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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Do you think giving birth in Belfast will become a thing post Brexit?

431 replies

Lalaloveyou2020 · 19/01/2021 12:01

Since 2005 a person born on the island of Ireland (including NI) to Irish or British parents has a right to apply for Irish citizenship/a passport. I read an article in the FT yesterday discussing the obstacles UK business travellers would face in a post Brexit word, which ended with this:

"There’s one group that will do well out of this: UK-based EU passport holders, who will be able to advertise themselves, both to British employers and to EU service buyers, as being able to travel unhindered around the bloc. Best-placed of all will be Irish passport holders, who can not only travel in the EU, but live and work freely in the UK too. Cecil Rhodes, the British mining magnate and colonialist, once described being English as “the greatest prize in the lottery of life”. Post-Brexit, it’s the Irish who hold the winning ticket."

If you really really wanted your child to have access to the EU in the future, would you be willing to move to Belfast for your birth so that your child could then claim an Irish Passport?

This is meant as a light-hearted discussion more than anything else, though if anyone from NI could chime in on how difficult it would actually be to do, please do so! Reason for going to Northern Ireland over the Republic is the access to the NHS and an automatic right to be both Irish and British at birth.

OP posts:
Sindragosan · 19/01/2021 12:13

You need to be born on the island of Ireland before 2005 - the loophole was closed to stop birth tourism. Rules after 2005 are different.

Lalaloveyou2020 · 19/01/2021 12:20

No that's for non-EU and non British people, British people still have the right.

Who is entitled to Irish citizenship?
You are entitled to claim Irish citizenship if any one of the following applies:

1.You were born in Ireland or Northern Ireland before 1 January 2005
2.You were born in Ireland or Northern Ireland after 31 December 2004
and

One (or both) of your parents was an Irish or entitled to be an Irish citizen or a British citizen at the time of your birth

OP posts:
THNG5 · 19/01/2021 12:31

I was pregnant when the referendum happened and was horrified with the results. My first thought was to go to Ireland to give birth. Unfortunately, my husband pointed out that as giving birth is not a 100% guaranteed on a certain day, when was I going to go!? (We live near London). So that was the end of that idea 😆
I've now got 4 very much British children unfortunately!

Sindragosan · 19/01/2021 12:40

Fair enough, hadn't looked at the rules in detail.

In practical terms, facilities over there are limited and underfunded same as everywhere else in the UK, lack of specialist care if you need it might be an issue too.

Ouchiehelpneeded · 19/01/2021 12:46

IIRC there are 8 million British citizens entitled to Irish citizenship and I suspect quite a lot of them (us! I'm one of them) will be applying for their passports for just this reason.

I applied for mine not long after the brexit vote. It arrived pretty quickly. We then took ages to get round to applying to register the dcs as foreign births (the first step to claim citizenship for them) and now the waiting time is over a year!

Lalaloveyou2020 · 19/01/2021 12:57

Yes maternity hospitals are stretched, as they are everywhere. Could be good business for private OBGYNs though! @Ouchiehelpneeded I believe the whole passport and immigration office is closed because of Covid. They've massive delays!

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OwMyNeck · 19/01/2021 13:00

Why move to Belfast when you could move to Dublin and achieve the same thing?

DioneTheDiabolist · 19/01/2021 13:04

It costs money to give birth in Dublin. It's free in Belfast.

scubadub · 19/01/2021 13:10

@DioneTheDiabolist why do you say it costs money to give birth In Dublin?

OwMyNeck · 19/01/2021 13:10

It costs money to give birth in Dublin. It's free in Belfast

No it doesn't. It's also free in Dublin. (Unless you choose to go private).

BestWatcherInTheUnit · 19/01/2021 13:13

No. I don’t think Irish or European citizenship is any better than British citizenship. Plenty of people who are not EU citizens live and work in Europe.

scubadub · 19/01/2021 13:14

@OwMyNeck I was going to make this point HOWEVER as the U.K. is not now a part of the EU...if someone chose to gave birth in Ireland they may have to pay unless they have international health insurance. But yes normally for women in Ireland it is free...

YouBoughtMeAWall · 19/01/2021 13:19

Oh great, just another legacy of brexit the NI people have to endure at the hands of GB. The gift that keeps on giving.

Lalaloveyou2020 · 19/01/2021 13:21

@BestWatcherInTheUnit it's not about having access to "the best" it's having access to both! @OwMyNeck the CTA between Ireland and UK still stands, right to live, work, access health care and yes pregnancy and birth are free in Ireland. Northern Ireland has the NHS though which is why it might be easier, also the baby is automatically British but entitled to Irish citizenship , so I assume registering for child benefit etc would be easier with an NI birth.

OP posts:
DGRossetti · 19/01/2021 13:22

@BestWatcherInTheUnit

No. I don’t think Irish or European citizenship is any better than British citizenship. Plenty of people who are not EU citizens live and work in Europe.
Not with the same ease EU citizens have - it's not comparable
WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo · 19/01/2021 13:23

Don't come here, we have enough problems as it is. Grin

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55711531

YouBoughtMeAWall · 19/01/2021 13:25

[quote WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo]Don't come here, we have enough problems as it is. Grin

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55711531[/quote]
Grin

No gravy??! Shock

Keratinsmooth · 19/01/2021 13:25

Practicalities of travelling pregnant will probably prevent this in most cases tbh. Airlines won’t accept such passengers and I wouldn’t board a ferry if I was near my due date...

SprinklesMcDoodles · 19/01/2021 13:26

We don’t have the infrastructure to support birth tourism. Even if you are talking about private drs the nhs will still struggle as those docs will inevitably have less time to devote to nhs patients. If you wouldn’t normally come here for a visit then stay in your own location to give birth.

BlackBucketOfCheese · 19/01/2021 13:26

I hope not. As if British people haven’t fucked over the island of Ireland enough without abusing resources and claiming citizenship in order to get a handier passport and job opportunities.

YouBoughtMeAWall · 19/01/2021 13:29

@BlackBucketOfCheese

I hope not. As if British people haven’t fucked over the island of Ireland enough without abusing resources and claiming citizenship in order to get a handier passport and job opportunities.
This in spades.
OwMyNeck · 19/01/2021 13:30

@OwMyNeck I was going to make this point HOWEVER as the U.K. is not now a part of the EU...if someone chose to gave birth in Ireland they may have to pay unless they have international health insurance. But yes normally for women in Ireland it is free

No, the CTA predates the EU and continues after it. British citizens are treated almost identically to Irish citizens in Ireland. Free maternity care still included.

scubadub · 19/01/2021 13:31

@OwMyNeck ah yeah I forgot about the CTA so my initial thinking was right and it is free so I'm wondering why @DioneTheDiabolist thinks it's not???

OwMyNeck · 19/01/2021 13:33

Some people seem to think you pay for all healthcare in Ireland, I saw someone on a thread say that we don't have a health service at all! I think the HSE might disagree...

ducktape · 19/01/2021 13:35

@Lalaloveyou2020

Yes maternity hospitals are stretched, as they are everywhere. Could be good business for private OBGYNs though! *@Ouchiehelpneeded* I believe the whole passport and immigration office is closed because of Covid. They've massive delays!
There is no private maternity provision in NI. You can pay for private antenatal care, but all births are NHS. In some hospitals you can pay for a private room (if one is available)