The Irish government is drafting a bill to amend the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026. This is the largest reform of the naturalization system in the country in recent decades. According to the general plan published by the Ministry of Justice, the required length of residence for most applicants will increase from the current 5 to 8 years, and a language test and a country knowledge exam will be introduced for the first time.
In particular, applicants will have to prove their basic proficiency in English, Irish or Irish sign language and take a test of knowledge of Irish society, political system and legislation. In addition, the new rules require financial independence: you cannot be in debt to the state and receive some social benefits.
A separate point of the changes will affect Ukrainians. The time spent in Ireland under the temporary protection program will not be counted towards the time required to obtain citizenship. The Ministry of Justice explains this by saying that Temporary Protection "was created from the very beginning precisely as a temporary status." This means that Ukrainians relying on this status may have to re-accumulate the required length of residence for naturalization.
According to official data, in 2025, about 26,400 people received Irish citizenship, and in 2024, almost 29,900 people.
The general concept of the bill will be published in the coming days, after which the document will be sent to the Joint Committee of Justice for consideration, and then for parliamentary debate and voting.
Source: Government of Ireland
