What documents you need for each year of residence

How ISD scores each year

When you apply for citizenship, you show you lived in Ireland in each year of residence you claim. ISD scores the evidence for each year with points:

Each year needs 150 points or more, including at least one strong document. Bills alone never get you there, however many you upload.

Score your years

Your years are counted back from the date you plan to apply, final year first. Tap the documents you have for each one. If the four earlier years you’re claiming aren’t the ones right before your final year, switch years on and off, or show earlier ones.

What every document must show

Each document has to show:

• your name,
• your address in Ireland,
• a date in the year it’s for, and
• evidence of your activity, such as work, income or living there.

Upload two or three documents per year, and make sure one of them is a strong official document. A single weak document isn’t enough.

Which years you need

You need documents for every year of residence you claim: the year immediately before you apply, and the four other years you’re counting in the eight years before that. Not sure which years those are? Work it out with the 5-in-9 window explorer.

Document by document

Start collecting in year one

Each year’s proof is easiest to get while it’s that year. Once a year, save:

• your Employment Detail Summary for the year, from Revenue;
• 3 months of bank statements with regular transactions, showing your current address;
• one bill or tenancy document at the same address;
• your IRP card, if you have one, and any ISD letters, in case a gap in permission is questioned.

Keep them in a folder per year, named the way ISD asks, and you’ll have your whole pack when you’re eligible.

The mistakes ISD sees most

• Only supporting documents, for example three phone bills.
• Unclear scans, or files without dates.
• Documents from the wrong year.
• No strong official document for a year.
• Too much: ISD asks you to upload only what’s needed to reach 150 points per year. It will contact you if it needs more.

If the bills aren’t in your name

Some people don’t have the usual documents: for example if you live in State-supported accommodation such as IPAS, you’re on Stamp 3 or a dependant’s permission, or you live with family and the bills are in someone else’s name. ISD suggests:

• letters from the State body, such as IPAS or a housing authority, and
• a short cover note explaining your situation.

If you can’t get a strong document for a year at all, upload what you have and add a residency affidavit explaining why.

Proving who you are

Identity uses its own 150-point scale, separate from your years of residence:

A valid passport covers it on its own. Otherwise, combine documents, for example an expired passport (75) and your certified IRP card (75). If you can’t reach 150 at all, a passport or birth affidavit is possible in exceptional cases.

Getting copies certified

Your passport copy, and documents such as a marriage certificate, must be certified copies:

• Who can certify: a practising solicitor, a Commissioner for Oaths, a Notary Public or a Peace Commissioner. Not a friend, your employer or a member of An Garda Síochána.
• In person: bring the original, a full-colour photocopy and the certification form. The certifier completes the form and signs and dates both. Not by post, email or scanned signature.
• Your passport: since 20 April 2023 you don’t send the original. Upload a certified colour copy of the photo page with the completed passport certification form. ISD may still ask a random sample of applicants to show the original.
• Other languages: documents not in English or Irish need a professional translation, with the translator’s contact details and signature, plus a copy of the original. Official documents from EU and EEA countries and Switzerland can skip the translation if you get a multilingual standard form.

Uploading on the portal

• PDF or JPG, under 5MB each. Reduce large files before you upload.
• One file per document. Don’t combine several documents into one PDF, and put each in its own year.
• Name files clearly, for example “Amina Yusuf – Bank Statement Jan 2024”. The scorecard above suggests names for you.
• Save a copy before you submit. Once it’s submitted, you can’t see the form again. Take screenshots or save a PDF.
• Later requests arrive as secure messages in the portal, under My Forms, then Additional Forms.

Spouses and civil partners of Irish citizens

As well as your years on the island of Ireland, you and your spouse or civil partner each need three different documents showing you lived at the same address for the three months before you apply, such as utility bills, bank statements, rent or mortgage agreements, or letters from an employer or Social Welfare. Your spouse also signs a statutory declaration confirming your relationship.

Common mix-ups

Common questions

Sources