More than 5,600 people from over 138 countries have become Irish citizens during a major series of citizenship ceremonies in Dublin, as Ireland continues to welcome thousands of long-term residents into full citizenship.
Six ceremonies were held at the Convention Centre Dublin on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 September 2026. Applicants living across almost every county on the island attended the events and made the formal Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State.
The ceremonies came at a particularly important moment for Ireland’s citizenship system. Just over a week earlier, the Government approved priority drafting of major proposed changes to naturalisation rules, including increasing the standard qualifying residence period for most applicants from five years to eight years.
Those reforms, however, have not yet replaced the existing citizenship rules. They form part of the proposed Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026 and remain subject to the legislative process.
Six Dublin Ceremonies
The September citizenship events were spread across six ceremonies over two days at the Convention Centre Dublin.
Judge Paddy McMahon acted as presiding officer and formally conferred citizenship on those attending. New citizens made the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State, undertaking to observe the laws of Ireland and respect its democratic values.
Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan attended the Friday ceremonies. Minister of State with responsibility for Migration Colm Brophy and Minister of State Frank Feighan also attended ceremonies during the two-day programme.
O’Callaghan described receiving Irish citizenship as a significant milestone and said the status reflects both a connection with Ireland and participation in the country’s future.
For thousands of applicants, the ceremonies represented the final formal stage of a process that can involve years of residence, preparation and application processing.
Pakistan Tops List
One of the most notable features of this round of ceremonies was the nationality breakdown. Pakistani applicants represented the largest group being conferred with citizenship, with 858 applicants. They were followed by:
- India – 716
- Syrian Arab Republic – 425
- Brazil
- Afghanistan
- Poland
- United Kingdom
- Somalia
- Romania
- Philippines
Furthermore, RTÉ reported that the United Kingdom accounted for 246 applicants. Separate reporting based on the Department’s figures put Brazil at 397 applicants, Afghanistan at 311 and Poland at 266.
The figures relate to this particular round of citizenship ceremonies and should not by themselves be treated as evidence of a longer-term change in the nationalities receiving Irish citizenship.
For comparison, official European figures showed that India was the largest previous nationality among people acquiring Irish citizenship in 2024, followed by Brazil, the United Kingdom, Romania and Nigeria. A total of 24,059 people acquired Irish citizenship that year.
Growing Citizenship Numbers
Citizenship ceremonies have become a major part of Ireland’s naturalisation system. The ceremonies were introduced in 2011 to provide a formal and dignified occasion for people receiving Irish citizenship.
According to figures accompanying the September 2026 ceremonies, there have now been around 227 citizenship ceremonies, involving people from more than 180 countries. Approximately 236,000 people, including minors, have received Irish citizenship since 2011.
The September events also followed another large citizenship programme held in Killarney in June 2026, when more than 4,600 people were due to receive citizenship.
At those June ceremonies, India was the largest applicant nationality with 1,116 people, followed by Brazil with 465, Romania with 460 and the United Kingdom with 414.
The change in the nationality profile between individual ceremonies illustrates why figures from a single ceremony should not automatically be interpreted as a permanent trend.
New Rules Proposed
The September ceremonies took place against the backdrop of potentially significant changes to Ireland’s naturalisation system.
On 9 September 2026, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and Minister of State Colm Brophy secured Government approval for priority drafting of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2026.
The General Scheme includes proposals to:
Increase residence requirements: The standard qualifying period of reckonable residence for most naturalisation applicants would increase from five years to eight years.
Introduce language testing: Applicants would be expected to demonstrate proficiency through testing in English, Irish or Irish Sign Language.
Introduce a citizenship test: Applicants would also face an assessment covering Irish civics, society and politics.
Require self-sufficiency: The proposed system would require applicants seeking citizenship through naturalisation to demonstrate economic self-sufficiency.
These measures represent proposals contained in the Government’s planned legislation. They should not be confused with rules already in force.
Government approval for priority drafting means the legislation is being progressed as a priority, but it still has to pass through Ireland’s legislative process before proposed provisions can become law.
The Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was also included among the Government’s priority legislative programme for the autumn parliamentary session.
Existing Applicants
This distinction is particularly important for migrants who have already spent several years living in Ireland and are trying to understand whether the proposed eight-year rule applies to them.
At the September ceremonies, Minister of State Colm Brophy said the legislation was progressing and indicated that the Government expected the new legislation to move forward later in 2026.
However, the final legal position will depend on the legislation ultimately passed by the Oireachtas and its commencement provisions.
Until the legislation is enacted and commenced, applicants should be cautious about interpreting newspaper reports about the proposed eight-year rule as an immediate change to the current naturalisation system.
This is especially important where people are approaching eligibility under the existing rules.
Citizenship Debate
The Government has argued that the proposed reforms would strengthen the naturalisation system and bring Ireland closer to citizenship requirements used in a number of other European countries.
O’Callaghan has said the reforms are intended to ensure citizenship reflects a durable connection to Ireland, social integration and participation in Irish society.
Critics, including some opposition politicians and migrant advocates, have raised concerns about the effect of extending the residence requirement on people who have already spent several years building their lives in Ireland.
The debate is therefore likely to continue as the legislation progresses and for now, the September ceremonies demonstrate the scale of Ireland’s existing naturalisation programme: more than 5,600 people from over 138 countries formally joining the Irish citizen population in just two days.
For those receiving their citizenship in Dublin, the immediate focus was not on future legislation but on completing a long journey through Ireland’s immigration and naturalisation system and formally becoming Irish citizens.