington or their nearest Irish consulate.
Consulates are located in New York, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco.
After Nov. 30 it will no longer be possible to become an Irish citizen by simply making a post-nuptial declaration.
Instead, applicants will have to apply to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for a certificate of naturalization based on marriage to an Irish citizen.
Obtaining this certificate will require a number of new steps including the period of residence in Ireland.
The new rules were included in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 2001.
While the spousal rules are changing, others pertaining to the obtaining of Irish citizenship will not be affected.
For example, the requirement for Irish citizenship on the basis of Foreign Births Registration — an example being an application by way of an Irish-born grandparent — will remain the same as they are now.
And children of Irish citizens are automatically Irish citizens even if they are born in the U.S. or another country.
DIVERSITY TIME AGAIN
Irish hopefuls willing to take a long shot at a legal life in the U.S. can apply over the coming weeks for a “Schumer” diversity visa.
The application period for the annual diversity lottery began Oct. 5 and runs until noon on Dec. 4.
The current application period covers the 2007 Diversity Visa lottery. According to the U.S. State department, individuals hoping to secure on the visas must register online at www.dvlottery.state.gov. Paper applications will not be accepted.
The State Department said in a release that in response to demand it had tripled the number of servers hosting the registration website this year.
Applicants for the 2007 lottery will receive a notice of receipt containing their name, date of birth, country of chargeability, and a time/date stamp when information has been properly registered, the department said in a statement.
No fee is required for entering the lottery and the State Department has warned against what it describes as websites and emails that have “masqueraded as official Diversity Visa Lottery facilitators.”
Free advice on how to apply for a diversity visa is available from Irish immigration centers in the U.S.
A total of 50,000 visas are available to applicants from a worldwide pool of eligible nations. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are considered separate for application purposes and both are in the eligible pool.
MITCHELL PITCHES IN
Former senator George Mitchell, architect of the Northern Ireland peace accord that bears his name, is lined up to appear at a rally this week organized by the group New Jersey Irish American Democrats.
The “Irish Rally,” which is set for the Barclay in Belmar on Thursday, Oct. 13, will honor the Garden State’s Irish mayors and also Sen. Jon Corzine who is the Democratic candidate for governor. Details on the rally, which will run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and is open to the public, are available from (732) 729-9940 or Irish@njdems.org.
PITCH IN FOR A MITCHELL
The Mitchell Scholarship program is casting around for something that is anything but academic this week.
The program, which sends a dozen American scholars to Irish universities each year, is hoping to lay its hands on a trailer.
This because the family of one of the 2004 scholarship group, Brandon Thibodeaux, has been left homeless by Hurricane Rita.
Thibodeaux, who studied at the University of Ulster, is from Erath, Louisiana. His family home was destroyed by Rita.
His parents, Rudy and Diana, are living a loaned camper trailer about eight miles from their home, according to Mitchell Scholar administrator, Trina Vargo.
The couple are on a FEMA waiting list.
“They do not wish to relocate. They just want a habitable trailer for
a while which they can park beside their home while they restore it,” Vargo said.