Irish passport?

Yes Crystaltips there are circumstances whereby one passport is preferable to the other. Regardless, you cross a border on one or the other, not both, and then that is the passport you are travelling on in that country.

Its not just about hoping between queues depending on which is shortest at the time!

Missfoodlove you were an Irish citizen as soon as you were born. Not from when you got your passport.

Your children would be full citizens if on the birth register... whether or not they get passports.

I think it is a psychological thing as much as anything its a real logistical problem for people with long waits due to other people who feel it's nice to have

I think it is a psychological thing as much as anything. Yes, having dual nationality is a bonus especially now. I remember John Humphries ( Simpson?) saying he used his Irish passport when travelling to war zones as he felt he would be better protected than with a British one in many places. I’ve got a long dead Irish born grandfather and will definitely start the process of getting an Irish passport soon if Johnson takes us down the pan I don’t want to be flushed away with.

Lots of conflicting information here.
I was born in England to an Irish father and English mother.
I applied for and received an Irish passport. It cost around 90 Euro and took 3 months.
I needed long form birth certificates of myself and my father, my parents marriage certificate and my driving license. It was a simple process.

If either of my three children wanted a passport as third generation they would first have to register on what is called the foreign births register. This is quite expensive, after six months of being registered you can then go through the process to apply for the Irish passport.

There is an Irish government website that explains the post office in very simple terms.

So basically if you have a parent that was born in Ireland you can apply immediately for an Irish passport.
If you have a grandparent that was born in Ireland you first have to register on the foreign births register.

I'm not saying that a British passport is better notentirelyallthere I am talking about "protest passports"

I.e. people who already have a british passport and have no plan to use their EU passport, but get one anyway out of novelty/protest at a time when the people who DO need one to actually use are facing huge backlogs!

If you have both and are doing a short round trip holiday back to Britain, the logical of the two to travel on is British!

Yes you can travel on an Irish one if you have one. But there is more to it than "skipping queue" when you are dual and deciding which of your passports to register to travel/border cross on! People are treating it like a novelty/game and its not

There have been cases where dual citizens have been forced to go with only their travelling on nationality for consulate services. Its not a whimsical thing as the mood takes you..

Not sure who you are addressing in your post Notanan or why it matters to you quite so much but for many, an Irish passport offers the benefits of being able to go and live elsewhere

those people plan to use it
I am talking about people who have no plan or need to use it, applying for one anyway "'cause Brexit"and causing a backlog!

You are no less an Irish/EU citizen without an Irish passport.

Notanan2, of course you can travel on either passport!

You can but you cannot chop and change as you please. Dual citizens state both nationalities when crossing borders, but pick one passport to cross on. You also cant utilise ones "rights" in the other's country if there is conflicting rights.

If you book a flight you book it under one of your passports. THAT is the passport you are travelling on.

Surely you realise that if it is BRITAIN that you would need to be repatriated to, the best consulate to use would be British! Not that the Irish one wouldnt help. And once you are travelling on X passport that is your primary consulate for that trip!

Notentirelyallhere I am addressing people who apply for Irish passports with no need or intention to really use it! As a "Brexit protest"

p.s. if you are thinking of living in the rest of Europe, as my children are, then you'd better get on with giving yourself the option of being a passport holder if it takes as long as it does at the moment to apply for one now!

Notanan2, of course you can travel on either passport! Both are equally valid! I’d be happy to seek help from the Irish Embassy. Why do you think that is odd? As for queues, there are short ‘walk through’ ones for EU passport holders. Those without don’t have access.

Not sure who you are addressing in your post Notanan or why it matters to you quite so much but for many, an Irish passport offers the benefits of being able to go and live elsewhere and this especially applies to the young. In addition, I do notice that the 'living in France' group I belong to on Facebook appears besieged by British people intending to go and live in France!

The number of people who might need the Irish consulate is tiny though of course, one never knows. I have never felt English so I'd be happy to request and I still have family in Ireland.

The other issue is the cost of a British passport, why would I bother when I have an Irish one. And also, I love the friendly smiles you get from passport control personnel when they see your Irish passport, you definitely do not get the same reaction when they see a British one, especially now!

I applied for mine not long after the result of the referendum. It was straightforward because my father was Irish. KatyK, my husband is also British, with no Irish relatives. If we ever chose to move to Ireland though, being married to an
Irish citizen and being resident there, he could apply for citizenship after 4 years.

Yes but that means using it! Which is a valid reasons for getting one.

Nonsense illinformed reasons include:

"That wont apply to me" re law/rights changes in the UK after we Brexit.

"I'll skip the queues" really?
First, 2 week sun holidays to europe will not be restricted.
Second: are you really going to travel on your Irish passport on a round trip to Spain and back? (Cause you cant just switcharoo which of your dual passports you have primarily registered to fly on mid flight as the mood takes you) and are you really saying that it is the IRISH embassy you will turn to if you need help being repatriated back to BRITAIN in an unforseen emergency! When a dual citizen travels they are not equally travelling on both and the other embassy will help but you are primarily referred to the one of the passport you registered to travel on. The other wont always "interfere".

Think it through....

Why should people only be allowed one passport? I have two, a British passport and a South African one, my birth country. I gained registration as a British citizen in my late twenties, due to marrying a British citizen. Why would I give up my South African passport - it is my birthright.

Isn't the point that having an Irish passport means that as an Irish citizen you can therefore travel, work and study in the EU whereas with just a UK passport/citizenship, you become a third country resident?

The whole thing about being able to claim citizenship through ancestral links is to do with the Irish diaspora and the fact that millions were forced to leave Ireland, as my family were, because of economic conditions (partly because of British domination and policies) and thus these were able to feel they were still part of the 'old country'.

I am very proud of being Irish, a second generation immigrant to the UK. I can trace my family back to the 1700s where they were prosperous blacksmiths with land and a forge. The name goes back beyond that but I cannot find direct links because the paperwork just isn't there.

If you are in one of the countries of your dual citizenships you cannot pick and chose which citizenships rights apply to you.

There are rules around dual citizenship that prevent that. So no, whilst in Britain, you do not keep your EU rights if you have a second passport from an EU country. That only kicks in if you leave Britain on your other passport.

If you have no plans to go anywhere your second passport isnt doing anything!

Yes, I know many who have. I have young friends who have recently got married (he is Irish) so they can do so for themselves and the kids.

On the other hand, I know someone from NI, married to a Brit and with children who are Brits- who refuses to get Irish passports, even if he knows it would open so many doors for the kids in future. Because he is totally opposed to unification, having lived through the 'Troubles' and lost many family and friends.

My sister has got one and I am applying also. I want it because we have a house in France and as notanan says I can use it there in order to function as a EU citizen and in Ireland, I would, of course use my Irish passport.

quizqueen Why?

People who think that that having an Irish passport AND a British passport whilst they still live in Britain will "retain their EU rights" have a fundamental missunderstanding of how dual citizenship works!

You cannot use one against the other!

I.e. in Ireland you cannot have the British consolate defend you against the Irish government and in Britain you cannot have the Irish government defend you against the British government and laws.

A dual British/anything citizen in Britain is British.

If you go to a THIRD country where you do not hold citizenship, only there can you chose which citizenship rules to travel under.

I wish these "protest passport" people would do a quick google before spouting nonsense about keeping their EU rights!

Passport doesnt = citizenship. Its a document you can use to show your citizenship.

You are no less a citizen if you dont have one.

Lots of people in the UK have no other passport to fall back on.

People should only be allowed to hold one passport.

Thanks for the clarity Notanan, the process and rules for applying are complex.

No theyre not, if you have a birth cert or foreign birth cert you have your proof of citizenship.

And non Irish born Irish citizens (who have no other citizenship to fall back on) cant just call Dublin and get fast tracked, they are being held up with all the "protest" applications in London! Its not just Irish born people who move here who are affected, for second generation Irish born here after the early 80s they may have no option but to use their Irish passport!

Irish in the UK are not under the UK settlement scheme but are being asked for their Irish passports to prove they can still work or rent or have a bank account. People in these situations arent having other proof accepted (even though its valid).

If you are also British this doesnt affect you. If you arent planning to use an Irish passport there is no point and you just cause problems for those who do.

I'm pleased to have found this thread today as I've been going over and over this.
I live in Southern Ireland and have done for 18 + Years.Im married to an Irish man.Im from uk.2 of our children have Irish passports due to their Irish father and 2 from my 1st marriage have British ones,as do I.We would have to go through the Irish naturalization route which totals €1,250 ! I had no part in the Brexit vote,nor did so many of us Brits living overseas.We do have an Irish link in our anscesters but not quite enough for it to be easy.Im also wondering that if we have our British passports would it be easier when travelling back to UK,I fly back and forth twice a month,but then make it awkward returning to Ireland or going to other countries? I don't think any of us know 100% what will happen or how it will affect us.I really can't prioritise or afford the fee and I always felt happy with my British passport up until now!

Yes, my dh and his brothers, all Brits, but who had an Irish-born grandmother.
I think it was a bit of a faff, getting all the paperwork (birth certificate etc.) but otherwise quite straightforward.
All but one, who hasn't yet got around to it, now have Irish passports.

Thanks for the clarity Notanan, the process and rules for applying are complex.

However, anyone who was actually born in Ireland /lives there and who desperately needs their passport renewed can get a bit of priority by phoning the passport office in Dublin. I know an Irish man in the UK who did that last year and he was accommodated.

It's not just Ireland which is swamped by passport applications for travel after Brexit purposes, Germany is the same and to a lesser extent other EU countries.

An Irish passport does not make you an Irish or EU citizen, you already need to be one to get an Irish passport!

You either are one by birth, or you are one once you join the foreign births register.

The passport doesnt change your citizenship or EU status so if you do not NEED one for travel or proof/ID, getting one now at a time when people who NEED one are struggling with delays is both selfish and stupid!