to ask if Irish vs U.K. passport makes a difference?

[OneOfTheseNights]

Hi, some friends have emigrated from a non European country to Ireland.

They moved there with two young dc, and are wondering whether to try to get their dc Irish passports.

I know next to nothing of how they go about this, and I’m sure they are more than capable.

i just wondered, if they are applying for passports for their dc, would they benefit more from an Irish passport, or if possible, would it be better to apply for a U.K. passport ?

🙏🏻

I’m confused… they need citizenship before a passport. Do they have citizenship?

Is this NI? that is the only way I could see how they might be eligible for a UK passport if they go through citizenship application process, but then they are not eligible for an Irish one afaik.

It makes quite a difference in a lot of countries tbh due to Irelands neutrality/political status and other things like US Preclearence in Irish airports. Colombia is visa free if you have an Irish passport.

If your daughters get Irish passports (ie become Irish citizens!) before they have children, aren't those children then entitled as they have an Irish parent?

Do you have any idea where the Azores are @AImportantMermaid 😂 They’re an autonomous region of Portugal. Part of the EU. They even use the Euro…

Yes, this is right.
My grandparents were born in Ireland, so my siblings and I were entitled to Irish citizenship through the Foreign Births Register. We can pass this down to our children, provided we became Irish citizens before those children were born. Under the current rules, each generation can continue passing it on, as long as the parent is already an Irish citizen when the child is born.

having an Irish passport is not the same as being an Irish citizen and does not confer the children of the holder to an Irish passport.

Why do they think they’d be entitled to a British passport? Unless they are in Northern Ireland.

Yes, it does.

So aside from granting easy access to 26 of the closest countries, there is no difference? So quite a big difference then?

If DH was born in Ireland (so has Irish passport) and DD has Irish passport too (born in UK), does she need to go on the Foreign Births Register before having children in order to pass on citizenship on to those future children?

If they are just after emigrating to Ireland I can’t see that they’d be able to get a passport.

Can’t see why they would get a UK passport at all seeing as they aren’t even living there.

If they could apply for either I would get both. At the moment an Irish passport has the edge mobility wise with frictionless access to the rest of the EU but who knows what could happen in the future.

@OneOfTheseNights so I’m assuming these friends have moved from the UK to Ireland. As far as I’m aware they wouldn’t be entitled to either passport unless at least one parent / grandparent was born in the UK or Ireland.

No, because she is automatically a citizen because her parent is and she already has a passport to prove it.

Edited to add: she claimed her citizenship when you applied for a passport - she claimed it because her parent was born on the island of Ireland. It’s only if you’re another generation removed (grandparent born on the island) that you need a foreign birth registration.

Irish passport gives freedom of movement in the EU.

My great-grandmother was Irish. I wish I could get an Irish passport!

No, they have a parent who is Irish by desent not birth in Ireland.

DH is Irish and DC have passports. Their travelling life is so much better!

Are they living in Northern Ireland? Otherwise I'm not sure how they go about applying for UK passports. To qualify for Irish passport you must have at least five years continuing residency. You must show some documentation to this effect. Plus a couple of references from people who know you iirc. There was a fee of € 1100 last time I checked. I know a guy who was born in England but grew up here, so he has way more than five years residency. But he can't afford the fee. Since Brexit he has regarded himself as a stateless person.

Life used to be so simple. My first Irish passport was £1.50. That dates me ....

You can get a passport if one gp is an Irish citizen. Check out Foreign Birth Registration.

There’s nothing ‘sad’ bout not being able to claim a passport because you don’t meet the issuing country’s criteria.

https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/citizenship/born-abroad/ says you can if your parent was a citizen at the time of your birth.

Living in NI I'm entitled to both passports but have always held a British one.On my last group travel the Irish passport holders did seem to have an easier journey through the airport so maybe I should hold both.

Yes IF your parent was an Irish citizen when you were born, not moved there and gained citizenship while you were alive.
A parent or grandparent born on the island of Ireland (so including NI, for clarity) allows you to carry an Irish passport.

Thank you - this makes sense! So does that mean all her future descendents (her Grandchildren etc) will have Irish citizenship as long as they continue to claim it (through getting a passport) with no breaks in the chain?

Speak for yourself. I'm far more likely e( and do) go to Asia rather than Europe