I just got my Irish citizenship!

I applied for this in May, 2006! So if any of you are/were hoping to go this route, I would recommend you gather all of the relevant documents and get moving - it's a long process, and the Irish Embassy in Chicago says they are getting inundated with applications so it's only going to get longer.

For those that don't know, I started gathering my documents after November 2004. It took my almost a year to gather everything (needed an original birth certificate for my Irish grandmother which took forever to arrive). I procrastinated for a few months and finally took everything down to the embassy and filed. The website told me it would take 6 - 9 months but obviously it took a lot longer.

I got an Irish passport application along with my citizenship papers and I think I'm going to get an Irish passport as well (again, the forms say that will take 6 - 9 months so perhaps in almost 2 years I'll finally have that.)

I originally applied because I was so disgusted with GW Bush getting re-elected I wanted to have an "escape". Now that my disgust has turned to real anger at what he's done to this country it doesn't seem as critical to get out as it does to fight.

But wierdly, I honestly feel good (relieved?!) now that I've got this piece of paper....

citizenship and MOVE there.

grandparents. TOo old?

he still has it unless he renounces his citizenship.

unless we can somehow turn things around soon.

:hi:

I did not know you needed grandma's birth certificate. I will tell him. I am getting my English dual citizenship (born in Bermuda)too this year in honor of my now deceased Dad who pushed me for years to do it just in case.

If that's also your husband's link then he should start getting it now since all of that is hand-written, not on a computer, and it's stored someplace ooooollldd. Somebody worked through their archives and retrieved her actual certificate and hand-wrote a new one. I actually found that calling her birth registrar was most effective (Bray, Ireland).

If his Irish relative is more recent, perhaps it's computerized? Not sure how it will work for him....

I don't know if his mom has her certificate though. They were from Galway.

A growing economy, universal health care, etc.

I would move there in a heartbeat if my sons weren't here with no means to move.

Just an FYI...they were begging for contruction type professions a few years ago when I was there. They are building everywhere due to their booming economy. As all Irish citizens also receive free college education, they have a real need for skilled tradesmen/women.

It looks as if Hillary will get the dem nod here and as a result, we will get either another republican or a democrat who isn't much better when it comes to foreign policy. If I could get the heck out of here, I would.

I"m envious!!

:woohoo: That is a pretty compelling reason too!

Like you though, I still have kids at home (an 11 year old) so I don't see us leaving anytime soon but I am actually surprised at how relieved (yes, dammit that IS what it is) that I finally have this....

room a few nights ago. The man wasa in terrible pain from sciatica (sp). The lady aid he would have had to wait months to be seen in the U.K.

She went on to say many people with heart problems are given medication, but because they can't get timely surgery, they die.

Things have changed since 1910 when she fled County Mayo, The Church, and poverty.

Cork. She and her sisters did nothing but talk about Ireland, the "Troubles", etc. I remember it as a little kid. Supposedly grandmom's family (cousins) had "the Michael Collins in the family. Don't know if that's true or not though..

as rental units, for investments.

Who could have imagined this, just thirty years ago?

was born in Canada..not Ireland (like I was always told:eyes:..)

My other grandparents were born in France & Spain..(my father in Cuba)..

The real stuff, not the watered down American version. :beer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM5nC6K4MSo

And we'll ship the real stuff back home to anyone else who can't make it - that is, whatever we have left!

:evilgrin:

And you need ALL documents relating to them PLUS everything up to yourself (all birth, death and marriage certs for the entire line).

Some countries might possibly take an ancestor farther back, some will only accept parents as the farthest back you can go. My grandfather was Canadian but you have to have a Canadian parent to apply for citizenship so that nixed Canada for me....

I can trace Irish ancestry in my family to my great-great grandfather. Is this path to citizenship only available for people who have grandparents from the old country?

My ancestors have been in the US since the 1600's so I have no dual citizenship options. :(

And consider making the move no matter what. We did.....but to Wales where hubby is from. Best thing we ever did. Instead of fighting exhaust fumes on my commute I get to look at horses and sheep and the beautiful valleys and hills of SE Wales.

Ireland is a beautiful country. I love Dublin and it's become the 'in' place to be in the past few years.

She's graduating with a bachelor's in medieval archeology and clearly if you are going to study castles, it's not going to be done here in the US.

We've made a few trips to Ireland buying horses for resale here in the US, and my daughter's going to be living somwhere in the UK - probably permanently herself, so we have had/will always have some connections there. And we've toyed with the idea of setting up our horse operations over there. The election in 2004 just ticked me off enough to apply.

Glad to hear from an expat though who actually made the jump to the EU. We're not making any kind of move like that at the moment but honestly, it's weird how grateful I feel to have that possibility.....

was saying they were PAYING Americans to immigrate to Australia then!. That would be VERY tempting now, though I'd probably prefer to move to closer by Vancouver just in case the U.S. could recover its sanity sometime in the next two decades!

I am sending out for my passport shortly.

I'm thinking I'll get it though cause I'm going to just forget about this and not get on it. I believe I'd rather have it just, well, because.



:hi:

after 2004 election for same reasons. We have our permanent resident visas for Panama and it looks like we may retire there by end of this year or sometime in 2009.

:shrug:

And I'm not leaving. Initially... I honestly thought I would I was so disgusted in 2004. And perhaps I still may but for now we have a farm in Illinois which needs us, I still have a daughter at home, and there is still a hell of a fight imho for the soul of the US that needs some attention.

I won't ever say never but for now we're staying put.

all I've been able to find so far, is immigration lists with their names on them and a census.

Genealogy is big business in the US and there are people who actually make a living finding that kind of information for you. It might be worth it if you are trying to get citizenship (which you would qualify for) since you will need to know their birth town in order to start the process of getting their birth cert (and marriage certs, death certs etc. )

and it would be a big thing -- but it too would be a wonderful place to live.

Maybe I should learn Portuguese and become a Portuguese citizen, my Grandfather emigrated from there.

It can't hurt to explore ALL of your potential options, including Portugal (another really lovely country may I add...)

:patriot:

I love the Irish.

Could you get a job anywhere in Europe?

:)

Thank you so much for the info, I had no idea grandmas were good enough to get back in. My grandma on my dad's side was born in Ireland. My mother was born in Portsmouth, England and my other grandma was born in Nuremberg. I hope one of these facts can help get me out of this shithole country. Time to spend a few bucks on a genealogy service and then hit the immigrations site for europe and see what is to be seen.

N E V E R

Maybe I'll marry a Canadian.

Only mine's Italian.

Gathering info and documents that is. My mother's father is Scottish, so we can have UK citizenship/passports.

Ireland is an EU member, which means you can go just about anywhere in the EU.

I think U.S. citizens can go to Ireland legally, but if you want to be Irish, go for it.

I thought the U.S. frowned on dual citizenship(?).

grandma (now deceased). I'm married with 2 kids. If I got the citizenship, would my hubby and kids be able to get it too, since they're my immediate family? Or would they at least be able to emigrate along with me?

I looked at the website a while back, and couldn't tell what the status of my hubby and kids would be.

I believe that they would have to go through the regular immigration/citizenship route. It was explained to me that since you are legal to live and work there (when you get your citizenship), your spouse and children can live there with you on a residency visa. Your spouse would have to go through application to get an EU work visa (difficult). After 3 years of residency your family can apply for citizenship.

So yes, they can emigrate. Your spouse would face all of the usual EU work visa obstacles. And after 3 years of residency everyone can apply for citizenship. You should call the Irish Embassy located in the nearest major city for more details. I've heard on the QT that it's easier to get an EU work visa once you are in the pipeline for citizenship....

Good luck.

Unfortunately, hubby is probably the more employable one. Still, it might be worth doing. My sister got an Irish passport 20 years or so ago, so that she could get a teaching job in England. She'd spent a year there on a Fulbright teacher exchange fellowship, then wanted to go back and work there some more. Would have been difficult to do as a US citizen, but having the Irish passport made it quite simple. Found out that Grandma had lied about her age even more than we'd realized!

Your spouse is not automatically qualified for citizenship by marriage anymore, you have to reside in Ireland for 3 years. Luckily, my wife's application was sent in before the laws changed. IIRC, however, you shouldn't need an EU work visa; when we lived in Ireland (2000-2001), my wife was not yet a citizen (though I was), but she could get something called a 'Green Book' from the local Gardai (police) station that allowed her to work, enter the country for an extended period, etc.

I started my Irish citizenship quest in 1998 and received citizenship in 2000. If you are living in Ireland, a passport only takes a couple of days. You can emigrage to Ireland without an Irish passport, but it's best to get one anyway.

We live in England right now, but would jump at the chance to move back to Ireland. It's a fabulous place.

Congratulations, and welcome to the club! ;)

ETA: I posted some information on obtaining Irish citizenship awhile back on the Irish Affairs board http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=298&topic_id=1540&mesg_id=1548

too far back. My dad was a 100% descendant of the Irish who immigrated to Canada in the early 1800s -- one of his grandmothers was born in Ireland and all of his greatgrandparents.

It's a beautiful country -- went there on a trip with my brother and sister several years ago. I've always felt a longing for the culture there.

And welcome! I live half the year in Ireland and half in the U.S. Do get an Irish passport and use it instead of your U.S. passport every time you travel abroad no matter what country you're visiting. Everyone loves the Irish :)

about using the Irish passport for travel

Me, I'll be getting Ukrainian citizenship this year. Doing it the easy way. I married one. :loveya:

In another way, it's not so easy. Because I'm living here and don't know the language. But in the states, I would have been paying a mortgage until age 70. Now we're mortgage free, and two homes to boot !!

There are still places where life is good !!

Congrats on the dual citizenship. My grandfather was born in Mexico. Perhaps I could have tri-citizenship. ;)

In March I will add Swiss!!! Then my wife (French & Swiss National) will take on an American citizenship.

:kick:

more like thousand shades of gray...!