No more Citizenship Ceremony; Citizenship certificate can be received by signing affidavit of loyalty

DUBLIN: The Irish Government decides to cancel citizenship ceremonies in the wake of COVID-19 spread. Many are applying for Irish citizenship. It is customary for them to be granted citizenship by holding large ceremonies. Alternatively, applicants can obtain citizenship certificates by submitting an affidavit.

The last time citizenship ceremony were held was last July. However, in the current context of the viris spread, it was decided that the event would be abandoned in the belief that such gatherings would not be healthy. The temporary measure of affidavits of loyalty would help ensure that eligible applicants receive their certificates.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said the temporary measure would help ensure applicants receive certificates as soon as possible. The minister explained that although the citizenship ceremony was a happy one, such meetings were not practical due to the large number of people in need.

Currently, more than 21,000 applicants have applied for Irish citizenship. They are just being processed. The Minister of Justice said that about 3,000 citizenship certificates are ready for distribution.

Citizenship ceremonies have been suspended for five months following a High Court ruling that anyone applying for Irish citizenship should not leave the country for even one day in the year immediately preceding their application. It was restarted in December 2019. Previous citizenship applicants were allowed to leave the previous year for at least six weeks for a several reasons.

Irish citizenship ceremonies began in 2011. This is the first time that citizenship ceremonies have been canceled.