Resident ‘denied citizen status’

CHILEAN Offman Molina has lived in Cork as a legal resident for 30 years, working and paying taxes like most other citizens.

He has six children and renews his residency every five years. A few years ago, he decided he wanted to become a full citizen.

“It never really bothered me too much before but now I feel I am part of the country and culture – so why not have the document to show it?”

Offman, a Cork city taxi driver for ten years, applied for citizenship two years ago. He sent all the documents required but, in the end his application was refused, primarily on the basis he allowed his five-year residency to lapse for a while –the last time it came up for renewal.

The letter of refusal of his application was a generic one, enclosing a memo outlining the five-year residency requirement.

“It was quite offensive to get a letter like that after 30 years of contributing to Ireland,” he said. “I am here since 1977 but they said I did not satisfy the time frame and that having one child was not enough reason to grant the passport.

“But all my children were born here and my wife is Irish. I cannot appeal the decisions and there is no one to talk to about it,” he said.

“I want to try and get a TD to help me. There is no law about citizenship and no guidelines as such either.

“They say I don’t have five years of residency, but surely they can easily see that I have been paying taxes here for thirty years.

“I think that I have earned the right to be included, and to be able to vote in national elections.”