Irish and English family and passports questions

[willitbe]

So I am English and have an English passport as does one of my children, my husband was born in England but is Irish and my other children were born in Ireland and have Irish passports.

So what is the best plan regarding passports?

Do I apply for English passports for my husband and Irish passport children? Is there any advantage for them with this? My husband and all our children could all be eligible for dual passports, but should be bother when we currently live in R. of Ireland.

Do I apply for and Irish passport for my child with an English passport and let his English passport lapse?

Do I apply for Irish citizenship (will cost over £1000) in order to get an Irish passport for myself?

I am not sure what the best thing to do is currently and for the future.

I'd try and hold on to your UK passports for your children. I'm not sure if it will get difficult to get UK passports in the future - if everything gets really bad, I'm not sure Irish people will enjoy the same rights they do now in the UK. The Irish passports would be an advantage for travelling in the EU, if non EU passport holders have to queue for longer. I would apply for Irish citizenship too for yourself. Your DC will always be entitled to Irish passports anyway.

Thank you. Only one of our children currently has an English passport at present, we never applied for the other children, my husband as far as we know travelled on his parents passports as a child, so never had an English passport either. So I although all would be eligible we are not sure if it is worth the expense to go dual passports for them.

I am really starting to think that applying for the Irish citizenship will be very worth it for the future for me.

I wouldn't be rushing to get any of them unless you have travel plans! I can see it being more difficult to get UK ones in the future if things get really weird, that's all.

It's a British passport not an English passport. It's a travel document, so unless you plan to travel abroad, or might have to there's no sense in having one. Your children are not more or less Irish for having a passport. They aren't dual nationals because of the paperwork! You, however, might be well advised to get Irish citizenship if you can in these uncertain times.

Thank you,

Both of the British passports are due to renewal this year (2019) so I will have to renew mine while applying for Irish citizenship. I could drop my child's British passport and get an Irish one instead.

pfwow - I apologise for the incorrect wording previously. Can I ask why you would advise me to get Irish citizenship and not for my children or husband to get British passports? If we were ever to want to live in England again, surely having British passports would help? In these uncertain times as you say, there is the possibility that getting passports in the future might get more difficult?

You are the only one of the family living somewhere you aren't a citizen of.

Everyone else is dual already.

We don't know what's going to happen in the UK in the future e.g. the Windrush scandal so that's why I personally would be keeping an eye on proof that you are UK subjects.