High rejection rate for citizenship applications

PEOPLE living and working here who have applied for citizenship have a high rejection rate often for seemingly petty reasons.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland has expressed serious concern about the manner in which citizenship applications were being handled by a system which lacks clarity and transparency.

Almost 50% of applications were refused last year.

According to the ICI’s senior solicitor, Catherine Cosgrave, Ireland’s rejection rate of citizenship applications is “disturbingly high” in comparison with other countries.

Britain, Canada and Australia were processing proportionately far more applications per year than Ireland in literally a fraction of the time taken here, she said.

“Figures provided in response to a Dáil question last month showed that less than 11,000 citizenship applications were received in 2008, while 3,117 certificates of naturalisation were issued and 2,795 applications were refused or deemed ineligible.

“That means 5,912 applications were processed in 2008, with more than 47% refused or deemed ineligible,” she said.

One man, David, arrived in 1999 to join his wife and was granted full residency rights upon arrival.

According to the ICI, in 2000, while driving his wife’s car, David was stopped by gardaí. David had a full licence but was unaware that his wife’s insurance did not cover him. He was fined €100 and had his licence endorsed.

David applied for Irish citizenship through naturalisation in 2005 and was informed in 2008 that the minister had decided that the traffic offence was sufficient grounds to warrant the application for naturalisation being refused.