Irish passport/citizenship

[PseudoBadger]

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.

[AnEPleaseBob]

Your DP can have an Irish passport if he was born in NI. You can have either or both actual passports.

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

This is not true, you do automatically have Irish citizenship, its just that you have to apply to be added to the foreign births register if your parents did not do it when you were born. If one or both of your parents was Irish born you are considered to be an Irish citizen who was born abroad. You categorically do NOT have to apply for citizenship.

[LazyDoll]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered. My mum is Irish born with an Irish passport. I am British born with a British passport as are my 3 children. I've recently just renewed my passport and got the children their first passports at quite a hefty fee. Can I apply for Irish passports for the 4 of us? Financially should I wait until their passports expire (?5 years) then apply for Irish?

[AnEPleaseBob]

LazyDoll you need to apply to be on the Foreign Births Register and once that is done, you can apply for your passport. Your children however need to apply for citizenship by descent (grandparent) which is a longer and slightly costlier process. This is because while you are automatically a foreign born Irish citizen, your children are not and are not automatically Irish. They will get it by descent, but it has to be acquired.
There is no hurry to do so though, its not something that is going to change. I would get yours in pre-Brexit though if I were you.

[golondrina]

No, she can apply for a passport straight away, her children need to be registered first as foreign births and then apply for a passport

[AnEPleaseBob]

No, thats entirely wrong. SHE is the foreign birth, her children are not. They have to get it via grandparent.

[golondrina]

This is not true, you do automatically have Irish citizenship, its just that you have to apply to be added to the foreign births register if your parents did not do it when you were born.

Not true. My mother was born in Belfast and never had an Irish passport (and still doesn't). I was born near London and did not have to register as a foreign birth. As the child of someone born on the island of Ireland I was entitled to a passport straight away. I know this because I spoke to the embassy and then applied for and got an Irish passport.

[golondrina]

Yes, they get it through a grandparent butshe doesn't need to register as a foreign birth. I didn't.

[AnEPleaseBob]

LazyDoll asked about an Irish passport based on her mother being born in Ireland, not NI. In Ireland the process is as I have described. I'm an Irish civil servant and I know what I am talking about!

[golondrina]

The children's claim is through a grandparent (the op's mother) so they must register as foreign births and apply for citizenship and then a passport. The OP can just apply for a passport.

[golondrina]

Sorry, I said op, I meant pp. With a parent born on the island of Ireland the pp can apply for an Irish passport.

[AttackoftheSlimolds]

LazyDoll asked about an Irish passport based on her mother being born in Ireland, not NI. In Ireland the process is as I have described. I'm an Irish civil servant and I know what I am talking about!

There’s no difference. People born in NI are automatically Irish citizens. With respect, you are wrong in this instance.

[bellinisurge]

You are automatically an Irish citizen if you have one Irish born parent. You can apply for an Irish passport, subject to provision of evidence, photos and fees.
Your children need to apply for citizenship but would be entitled through their Irish born grandparent.

[inashizzle]

Thanks bellingsurge ; my partner is Irish too so I'll have our children with an Irish passport too.☘️

[LazyDoll]

Thank you for your advice

[Notmethistimehonest]

One more question if you don’t mind.

Once citizenship has been granted, are there are criteria to keeping it? (I believe for example Australia has rules about visiting every so often etc)

Thank you!

[Buteo]

Don’t think there are any rules about spending time on the island of Ireland - DH has had his Irish passport since the 1980s.

It was straightforward to apply for passports for the DC, and their DC (if/when they have any) would also be entitled under the current rules if registered as foreign births (at least that’s how I understand it).

Bit annoyed that I didn’t apply for a passport as a spouse back in the 1990s (my employer then would not have been happy about it). I would now have to be naturalised, which means a reasonable period of residence in Ireland.

www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html

[Bountiful]

Does having an Irish passport mean that you can claim to be an EU citizen?

[golondrina]

Bountiful, yes. Irish passport holders are EU citizens, that's why so many Brits are applying, to keep the same rights after Brexit.

[CurlsandCurves]

DHs grandfather was an Irish citizen. So presumably DH can apply based on that.

But am I right in thinking that our dc will not be able to?

[Bountiful]

It's similar to what Moldovans do then. Moldova isn't part of the EU but if they can get a Romanian passport through heritage, then they can travel in the EU. I think Lithuanians tend to do similar (not 100% sure on that though).

[witchmountain]

Bountiful just to be clear, if they have a passport from and EU country, they aren’t “claiming” to be EU citizens, they are EU citizens!

Lithuania joined the EU in 2004, so depends when you are thinking of.

[witchmountain]

Pseudo, I don’t know if anyone explicitly answered question 2 but you can have either or both (or you can let both expire) and there is no problem with renewing either if it’s been out of date for a while. It’s exactly the same as your UK one.

[golondrina]

Curls your DC wouldn't be entitled if their father is going to apply based on his grandfather, no. The furthest back you can go is grandparents, not great grandparents. If your DH had got his before you had dcs then they could have applied.
My dcs are entitled through my mother, not me, as I only just got mine. But I'm not bothering for them as they have Spanish passports. The Irish passport is to protect me as a Briton living in the EU after Brexit. I have applied for Spanish citizenship but it takes years, been waiting two already, and won't be through by Brexit Day.

[Peregrina]

I knew two South Americans, I can't remember now whether they were from Chile or Argentina, who managed to claim German citizenship and therefore obtain EU passports. No doubt the same sort of rules applied - a grandparent was German.

[Notmethistimehonest]

curlsandcurves - I think it matters if your DP’s grandfather was born in Ireland as well as having citizenship.

Someone please correct me if i’m wrong as I currently don’t think my DC are entitled as my mum is an Irish citizen but was not born in Ireland. Therefore I have to apply via the register of foreign births rather than being automatically a citizen.

As i’m doing this now and not before my DCs were born, they are not entitled.