The short version
- Yes. You can be Irish and American at the same time. Irish law does not ask you to give up US citizenship, and USA.gov says Americans do not have to choose.
- If a parent born on the island of Ireland was Irish when you were born, you are already Irish. You can apply for a passport.
- A grandparent born on the island of Ireland means you can apply to the Foreign Births Register. It costs €278 for an adult and takes about 12 months.
- Without an Irish parent or grandparent, the usual route is naturalisation: 5 years of living in Ireland in the last 9, with the final year in a row.
Can you have Irish and US citizenship at the same time?
Yes. Both countries allow it. Ireland's immigration service (ISD) says you may become an Irish citizen and remain a citizen of another country. Its page on dual citizenship says Irish law does not ask you to give up another citizenship to naturalise, or to claim Irish citizenship by birth or descent.
On the US side, USA.gov says you do not have to choose one nationality over the other, and that a US citizen may naturalise in another country without risking US citizenship. The full US rules are in dual citizenship for Americans, explained.
There are a few ways to become Irish. Which one fits depends on where your family was born, or where you live:
| Your link to Ireland | Route |
|---|---|
| A parent born on the island of Ireland, who was Irish when you were born | You are already Irish. Apply for a passport |
| A grandparent born on the island of Ireland | Foreign Births Register |
| A parent who was Irish when you were born, but was born abroad | Foreign Births Register |
| A great-grandparent born on the island of Ireland | Foreign Births Register, only if your parent registered before you were born |
| 5 years living in Ireland | Naturalisation |
| Married to an Irish citizen, with 3 years living on the island | Naturalisation |
To check your own family line, use our Irish citizenship by descent checker.
Can you get Irish citizenship through a grandparent?
Yes, if your grandparent was born on the island of Ireland. You apply to the Foreign Births Register, and you become Irish once you are entered on it. Your parent does not need to be Irish first: the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) says anyone with a grandparent born on the island of Ireland can apply, even if neither parent has an Irish passport.
A parent born there is a different case. If your parent was born on the island of Ireland and was an Irish citizen when you were born, you are already Irish. You do not need the register, and you can apply for an Irish passport.
A great-grandparent is harder. It works only if your parent was on the Foreign Births Register before you were born, because then your parent was Irish at your birth. If your parent registered after you were born, you cannot apply through them.
The same rule carries forward. Once you are on the register, children you have afterwards can apply too. Children born before you registered cannot. DFA also warns expectant parents: if you are not on the register when your child is born, the child is not entitled to Irish citizenship through you.
One more path exists for people with no route by birth or descent. ISD can naturalise someone of Irish descent or with Irish associations, and the Minister for Justice can waive some or all of the usual conditions. Each case is scored on points, for things like time spent in Ireland, trips there and close family who are, or were, Irish citizens living in Ireland. Being related to an Irish citizen does not mean you will be approved.
What is the Foreign Births Register?
It is Ireland's register for people born abroad who become Irish through a grandparent born on the island of Ireland, or through a parent who was Irish when they were born but was not born there. DFA runs it. Once you are entered on it, you are an Irish citizen.
You are Irish from the date you are entered, not from your birth. Citizens Information says this, and so does section 7 of Ireland's 1956 citizenship law for people registered after 1 July 1986.
| Foreign Births Register | DFA figure |
|---|---|
| Fee, age 18 and over | €278 |
| Fee, under 18 | €153 |
| Time to process | About 12 months |
Both fees include €8 for postage and handling, which is not refunded. We read them on the DFA's Foreign Births Register page on 26 October 2026. The steps:
- Gather every document first. DFA returns incomplete applications without processing them.
- Fill in the form online and pay as you go. There is no paper form.
- Print it and have it witnessed by someone in a job on DFA's list, such as a doctor, teacher, lawyer or accountant.
- Post it with your original documents and four photos, to the address printed on your form. DFA has no public office and suggests recorded post.
- Wait. Applications are handled in strict date order. DFA posts your original certificates back by recorded mail.
You need birth records for yourself and your Irish parent, and on the grandparent route for your grandparent too. You cannot apply for an Irish passport at the same time. That comes once you are on the register, and the passport then serves as your proof of Irish citizenship.
Can you naturalise in Ireland?
Yes, after 5 years of reckonable residence in the last 9, with the final year spent living in Ireland without a break. Reckonable residence means time in Ireland on an immigration permission that counts. ISD sets out the rules in its guide to becoming an Irish citizen:
- The 70-day rule. In the 12 months before you apply, you can spend up to 70 days outside Ireland. The Minister may allow 30 more for a rare, serious event.
- Not all time counts. Time on a student permission (Stamp 2 or 2A) does not, and nor do gaps when your permission had run out. Time on a work permit, Stamp 0 or Stamp 4 does.
- You must intend to live in Ireland after you become a citizen, be of good character and attend a citizenship ceremony.
- Fees. €175 to apply, then €950 for an adult's certificate if you are approved.
Spouses and civil partners of Irish citizens can apply sooner: 3 years living on the island of Ireland in the last 5, after 3 years of marriage or partnership. Most applications are decided within 12 months, ISD says. The Minister for Justice can still refuse someone who meets every condition.
You keep your US citizenship, since Irish law does not ask you to give it up. One rule matters if you later move away. A naturalised Irish citizen who lives outside Ireland for 7 years can have their naturalisation revoked, unless they send Form 5, a declaration of intention to keep Irish citizenship, every year.
To get there, you first need a reason to live in Ireland. The routes for Americans, from a job to retiring on your own income, are in how to move to Ireland from the US. Students and recent graduates can try a year there first with a working holiday in Ireland.
Which passport do you travel on?
Your US passport for the US, and your Irish passport when you need the rights of an Irish citizen. USA.gov says dual citizens must use a US passport to enter and leave the US.
The Irish rights reach past Ireland. ISD says that as an Irish citizen you can travel and work anywhere in the European Union. And under the Common Travel Area, GOV.UK's Common Travel Area guidance says British and Irish citizens can move freely between the UK and Ireland, and live, work and study in either one.
ISD also has a stamp for dual citizens. Stamp 6 goes in a non-Irish passport held by an Irish citizen, and ISD says its holders do not register at the immigration office.
Two passports also mean two lists of places you can visit without a visa. See where an Irish passport gets you in.
Germany has allowed dual citizenship since 2024 too. Read dual citizenship with the US and Germany.