Citizenship Question

Bungle in theJungle

Hi everyone. I am a total newby and hope that I have posted this in the right area.

I have question re Irish citizenship. I have searched the web for hours hoping for an answer, but so far, to no avail.

Can someone kindly help me please?

I am the child of an Irish female citizen who was born in Ireland in 1928. I was born in the UK in 1952, but my birth mother subsequently gave me up for adoption. I was then adopted by a British couple.

However, my adoptive mother, although born in the UK, was also the child of an Irish citizen, born in Ireland. I have direct proof of my birth mother's status and also my full UK birth certificate, naming her. I can obtain other certificates as necessary.

Am I an Irish citizen? I understand that birth to an Irish born person abroad confers citizenship, but is this negated by adoption?

Any help gratefully received.

Claire McCarthy Cork

The Irish Nationality & Citizenship Act of 1935 was effective when you were born. Section 2(1) of that Act stated that:

“The following persons shall be natural-born citizens of Saorstát Eireann, that is to say:—
...
(f) subject to the subsequent provisions of this section, every person who is born outside Saorstát Eireann on or after the date of the passing of this Act and whose father was, on the day of such person's birth, a citizen of Saorstát Eireann.”

However, Section 5 of the Status of Children Act 1987 is relevant to the interpretation of this Act. It reads as follows:
“It is hereby declared that, in relation to a child, any reference to “father”, “mother” or “parent” in the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts … includes and shall be deemed always to have included the father, mother or parent, as the case may require, who was not married to the child’s other parent at the time of the child’s birth or at any time during the period of ten months preceding the birth.”

I would think therefore that your original Birth Certificate should entitle you to claim Irish citizenship. You would to that under section 28 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1956 as amended:

“Certificates of nationality.
28.—(1) Any person who claims to be an Irish citizen, other than a naturalised Irish citizen, may apply to the Minister or, if resident outside the island of Ireland49, to any Irish diplomatic officer or consular officer for a certificate, of nationality stating that the applicant is, at the date of the certificate, an Irish citizen; and the Minister or officer, if satisfied that—
(a) the applicant is an Irish citizen, and
(b) the issue of the certificate is necessary in all the circumstances of the case,
may issue a certificate of nationality to him accordingly.”

I do not think that there is any provision by which your subsequent adoption would render this invalid – the Act of 1935 did not deal with adoption.

Although the above means that, if I am correct, you could proceed on the basis of your original Birth Certificate, you may be interested to know what rules apply in respect of any entitlement deriving from your adoptive parents...Although I’m not absolutely sure about this off hand, it is worth noting that, nowadays, under the 1956 Act as amended, you could claim on the basis of the nationality and place of birth of your parent(s) at the time of your birth (under section 7 1956 as amended), or else on the basis of the nationality and place of birth of your adoptive parents (section 11). The rule in relation to Irish citizen parents (adoptive or natural) who were not born in Ireland themselves is that the birth of the child has to be registered. There was a similar rule in place under the 1935 Act. So, you would have to apply to have your adoption abroad to an Irish citizen who themselves was born abroad registered, and then make your claim.

However, I think that your original birth certificate should do the trick so the question of what entitlement you derive via your adoptive parents is moot really.

I suppose the thing to do would be to make your application under section 28 and, if you are refused, you should certainly take the time to take proper legal advice about whether that decision was correct... there would be quite a bit more research involved than what is in the bit of information that I have posted here, which of course is not the same as taking legal advice.

Good luck!

Bungle in theJungle

Thank you for that detailed and very helpful explanation Claire. I shall follow your advice and hopefully be able to enjoy my 'offical' Irish citizenship with much pride.