Applying for Permanent Residency & Citizenship – Dual Citizenship Spouse

[StellaMaris]

Hi All,

I’m hoping to get some advice on how to proceed regarding my spouse’s immigration status. I’m an Irish citizen with dual citizenship (Irish and another EU country), and my spouse is a non-EU national. My spouse currently holds a Stamp 4 EU Fam, which will expire in 5-6 months.

On the advice of our solicitor years ago, we applied for the Stamp 4 EU Fam (EU citizenship) instead of the regular Stamp 4, as it was said to be a faster process. It was disclosed to the state that I hold both citizenship. The solicitor explained that, since I’m also a citizen of another EU country, my spouse should be granted the Stamp 4 EU Fam, allowing us to travel to my other EU country without needing a visa due to the freedom of movement directive. This was approved, and the Stamp 4 EU Fam was granted.

Now, we're looking to apply for (a) permanent residency to bridge the gap until (if) citizenship is granted, and (b) apply for Irish citizenship for my spouse. However, we’re wondering if it would be better to base the citizenship application on my Irish nationality instead of the 5-year residency route, which was our original plan.

The potential advantage is that the citizenship process based on my Irish nationality might be quicker, requiring only 3 years of documentation rather than 5. However, we’re unsure whether we can apply for permanent residency at the same time, as that process is linked to my EU citizenship.

We don’t want to cause delays or complications by appearing to ‘cherry-pick’ between my EU and Irish citizenship. First, we applied based on my EU nationality, and now we’re considering switching to my Irish nationality for citizenship. Could this cause any issues, or am I overthinking this?

If we apply for citizenship based on my Irish citizenship, can we still apply for permanent residency at the same time since this is based on the EU citizenship?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[meself2]

First, we applied based on my EU nationality, and now we’re considering switching to my Irish nationality for citizenship. Could this cause any issues, or am I overthinking this?

I would say you're overthinking.

You disclosed that you hold both nationalities, so you didn't hide anything/etc. If you're unsure, just apply for residency (which you can do 6 months in advance in case of EUTR) before applying for citizenship.