Proposed9 Sep 2026
Residency
Five years may become eight
NOW5 yrs
PROPOSED8 yrs
+3 years of residence
The qualifying period would rise from 5 to 8 years, spouses and partners included.
Read more Citizenship by naturalisation
Check your route to Irish citizenship
Six guided checks. Each counts your days the way the official ISD calculator does, instantly, in your browser.
5 reckonable years in the last 9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Reckonable (5)Gap-free final year
1,825days
the 5-year minimum
365days
unbroken to apply
The six route checks
Pick the path that fits you
Citizenship by residence
Residence route check
You are 18 or over and have lived in Ireland legally. The test is a day count: 5 years of reckonable residence inside the last 9, ending with one gap-free year.
5 years in the last 9Spouse of an Irish citizen
Spouse route check
You have been married to, or in a civil partnership with, an Irish citizen for 3 years or more and you live together on the island of Ireland.
3 years in the last 5Refugee and protection
Protection route check
You hold refugee status, subsidiary protection or permission to remain. Your residence clock starts the day status was granted, not the day you arrived.
5 years from your grantIrish descent or associations
Associations route check
You are connected to an Irish citizen by blood, adoption, marriage or civil partnership. A discretionary route the Minister weighs on the strength of your ties.
Discretionary, section 16Applying for a child
Minor route check
A parent or guardian applies for a child under 18: through a naturalised parent, through Irish descent, or through birth in the Republic on or after 2005.
Child under 18Birth and descent
Birth or descent check
Born on the island of Ireland, or with an Irish parent, grandparent or great-grandparent? You may already be a citizen, with no naturalisation needed.
Passport or Foreign Births RegisterLive
Every Irish citizenship rule change lands here first, and is built into the calculator the day it takes effect.
Calculators last verified 18 August 2026. Proposed changes are not yet law; current rules apply until a Bill passes.
Swipe or scroll sidewaysRules last verified 18 August 2026. Estimates only, not legal advice.