10 signatures reached
To: Minister for Justice and the Oireachtas
Petition Against the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026
(Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic translations can be found in updates below)
The Issue:
We, the undersigned members and supporters of United Against Racism (UAR), bring to your attention a matter of great importance to the hundreds of thousands of people who have made Ireland their home: the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026.
The Issue:
We, the undersigned members and supporters of United Against Racism (UAR), bring to your attention a matter of great importance to the hundreds of thousands of people who have made Ireland their home: the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026.
On 9 September 2026, government approval was secured for the priority drafting of this Bill. Amendment’s propose increasing the qualifying period of reckonable residence from 5 to 8 years for most applicants; introducing language tests in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language, along with tests on Irish civics, society and politics; requiring applicants for naturalisation be self-sufficient; and allowing the Minister for Justice to revoke a certification of naturalisation "in the interest of public policy, public order or national security".
We wish to express our profound concern, as citizens and non-citizen residents of Ireland alike, at these proposed changes. Extending the qualifying period of reckonable residence to 8 years, adding new tests and income conditions, places additional monetary and administrative burden on people who have made a home in Ireland. Perhaps most importantly, we are concerned that expanding the Minister’s power to revoke citizenship already granted, creates a hierarchy of citizenship, with naturalised citizens, people who work, pay taxes and build community here, aware that their place is conditional and revocable.
In this light, we wish to seek explanation and clarification as to the rationale motivating these changes. We are concerned that the bill is motivated by a growing political framework under which migrants are treated as security threats to be contained, rather than as vulnerable people seeking a new life where they should be welcome. Ireland has been shaped by migration in both directions, and we believe our country’s laws should reflect and honour that history.
Why is this important?
The Call:
UAR therefore calls on the Minister for Justice and the Oireachtas to clarify the following points:
- The Bill justifies the increase from 5 to 8 years as a means to "establish a proportionate timeline that encourages steady economic and social integration before naturalisation." We request an in-depth explanation of why 8 years is considered necessary and why 5 years of lawful residence, tax contributions, community participation and family life are no longer sufficient evidence of integration.
- The Bill allows the Minister for Justice to revoke citizenship on the basis of ‘national security.’ We have heard from Irish residents who are worried that such removals may be conducted against political dissenters, like the reprisals we have seen against pro-Palestine activists in the USA. We request an explanation of what falls under ‘national security,’ and how the Minister of Justice intends to apply this provision of the Bill.
- Subsections 15(3)(a) and 15(3)(b) require that the naturalisation applicant, at the time of the application, to be in receipt of a ‘minimum’ level of income and to have not received social welfare for a period of two years. Given that migrants, and particularly vulnerable asylum seekers, often face labour restrictions that limit their income, and given that Ireland is experiencing a cost of living crisis in which 70% of young Irish adults are considering economic emigration, we find this provision of the Bill disturbing. We request clarification of the ‘minimum’ income required of naturalisation applicants and an explanation of how the government plans to support migrants in achieving economic stability in Ireland.
We request an answer to these questions in writing.
To ensure that a full explanation is delivered, including to any additional questions arising from the government’s written reply, we request that the Public Petition Committee host a public meeting on the matter with representatives of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and members of the Public Petition and Ombudsman Committee. We request that this meeting be broadcast on the Oireachtas channel, and that the minutes of that meeting be brought into the Dáil for possible further debate.
Sincerely,
United Against Racism and supporters.