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Nationality
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What does this mean?
It’s your right to have a nationality and to belong to a country.
This is connected to your right to an identity.
If you’re born in Ireland to Irish parents, then you are an Irish citizen and can apply for a passport.
EXAMPLE: Once you are a citizen of a country, all the rights in that country apply to you.
Learn more about this right
Do I have this right in Ireland?
- UNCRC, article 7 – it’s your right to have a name and this should be officially recognised by the government. You have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country)
- UNCRC, article 8 – it’s your right to have an identity – an official record of who you are. No one should take this away from you.
- Under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004, it’s your right to be a citizen of Ireland if you were born in Ireland after 1 January 2005 and if either one or both of your parents are Irish citizens.
- Under the Irish Constitution, it’s your right to apply for a passport if you are an Irish citizen. Freedom of movement is one of your fundamental rights.
Doing a project?
- At the time of the 2016 Census, 180 nationalities were living in Ireland.
- If you are born in Ireland, and your parent(s) are Irish citizens, then you are also an Irish citizen.
- If you’re born in Ireland, but your parents are not Irish citizens, then you must wait 3 years before you can apply to be an Irish citizen.
- Irish citizenship means that you are legally recognised as being a national of Ireland. This means you have all the rights that the Constitution of Ireland gives you.
- Being stateless means that a person does not have a nationality. Children who are stateless can face obstacles to things like education and healthcare and they cannot enjoy their rights in the same way as children who have a nationality.
- In Ireland you are allowed to have dual nationality. This means you can have two passports.
- Due to concerns over Brexit, 250,000 people applied for an Irish passport in early 2017, an increase of 26% on the same time in 2016.
Links to other organisations
- Humanium – Find out more about children’s right to an identity, which includes a right to a name and nationality
- UN Refugee Agency – Find what being ‘stateless’ means from the UN Refugee Agency
- Migrants Rights Council Ireland – What does it feel like to be stateless? A video of young people living in Ireland sharing their experiences in Young Paperless and Powerful.
