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Brexit

Irish passport/citizenship

65 replies

PseudoBadger · 28/08/2018 20:25

Forgive the very dense questions. 1. Can I hold British and Irish citizenship at the same time?

  1. And will that mean 2 passports or can I just have an Irish one? I don’t have one at all at the moment as it expired last year.
  2. DP was born in Northern Ireland - I think the GFA means he just applies for Irish citizenship no problem as he was born on the island of Ireland. He thinks he will have to prove heritage which may be tricky.
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Peregrina · 28/08/2018 20:47

You can have both and have two passports. My DIL has.

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DramaAlpaca · 28/08/2018 20:52
  1. Yes, both countries allow dual citizenship
  2. You can hold both passports
  3. I am almost sure that anyone born on the island of Ireland can get Irish citizenship.

    I'll post a link to a helpful website later when I can get to my laptop.
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DramaAlpaca · 28/08/2018 21:14

Link here

I think your DP just has to apply for a Irish passport, as having been born in NI he is already an Irish citizen and there is no need to apply for citizenship. He'll just need to produce whatever documentation is required for a first Irish passport.

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PseudoBadger · 28/08/2018 21:20

Thanks everyone!

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golondrina · 28/08/2018 21:24

Yes, the Good Friday Agreement says you can be British and Irish at the same time. You can have both passports or just one, it's up to you.
Your DP is entitled to an Irish passport as he was born on the island of Ireland. He doesn't need to prove heritage (I didn't and I wasn't even born there, I was born near London, my mum was born in Belfast, making me automatically Irish).

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HesterLee · 28/08/2018 21:34

Does anyone know if you can take paperwork to the embassy personally?
I want to apply but am worried the certificates will get lost / damaged if I post them.
Daft I know - I guess I just need to do certified mail but I would be happier if I could take them in and bring them home myself.

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PinguDance · 28/08/2018 21:40

I sent off my paperwork and docs and it all came back pretty quickly and safely. I had to get a copy of my Dad's birth certificate to apply for my Irish passport - he was born in NI, I was born in England. I got it without having to go through him, I called the NI births and deaths office with his DOB and got a copy so it was painless really. If your DH was born there he's already an Irish citizen and will just need to send off his birth certificate.

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HesterLee · 29/08/2018 06:54

Thanks PinguDance. I need to get on with it really and trust in Royal Mail!!

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endofthelinefinally · 29/08/2018 07:02

You dont automatically have Irish citizenship if you weren't born there, even if one or both of your parents were. You have to apply for it.
Applying for citizenship is easy but long. You have to send your parents' birth and marriage certificates together with application forms signed and witnessed by a suitable person.
It takes up to 3 months.
Once you get your certificate of citizenship, you can apply for your passport.
Both processes carry a fairly substantial fee.
I have assisted a few people with this process in recent months.
All the information can be accessed through the Irish Embassy website.

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endofthelinefinally · 29/08/2018 07:02

Send everything recorded delivery and keep copies.

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endofthelinefinally · 29/08/2018 07:04

Yes you can take documents personally but check the opening times and get a receipt.

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golondrina · 29/08/2018 16:02

Endoftheline my mum was born in Belfast and I was born near London. My mum never had an Irish passport. I spoke to the Irish embassy who told me I was entitled to a passport. I applied for one and it turned up six weeks later. The passport application required me to send my birth certificate and hers and her marriage certificate and I needed someone to sign that I was who I said I was and my photos were a likeness, but that was it. There was no previous stage of applying for citizenship and then a passport, just straight to the passport.

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PositivelyPERF · 29/08/2018 16:13

Aren’t we lucky buggers, having two passports! 😁 A photographer friend used to travel to some dangerous areas in other countries and used to take both. It meant if he had to hand over one to any dubious security/police, he could use the other to get help at that embassy. That was 20yrs ago, though.

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bellinisurge · 29/08/2018 16:14

If you have a verifiable Irish born parent- you have their birth certificate which says so and you can prove they are your parent - your birth certificate , you are already an Irish citizen. You can get a passport- subject to providing necessary proofs, photos and fees.
If you have an Irish born grandparent, you are likely entitled to Irish citizenship but must apply for it first. My dd has two Irish born grandparents (my mum; HD's dad) and we are getting the docs together for her application.
My nephew (her cousin) has done it. My brother was already a citizen as I am. He needed an EU passport for business reasons.

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Notmethistimehonest · 29/08/2018 16:23

This has be debating again whether I should apply for Irish citizenship which I can do through my mum. Thing is DH and DC would not be eligible as I would only count from the date I register my birth as a foreign birth (parents never thought to do it).

Would there be any benefit longer term to just one of us having it??

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Notmethistimehonest · 29/08/2018 16:26

My mum gave up her Irish passport in the 1970s and never renewed it as she had a British one too, I assume that would not be a problem as long as she never actually renounced her citizenship (which I can’t imagine she did)?

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bellinisurge · 29/08/2018 16:28

@Notmethistimehonest - assume that you are Irish via a grandparent not a parent? If through a parent, your DC are also entitled- subject to checks, fees, proof etc.

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inashizzle · 29/08/2018 16:29

This is a denser question; how would having an Irish passport benefit as opposed to British?
I see people are dashing for theirs since Brexit saga started.


My mother was born and raised in Ireland but can only have British passport as born in 1938, so classes as British subject. If I was to apply for Irish one, how would it stand ?

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inashizzle · 29/08/2018 16:32

And what are the reasons for Irish citizenship ? People used to sunset I was 'Irish looking' when I lived in Holland- it went down so well I didn't correct them that I was BritishGrin

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bellinisurge · 29/08/2018 16:32

@Notmethistimehonest , if your mum was Irish born, you are already a citizen. Your children have to apply for citizenship but they would be entitled to. Again, subject to provision of proofs and fees.
My brother (like me) has an Irish born Mum. His wife (unlike my dh) does not have an Irish born parent. He has his passport; his kids are getting citizenship. They will be able to live and work and travel as EU citizens with all the accompanying rights. My dd will - unless EU laws change - attend university anywhere in EU . My cousin's son is at university in Netherlands. It's cheaper, in English and a good university.

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Notmethistimehonest · 29/08/2018 16:34

@bellinisurge

I am eligible for Irish citizenship through a grandparent and also through my mum who has Irish citizenship before I was born (but she was not born in Ireland although grew up there).

My birth was never registered as a foreign birth (I was born outside Ireland or the UK and parents only registered it with the British Commision in the relevant country!).

Because I now have to apply to have my birth put on the register of foreign births my citizenahip would only count from registration date rather than my actual birth date.

Therefore because I wasn’t an Irish citizen at the time of my children’s births, they are not eligible. (And my DM was not born in Ireland so they can’t go the grandparent route).

All would be different if my parents registered my birth at the time!

As I understand it all anyway!!

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bellinisurge · 29/08/2018 16:34

@inashizzle - still an Irish citizen even if a British subject. My mum was born before your Mum and my brother has his Irish passport. I'm getting mine.

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bellinisurge · 29/08/2018 16:35

@Notmethistimehonest - that sounds about right but check with Embassy, particularly as she lived there for a good while.

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Notmethistimehonest · 29/08/2018 16:39

Thanks @bellinisurge.

She lives there from age 1 to 21 and considers herself properly Irish. She moved to the UK as she met and married an English man (my dad).

She stopped renewing her Irish passport as a British one was easier to travel on during the troubles.

So while I am potentially jumping on the bandwagon a bit, she certainly wouldn’t be.

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bellinisurge · 29/08/2018 16:47

If she ever paid taxes there, it might help. My Irish born Mum never did because she was an invited worker over here aged 17. My dh had an aunt of the same age who paid taxes in Ireland for about a year . Mum wasn't entitled to an Irish pension; DH's auntie was.
In other words, being a tax payer might help.

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