Is it easier to become a naturalised citizen in Ireland than elsewhere?

Proposals to toughen the requirements for acquiring Irish citizenship through naturalisation have been drawn up with an eye to “what the rules are in other countries”, according to Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan. So how does Ireland compare?The length of residency required before someone can be granted citizenship ranges from three to 10 years among different European countries.Within the European Union, Poland is on the lower end with a three-year requirement. Ireland’s current requirement of five years is the same as Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.Further afield, Canada has a three-year requirement, Australia four years and New Zealand and the United States five years.READ MOREIreland has set its sights on an eight-year requirement under the new proposals. Ten years is the standard requirement in Austria, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia, though each country has quicker pathways for applicants who are EU citizens, refugees or spouses of citizens. Portugal increased its requirement from five to 10 years in May.In Spain, the length of residency required varies greatly. The standard length of time is 10 years, but it is just one year for spouses of Spanish citizens and two years “for nationals of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or persons of Sephardic origin”.Sergi Pardos-Prado, who researches immigration as professor of comparative politics at the University of Glasgow, said Ireland, with its current stipulation of five years, is “currently within a very typical residency requirement, leaning towards the liberal side”.However, residency periods are typically combined with requirements to pass language and civic knowledge tests. Ireland currently does not have these, which “are common everywhere”, according to Pardos-Prado.[ The Irish Times view: tough talk with vague intention Opens in new window ]Whether Ireland would become more restrictive compared to other EU countries after the introduction of such tests would depend on how they were designed and implemented.O’Callaghan has said the aim of the proposed changes is to “restrain ... the growth” in the number of people being granted Irish citizenship through naturalisation.Have tougher requirements for naturalisation proved effective elsewhere in reducing migration flows?“There is some evidence that migrants prefer destination countries with an easier access to naturalisation, so there is some evidence that this could work,” Pardos-Prado said.“However, changes in naturalisation law are typically less consequential to determine migration than other factors, like a strong labour market demand.”On the other hand, research shows that making naturalisation difficult can cause problems with integration.“It is very well established in the academic literature that accessing citizenship provides a genuine boost in migrants’ economic and social integration,” Pardos-Prado said.[ New rules for Irish citizenship: How will they work?Opens in new window ]If the Government wants to encourage integration, research indicates that the hardest part of migration should be moving to Ireland in the first place; after that, there should be as few barriers to participating in society as possible.“The best policy mix is one in which the more restrictionist element of the policy happens at the very beginning. Once this is achieved, softer access to social rights and to naturalisation boost integration.” Professor Anna Triandafyllidou, who is a Canada Excellence Research Chair in migration and integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and founding director of the Global Migration Institute, said the proposed changes would make Ireland “part of the least hospitable countries in terms of naturalisation requirements”.“While requiring a strong connection to the country before naturalising makes a lot of sense, there is no real good justification of raising the residency requirement to eight years,” she said.“For a country where foreign-borns account for over 20 per cent of the total resident population and 12 per cent are non-citizens, this is a very concerning development. It risks alienating a good part of the population.”