THE DEPARTMENT OF Justice is introducing a facility that will allow people to apply for Irish citizenship online.

For the first time, an online application will be available in addition to the existing paper application in order to make the process more efficient.

The online service will allow applicants to complete their application form, upload support documentation and pay their fees.

The measure comes as part of the department’s Immigration Modernisation Programme, which intends to digitise several paper-based immigration processes and introduce a portal system that will enable individuals to manage and view all of their engagement with immigration services.

It is hoped the move to digital will make the immigration system more efficient, improve applicants’ experience, improve data management and utilisation, and enhance border security capability and capacity.

In a statement, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that the new online system for citizenship applications “will provide a better public service and increase the efficiency of the application process”.

“Applications for Citizenship have been rising in recent years, totalling over 17,000 in 2022 and over 16,000 to date in 2023,” she said.

“The digitisation of the citizenship application process will also improve the capacity of my Department to efficiently process the growing number of applications.

“From a sustainability and customer service perspective, reducing paper based systems is a strategic objective across Government and I am pleased that my department is also making positive progress in that regard.”