NO2ID

Just for information, anyone who has at least one Irish parent or grandparent is automatically an Irish Citizen, and can apply for an Irish passport. I did this earlier this year, and so bypassed the national ID database.

Unless you live in Britain for more than 3* months at a time...

*I think it's 3.

I've lived in Britain all my life. It makes no difference. If you qualify as an Irish citizen, you can apply for an Irish passport.

Unfortunately I would appear to just miss out on this. Two of my great-grandmothers were born in Ireland, and several g-g-grandparents also. Is there any way I might qualify?

To dfrancocci. Mr.Clark said:

What he means is that everyone who lives in the UK for more than 3 months will have to have an ID card. Not renewing your UK passport means you don't get on the the database now, but Being an Irish citizen will get you on as a foreigner when they start issuing cards to foreigners.

How difficult was it to apply for an Irish passport? Did you have to register at an Irish consulat?

Follow the link

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/moving-country/irish-citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent

...or if things get really bad...

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/moving-country/asylum-seekers-and-refugees/legal_definition_of_a_refugee

True about the parent(s), but not about grandparents. If your Irish lineage is via grandparentage, but not parentage, then you need to apply for Irish citizenship, which costs £88 (more expensive for the time being than a UK passport, but still a worthwhile long-term investment). You would then have to apply for an Irish passport once you are a citizen.

Obviously if you are already a citizen by parentage, then just forward copies of your parent(s) birth certificates along with your own and the passport application form to the Irish Embassy. New Irish passports are biometric (ie photo scan) in common with all EU passports and currently cost £53 (€75)

dfrancocci, you haven't avoided the register if like me you've lived in the UK all your life. You've just avoided 'volunteering' to go on it by renewing your UK passport. If you log on to the IPS website, you will see that all Irish citizens domiclied in the UK will still be required to have an ID card should they become mandatory.

I should have added that copies of birth certificates can be obtained from here:

http://www.groireland.ie/

It appears that the Head Office has now been moved from Dublin out into the Roscommon sticks (no doubt for cost reasons). It is - or used to be - possible to obtain copies of parental (and grandparental, presumably) birth certificates in person from the Dublin office. You can get to Dublin quite cheaply by bus and ferry without a passport. With the Head Office in Roscommon it looks like they have now set-up an on-line ordering system:

http://www.groireland.ie/apply_for_a_cert.htm

Probably best to e-mail first to check before committing yourself to any payment.

I've read the Irish citizenship material but I'd like to confirm the details:

If your grandparent was an Irish citizen but died before you were born, are you entitled to apply for Irish citizenship?

It seems that your Irish grandparent had to be alive at the time of your birth, but this point is ambiguous. Furthermore, if yur grandparent was born in Ireland but died before you were born, and had not passed on citizenship to your parent (born in England), where does that leave you?

Tenchy

I don't think it matters if your Irish grandparent died before you were born. As long as you can prove direct lineage, which would mean finding out exactly where and when he or she was born. As far as I am aware it doesn't matter that your English parent didn't claim Irish citizenship (though if he or she is still alive you might like to try some persuasion!).

As the General Registar's Office website says it doesn't deal in genealogical research. If your English parent knows (or knew) then that would be a good starting place. When I first enquired a few years ago about getting an Irish passport, the Irish embassy in London sent the details on citizenship to me, hence the £88 cost I quoted, which may have gone up by now. (Fortunately for me I didn't have to apply as both my parents were born in the Republic).

Let's assume you know where and when your Irish grandparent was born. E-mail the General Registrar's Office in Roscommon to confirm and then if correct, send off for a copy of his or her birth certificate, the cost of which is fairly nominal. Note that the Irish Embassy will accept this as a valid document. Then obtain a copy of your English parent's birth certificate from the relevant local authority (or use the original if you have it) in order to show the direct lineage. Contact the Irish Embassy for the application form, informing them that you would like to claim citizenship and have evidence to prove that you should be eligible.

I'm not sure what the situation is if your Irish grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. He or she would be an Irish citizen, but you would have to contact the relevant registration office there re a copy of the birth certificate.

Hope all this helps and good luck!

Thanks fo the information, Irish.

Unfortunately I don't qualify, having two great-grandparents born in Ireland, but neither my grandparents nor my mother, none of whom were born in Ireland, took advantage of the citizenship/passport availability. However, from what you say, my mother still could, but that wouldn't help me. Still, all is not lost. My wife qualifies from her grandmother, so I'll try and persuade her. Again, that wouldn't help our children. If only this lot had been more widely known years ago.

It is an absurd situation, trying to find a foreign ancestor in order to feel free in your own country! For myself I don't really feel Irish, but then I don't really feel British anymore either, as the Iraq invasion has convinced me that this country is still run by imperialists, even if they are now just very junior partners to the USA in this. I'm stuck between a future move to the Republic, which I feel is giving in to them, or fighting back and reclaiming my British identity.

It wouldn't surprise me in future if a new nationality bill were passed to exlude all forms of dual nationality, though with the status of Northern Ireland, it would be very difficult to do in this case. It must be possible for a UK citizen to move to the Republic and then apply for naturalisation after a certain length of time. It must be easier than Canada or New Zealand, which require a points system for residency in the first place.

See the following for Irish naturalisation

http://www.irishlinks.co.uk/other-irish-citizenship.htm

If your grandparent was born in Ireland and your parent had the sense to take out Irish citizenship before you were born, which means that you can also apply for Irish citizenship....

Do the parents have to be married at all? Married before you were born?
What I've read here
http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=267
seems to suggest that they'd like you to be married, without coming right out and saying that you have to be married. It says, provide marriage certificates _if applicable_.

Has anyone tried this and succeeded in a case where the parents were NOT married?

I was born in Belfast in 1966. My mother is Irish and father English. My maternal Grandfather was born in Northern Ireland in 1909 and my maternal Grandmother in Northern Ireland 1915. Does this make me an Irish Citizen automatically through birth or via descent? What do I have to do to get it verified.

Born in Belfast, Irish mother, I'd say you were Irish enough! Both my children have Irish passports because my wife is Irish, even though they were born in England, live in England, and I am British. (Annoyingly they changed the rules on marrying into Irish citizenship recently, and now I don't qualify.)

Singlemalt, if you were born in Belfast, that's good enough. You should be able to pick up an Irish passport application form from any post office in NI. On this page:

http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=254

you will find a link saying

The Passport Express service is now available from 70 branches of the UK Post Office in Northern Ireland and Great Britain . This is a 10 day return service.

As with a UK passport, you'll just need to provide your birth certificate.

PS is that single malt a Bushmills? (this year is the 400th anniversary - sorry a bit off topic, lol).

That's a good idea for a temporary loophole. Unfortunately though it's a bit like climbing up the mast on a sinking ship because Ireland will probably introduce a similar scheme eventually. All "counties" of the EU will eventually have ID.

Well they would do, but we're going to stop this noinsense ain't we!?

Agreed. It's gets one off the IPS radar for the time being, but Irish citizens domiciled in the UK (whether or not they also have British nationality) will also be required to have National Identity Cards.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the Republic's government agreed to the sharing of identity data with the UK government, whether or not the rest of the EU did. The UK government can always offer the bait of an increased say in the running of NI and so on.

At the risk of making it a self-fulfilling prophecy, I'll say no more!

Not so…

Irish Nationals have a right of abode and travel within the UK as laid down in the 1948 Nationality Act.

They don't know who's Irish and who's not, and they certainly have no idea if your here in England or not.

You have to apply for Irish Citizenshiip before you are entitled to and Irish passport.
You have to PROVE by Original Certificates that you are a direct decended to an Irish Citizen.

You can only only claim decent as far back as Grand parents, GGparents are not acceptable.

If you are born and registered in another country, you are not entitled to an irish passport unless you apply for Foreign birth Registration Certificate

Only then are you a citizen and entitled to a passport....

This is what i had to do to become an Irish citizen and claim my Passport

This may not be the right place to ask this question but i am wondering on the outcome of a situation. Mentioning irish passports made me think..

My partner has "stupidly" over-stayed her australian holiday visa by 3 years, we know that this will incur a 3 year ban on leaving the country, which she is doing this year. This is all on a UK passport, {without chip}... Does this mean that the overstay will be recorded on any new passport issued from this point?
She also has an irish passport {issued this year}, will it also be recorded on her irish passport history?

How will this affect further travel to other countries in the future?
Apologies if this is the wrong forum - any re-direction would be appreciated.