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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask about passports following Brexit?

26 replies

ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 01/06/2018 21:09

DH, I & our DCs all have UK passports - all born in the UK.

My grandmother was Irish, but died before I was born and moved to the UK when she was 3.

Am I right in thinking I can apply for an Irish passport?

If I am entitled to do this, and am granted an Irish passport, will my DCs then be eligible for Irish passports, or will eligibility end with me?

TIA.

OP posts:
MaryWortleyMontagu · 01/06/2018 21:21

I believe that you can (although you would need to register yourself on the register of foreign births), but unfortunately not your existing dc as you didn't hold an Irish passport at the time of their birth. Any future children would be eligible.

Original poster
ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 01/06/2018 21:21

Bump! Just don't want it to slide off the radar!

OP posts:
Original poster
ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 01/06/2018 21:23

Sorry Mary - I bumped as I hadn't seen your reply.

Thank you very much for your advice.

OP posts:
Original poster
ArsenalsPlayingAtHome · 01/06/2018 21:26

Mary is that a situation if your grandparents are from any EU country, do you know?

My niece has a grandparent from an eastern European country. I think her parents were hoping that she'd be eligible for a passport from that particular country, although it is only her grandparent, not her parent who holds the passport from the eastern European country.

Thanks.

OP posts:
MaryWortleyMontagu · 01/06/2018 21:46

It varies from country to country. Ireland is one of the most generous in allowing passports to be applied for on the basis of one grandparent's birth. This is for historic reasons as they have a large diaspora. You'd need to check the nationality laws of the country in question. The only country I know in detail is Germany and there you generally need a German parent (grandparent is no good) who was born in Germany who was German at the time of your birth.

OpiningGambit · 01/06/2018 21:58

Mary's right - you're eligible for the passport, OP, but I'm afraid your already-born children aren't.

You'd need you grandmother's long-form birth, marriage and death (if applicable) certificates, as well as those for your relevant parent and you. You send them all off to the Irish Embassy. I was so stressed when I did mine, in case they lost them all! I also had to get myself a long-form birth certificate as I only had the short one.

ThatchersCold · 01/06/2018 23:14

Ooh can anyone answer my similar question? Have looked on Irish passport website but couldn’t make head nor tail of it.

Both of my maternal grandpArents were Irish, born in Ireland.

My mum was not born in Ireland, but has held An Irish passport since before my children were born.

Does that mean that my children would be able to get Irish passports?

Terramirabilis · 01/06/2018 23:19

Don't take this as gospel, Thatchers, because I certainly think it's worth calling the embassy to ask, but the consulate in San Francisco (my nearest) told me the great-grandchildren of an Irish born Irish citizen are eligible if their parent (i.e. the grandchild of the Irish born Irish citizen) had Irish citizenship before they were born. Your mother (the child of the Irish born Irish citizen) having the passport would not help them as far as I know. See this link.

ThatchersCold · 01/06/2018 23:22

Thanks for the reply, doesn’t look too promising but maybe worth a call to double check.

GreyGardens88 · 01/06/2018 23:25

I feel as though everyone born in the UK before Brexit should be able to keep their EU citizenship, I feel robbed and I'm not lucky enough to have Irish grandparents

Cobblersandhogwash · 02/06/2018 08:42

Wish I could get an Irish passport.

beluga425 · 02/06/2018 08:46

I feel as though everyone born in the UK before Brexit should be able to keep their EU citizenship, I feel robbed and I'm not lucky enough to have Irish grandparents

Completely agree. What a sad state of affairs.

monkeysox · 02/06/2018 09:19

Watch tracy Ullman show from last night. Sketch on getting an Irish passport was hilarious 😂

Iruka · 02/06/2018 09:30

I am going through this process now. If your parents were born in Ireland then you are already an Irish citizen and just need to apply for a passport. Your children are entitled to Irish citizenship but would need to be entered on the register of foreign births.

Overrunwithlego · 02/06/2018 09:41

The table at the bottom of this page is useful and explains eligibility. If you grandparent(s) were born in Ireland but your parent(s) weren’t then you claim Irish citizenship but have to register on the foreign births register first. This requires lots of documents and costs a few hundred Euros. Once your an Irish citizen you can then have a passport (or not - you’ll still be an Irish citizen regardless) www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html

Overrunwithlego · 02/06/2018 10:25

Thatchers unfortunately not. Your mother, even though not born in Ireland, is automatically an Irish citizen by virtue of having Irish parent(s). My father is the same because his parents were both born in Ireland but he was born in London - although he has never held an Irish passport (only a UK one), he could do if he wanted. I am going through the process of getting on the foreign births register though my paternal grandparents, which will give me Irish citizenship (and enable me to hold an Irish passport). Unfortunately I didn’t get on the foreign births register before my children were born (because I never saw a need to pre-Brexit!) so they have no entitlement to Irish citizenship (but they would have done if I’d claimed mine before they were born). That saddens me immensely but I suppose me having Irish citizenship at least leaves a little chink in the closing door. Barnier has floated the idea of UK citizens being able to retain EU citizenship but I can’t quite see how that would work given that you’d have to be given nationality of a member state. Whether it might be that therefore that member states will be encouraged to open citizenship to a wider group on a one off basis - so perhaps extending to my existing children after I’d got on the foreign births register is the tiny hope I’ll hold onto. But it is shit all round. I still can’t quite believe that rights we’ve had since birth are going to be forcibly taken from us in a time of peace. It’s nuts.

ThatchersCold · 02/06/2018 11:36

Thanks overrun, that’s a bit crap for the DCs :(, I’m going to get the process going to get myself an Irish passport as my British one expires next year.

Overrunwithlego · 02/06/2018 11:52

Presuming you live in the UK I would think you’d want to renew that one as well. It’s the simplest way of proving you are entitled to enter the country.

ThatchersCold · 02/06/2018 11:53

That’s a good plan.

Overrunwithlego · 02/06/2018 11:54

Oh also at the moment the website says it takes about 6 months to process your foreign birth registration. And then as it would be your first Irish passport, it’ll probably be another couple of months to get that. So don’t find yourself passport-less if you intend to leave the UK after your current passport expires!

kimlo · 02/06/2018 11:56

why would we be able to keep eu citizenship? We were asked if we wanted to keep it and the outcome was no, thats why we can't.

soapboxqueen · 02/06/2018 12:25

The idea of EU citizenship separate from being a citizen of a member state has been floated before. The idea is that the eu would move towards immigrants being given federal eu citizenship without the need to apply to one specific country for citizenship first.

It has been suggested that this method could be brought forward to include British citizens.

ThatchersCold · 02/06/2018 12:33

Thanks again overrun, that’s very useful to know. Think I have a year left on my current passport so I’ll get cracking with the Irish one soon.

mumeeee · 02/06/2018 13:37

Yes you can but you will need to register on the foreign births register first. My DH parents ( his Dad passed away a few years ago )are Irish and he and all our daughters are eligible to apply for an Irish passport.
My eldest daughter has already started the process. Its a bit complicated and there is a lot of paperwork.

mumeeee · 02/06/2018 13:43

Oh I forgot to say my DH doesn't have an Irish Passport at the moment but a British one. He is going to apply for an Irish Passport. Actually I'm the only one in my family who isn't eligible for one

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