A Brazilian man who had a deportation order wrongly linked to his identity has become an Irish citizen at a ceremony in Kerry today.
The records of Felipe Silvestre Santos De Morais had been incorrectly merged with those of another person.
The father-of-three has been lawfully living and working as a software engineer in Ireland since 2016.
Mr Santos De Morais suspected there was an issue with his application for citizenship when he received a letter to his home in Wexford, revoking a deportation order.
This led him to send a Freedom of Information request to the Department of Justice which uncovered the error in his records.
“I could see in my records that there was a form and it said, ‘other names’, and there was a different name, which matched with the name on the deportation order,” he said.
“Then I realised that my identity was connected to another person in Ireland who was under a deportation order,” he added.
A deportation order belonging to another individual had been formally processed and transmitted under his identity.
Mr Santos De Morais received a letter in April this year, directed by the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, formally acknowledging the error and confirming that his records had been corrected.
Today, he became a citizen of Ireland at a ceremony at the Gleneagle in Killarney, along with thousands of others.
The new Irish citizens undertake to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.
Minister of State with responsibility for Migration Colm Brophy is in attendance today.
“Irish citizenship is about freedom – freedom to participate fully in society, to vote, to shape the future of your community, to raise your family with security and belonging,” Minister Brophy said.
“It is also about responsibility, it is about respecting the rule of law, contributing to the common good and standing up for the values that underpin our Republic,” he added.
Minister Brophy congratulated each person attending today’s opening ceremony and wished them every success.