Can a citizen from any country join?
To join, applicants must:-
- Be a national of a European Union Member State, or
- Be a national of an EEA State or the Swiss Confederation, or
- Be a refugee under the Refugee Act, 1996, or
- Have a period of 1 year's continuous residence in the State immediately before 1 September, 2005 and, during the 8 years immediately preceding that period, have had a total residence in the State amounting to 4 years. (Periods of illegal residence or residence as an asylum seeker do not count in the qualifying 5 year period).