Migrants protest in Dublin against proposed changes to Irish citizenship rules

Members of the migrant community in Ireland gathered outside Leinster House on Tuesday to protest against government proposals that would reform citizenship applications, the Irish Examiner reported. Demonstrators demanded that the proposed measures be scrapped entirely. [1]

According to the Irish Examiner, the new government proposals include extending the reckonable residency requirement from five to eight years. The plan also introduces a minimum salary threshold and bans applicants from receiving social welfare during the two years before they apply. [1]

Protesters expressed strong opposition to the financial conditions during the demonstration. Gregory Povorozniuk, a Ukrainian living in Dublin, stated that the introduction of a minimum salary requirement places a price tag on citizenship, the Irish Examiner reported. [1]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, governments elsewhere are also tightening migration policies. The United Kingdom announced plans to extend wait times for permanent legal settlement to up to 15 years, while Human Rights Watch previously accused the United States of expelling over 500 migrants to third-party African countries where they held no citizenship. [5][6]