Are there any cons to applying for an Irish passport?

[battenburg100]

Hi
With Brexit so close now, I'm in a dilemma whether or not to apply for an Irish passport. I'm hesitant as although I can see the benefits of having one, alongside my British passport, there are bound to be negatives too - but I'm not sure what they may be, so I would be grateful for any mumsnetters feedback....

Background info - I was born in the UK and have a British passport - my mum was born in Northern Ireland. My sister who lives in France was worried about her employment status there, so applied for and received her Irish passport. She now has dual nationality which has pleased her French employers, but what could be the consequences, particularly negative ones, of me having both types of passport living here in the UK?

You will need your mother’s birth certificate- I imagine you can apply for a certified copy from the national birth and deaths office/registry in Ireland. Her grandchildren can get passports after you and they register on foreign birth register and become Irish citizens.

@FlyingElbows - Was GrandpaElbows born on the island of Ireland? In which case Mr Elbows would automatically already be an Irish citizen in Ireland’s eyes.

You can apply for MiniElbows to go on the foreign births register without doing anything for MrElbows himself.

My grandfather was born in Ireland, my mum was not but was brought up in Ireland until 21. She never had an Irish passport or did anything to formalise her citizenship and still has not. She lives in the UK with a British passport.

I have just applied to go on the foreign births register and hence get citizenship. I will then apply for the passport.

So, move that all a generation down and your kids may be able to do it without MrElbows doing anything?

@madmum5811 yes her grandchildren can apply for a passport. My grandfather was born in Ireland and my brother who lives in the US recently got his Irish passport as was worried about the whole brexit situation and traveling in Europe. I live in the UK and have yet to sort mine out, but probably will at some point. My brother had a lot of paperwork to complete than just applying for a passport as he had to prove our grandfather was from Ireland and provide birth certificates ect. He applied via the Irish embassy in the US and got his passport pretty quickly.

Took me so long to write that that several people answered before me!!

You know we've had over 100,000 'Brexit' applications for passports here this year. People who would never have applied for Irish passports suddenly deciding that this would be a good idea with no real clue how Brexit will affect their future travel to Europe. People with absolutely no interest in Ireland except getting a passport out of it. Thereby putting our people under duress in carrying about our normal business and passport renewals etc have become a nightmare for thos of us who are living and working here. I hope they clamp down big time and people stop 'using' us!

It's not us being used for Irish citizens who didn't have the good fortune to be born in Ireland to gain a passport, youwould think They have just as much right to them as you and I, under Irish law. And how has it put people under duress?? Waiting longer for a passport renewal is a pain, sure, but the waits for straightforward applications and renewals are not nearly as long as people are saying. I got my babies PP through in only two weeks longer than my older kids took, some years ago.

To work for the MOD, or on MOD contracts, you do indeed need a British passport.

@youwouldthink

But WE are YOU. We are citizens with the same rights and responsibilities. It does not matter where we were born, brought up or where we pay taxes.

That‘s Irish law.

@BikeRun

Yes you need a British passport for DV job. But having a second citizenship does NOT exclude you unless that citizenship is seen as a threat per se. Irish citizenship would not be considered a threat.

Might change after Brexit, but currently if you have an Irish passport, you can still be a countersignatory for UK passports by putting your Irish passport number in.
I am an Irish citizen and am applying for an Irish passport, also DD is getting registered on the register of foreign births once I get the ( lengthy) amount of documents together.

www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications

@williteverend - ah right, yes of course, that was a nuance I had t picked up. My office is full of EU people who were working in Scotland, until our office up there lost all big contracts but MOD!

If your mother was born in NI OP, you're Irish anyway. Applying for a passport won't make you any more or less an Irish citizen than you already are. It's grandchildren of people born in Ireland who need to take action to become Irish.

I would love an Irish passport

No downsides at all, and please be thankful!!!

Irish citizenship would not be considered a threat.
Not in and of itself, but sometimes people are deemed a risk because of the.... erm, historical political links or actions of relatives. I've had a few Irish-born-in-NI friends who have unearthed family secrets through failing security clearances (one in UK, another in ROI). But known associates and the like are looked into, if relevant, whether or not someone has two passports and whether or not they're aware that they're a dual citizen.

Cost? It isn't cheap! I'd wait until (or if) you really need an Irish Passport. But get the paperwork together now e.g. birth certificates. They can take ages if you don't have them to hand.

Nothing , I'm getting one for me and my children... unfortunately my husband doesn't qualify. But we live in between the UK & Spain , so for peace of mind about the future I want to get mine

@youwouldthink my father was born in Ireland , so I am half Irish ...is this a problem for you ?

Sorry, it only costs an arm and a leg if you have to apply for Irish citizenship first (€278) . You won't have to do that.

youwouldthink - as the passport office has had to take on hundreds on extra staff to deal with the increased number of applications there is definitely an upside for those with those jobs. And as far as I know current Irish nationals’ passport applications and renewals are taking priority. I know family members who have not have had any issues or delays.

Cead Mile Failte!

The passport office has created a separate process for British and overseas applications, which are being administered from Cork. Domestic renewals and applications are being handled in the Dublin office. So the Brexit tidal wave shouldn’t have an effect on the locals. Plus the Irish state is coining it from all the application fees ! must be what’s created that budget surplus ....

If you weren't born and raised in Ireland, and have an English accent you shouldn't be getting the passport. I think it's ridiculous all the English suddenly wanting to benefit from their ancestry. Your parents/grandparents turned their back on Ireland

Anybody who can get a passport is a current Irish national peridot. I expect there are probably some non nationals who have applied and will be unsuccessful, but it's not going to be clear that someone isn't entitled until the application has been considered.