Can my english wife get an irish passport

We use cookies to give the best experience on our site while also complying with Data Protection requirements. Continue without changing your settings, and you'll receive cookies, or change your cookie settings at any time. Applicants in the UK should check the validity of their Irish passport at least 3 months ahead of travel. There will be no Brexit related changes to the entitlement to Irish passports. This includes people who were:.

Content:

• Would I Be Able to Apply For an Irish Passport?
• Irish nationality law
• Becoming an Irish citizen through marriage or civil partnership
• How to apply for an Irish passport: the application process and eligibility rules explained
• Get your UK spouse or partner visa the easy way
• EU UK Referendum: FAQs - Citizenship, Passports & residency entitlements

SEE VIDEO BY TOPIC: Ireland visa requirements 🇮🇪 APPLY IN 5 STEPS (in 2020) ✅

Would I Be Able to Apply For an Irish Passport?

Irish nationality law is contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts to and in the relevant provisions of the Irish Constitution. A person may be an Irish citizen [1] through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. The law grants citizenship to individuals born in Northern Ireland under the same conditions as those born in the Republic of Ireland.

Irish citizenship law originates with Article 3 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State which came into force on 6 December ; it applied domestically only until the enactment of the Constitution Amendment No. The Article also stated that "the conditions governing the future acquisition and termination of citizenship in the Irish Free State […] shall be determined by law".

While the Constitution referred to those domiciled "in the area of the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State", this was interpreted as meaning the entire island. The status of the Irish Free State as a dominion within the British Commonwealth was seen by the British authorities as meaning that a "citizen of the Irish Free State" was merely a member of the wider category of "British subject"; this interpretation could be supported by the wording of Article 3 of the Constitution, which stated that the privileges and obligations of Irish citizenship applied "within the limits of the jurisdiction of the Irish Free State".

However, the Irish authorities repeatedly rejected the idea that its citizens had the additional status of "British subject". The reference to 'common citizenship' in the Oath means little or nothing. There is not, in fact, 'common citizenship' throughout the British Commonwealth: the Indian 'citizen' is treated by the Australian 'citizen' as an undesirable alien. Irish passports were issued from , and to the general public from , but the British government objected to them, and their wording for many years.

Using an Irish Free State passport abroad, if consular assistance from a British Embassy was required, could lead to administrative difficulties. The Constitution provided for citizenship for only those alive on 6 December No provision was made for those born after this date. As such it was a temporary provision which required the enactment of a fully-fledged citizenship law which was done by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act This Act provided for, among other things:.

The provision of citizenship by descent had the effect, given the interpretation noted above, of providing citizenship for those in Northern Ireland born after 6 December so long as their father had been resident anywhere in Ireland on said date. However, this automatic entitlement was limited to the first generation, with the citizenship of subsequent generations requiring registration and the surrendering of any other citizenship held at the age of The combination of the principles of birth and descent in the Act respected the state's territorial boundary, with residents of Northern Ireland treated "in an identical manner to persons of Irish birth or descent who resided in Britain or a foreign country".

The Act also provided for the establishment of the Foreign Births Register. Further, the Act was an attempt to assert the sovereignty of the Free State and the distinct nature of Irish citizenship, and to end the ambiguity over the relations between Irish citizenship and British subject status. Nonetheless, London continued to recognise Irish citizens as British subjects until the passing of the Ireland Act , which recognised, as a distinct class of persons, "citizens of the Republic of Ireland".

Beginning in , some new economic rights were created for Irish citizens. The Constitution of Ireland simply maintained the previous citizenship body, also providing, as the previous constitution had done, that the further acquisition and loss of Irish citizenship was to be regulated by law.

With regard to Northern Ireland, despite the irredentist nature and rhetorical claims of articles 2 and 3 of the new constitution , the compatibility of Irish citizenship law with the state's boundaries remained unaltered. This Act repealed the Act and remains, although heavily amended, the basis of Irish citizenship law.

With the enactment of the Republic of Ireland Act in , and the subsequent passage of the Ireland Act by the British government in , the state's constitutional independence was assured, facilitating the resolution of the unsatisfactory position from an Irish nationalist perspective whereby births in Northern Ireland were assimilated to "foreign" births. The Irish government was explicit in its aim to amend this situation, seeking to extend citizenship as widely as possible to Northern Ireland, as well as to Irish emigrants and their descendants abroad.

The Act therefore provided for Irish citizenship for anyone born in the island of Ireland whether before or after independence. The only limitations to this provision were that anyone born in Northern Ireland was not automatically an Irish citizen but entitled to be an Irish citizen and, that a child of someone entitled to diplomatic immunity in the state would not become an Irish citizen.

The Act also provided for open-ended citizenship by descent and for citizenship by registration for the wives but not husbands of Irish citizens. The treatment of Northern Ireland residents in these sections had considerable significance for the state's territorial boundaries, given that their "sensational effect … was to confer, in the eyes of Irish law, citizenship on the vast majority of the Northern Ireland population".

While the Agreement recognises that Irish citizenship is the birthright of those born in Northern Ireland, it makes clear that its acceptance is a matter of individual choice.

In contrast, the Act continues to extend citizenship automatically in the majority of cases, thereby, in legal effect, conflicting with the agreed status of the border and the principle of consent". This Act was primarily concerned with removing various gender discriminatory provisions from the legislation and thus provided for citizenship by registration for the wives and husbands of Irish citizens.

The Act also restricted the open-ended citizenship by descent granted by the Act by dating the citizenship of third, fourth and subsequent generations of Irish emigrants born abroad, from registration and not from birth. This limited the rights of fourth and subsequent generations to citizenship to those whose parents had been registered before their birth. The Act provided for a six-month transitional period during which the old rules would still apply. Such was the increase in volume of applications for registration from third, fourth and further generation Irish emigrants, the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act was enacted to deal with those individuals who applied for registration within the six-month period but who could not be registered in time.

Up until the late s, jus soli , in the Republic, was maintained as a matter of statute law, the only people being constitutionally entitled to citizenship of the Irish state post were those who had been citizens of the Irish Free State before its dissolution.

However, as part of the new constitutional settlement brought about by the Good Friday Agreement , the new Article 2 introduced in by the Nineteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland provided among other things that:. It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland.

The introduction of this guarantee resulted in the enshrinement of jus soli as a constitutional right for the first time. If immigration was not on the political agenda in , it did not take long to become so afterwards. Indeed, soon after the agreement, the already rising strength of the Irish economy reversed the historic pattern of emigration to one of immigration, a reversal which in turn resulted in a large number of foreign nationals claiming a right to remain in the state based on their Irish-born citizen children.

Minister for Justice where the court prohibited the deportation of the foreign parents of an Irish citizen. In January , the Supreme Court distinguished the earlier decision and ruled that it was constitutional for the Government to deport the parents of children who were Irish citizens.

In March , the government introduced the draft Bill for the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland to remedy what the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, described as an "abuse of citizenship" whereby citizenship was "conferred on persons with no tangible link to the nation or the State whether of parentage, upbringing or of long-term residence in the State".

The government also cited concerns about the Chen case , then before the European Court of Justice , in which a Chinese woman who had been living in Wales had gone to give birth in Northern Ireland on legal advice. Chen then pursued a case against the British Home Secretary to prevent her deportation from the United Kingdom on the basis of her child's right as a citizen of the European Union derived from the child's Irish citizenship to reside in a member state of the Union.

Ultimately Mrs. Chen won her case, but this was not clear until after the result of the referendum. The effect of the amendment was to prospectively restrict the constitutional right to citizenship by birth to those who are born on the island of Ireland to at least one parent who is or is someone entitled to be an Irish citizen.

Those born on the island of Ireland before the coming into force of the amendment continue to have a constitutional right to citizenship.

Moreover, jus soli primarily existed in legislation and it remained, after the referendum, for parliament to pass ordinary legislation that would modify it.

This was done by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act the effects of which are detailed above. It remains, however, a matter for the legislature and unrestricted jus soli could be re-established by ordinary legislation without a referendum.

A person born on the island of Ireland on or after 1 January [24]. Dual citizenship is permitted under Irish nationality law. Ireland previously had a much less diluted application of jus soli the right to citizenship of the country of birth which still applies to anyone born on or before 31 December Although passed in , the applicable law was deemed enacted on 2 December [31] and provided that anyone born on the island of Ireland is:.

The previous legislation was largely replaced by the changes, which were retroactive in effect. Before 2 December , the distinction between Irish citizenship and entitlement to Irish citizenship rested on the place of birth. Under this regime, any person born on the island of Ireland was:. The provisions of the Act were, in terms of citizenship by birth, retroactive and replaced the provisions of the previous legislation, the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act Under that legislation, those born in Northern Ireland on or after 6 December did not have an entitlement to Irish citizenship by birth.

Like most countries, Ireland does not normally grant citizenship to the children of diplomats. This does not apply, however, when a diplomat parents a child with an Irish citizen, a British citizen or a permanent resident. A person is an Irish citizen by descent if, at the time of his or her birth, at least one of his or her parents was an Irish citizen.

The place of that person's birth is not a deciding factor. In all other cases citizenship is subject to registration in the Foreign Births Register. Due to legislative changes introduced in , the Irish citizenship of those individuals requiring registration, dates from registration and not from birth, for citizenship registered on or after 1 January Anyone with an Irish citizen grandparent born on the island of Ireland is eligible for Irish citizenship.

His or her parent would have automatically been an Irish citizen and their own citizenship can be secured by registering themselves in the Foreign Births Register.

In contrast, those wishing to claim citizenship through an Irish citizen great-grandparent would be unable to do so unless their parents were placed into the Foreign Births Register. Their parents can transmit Irish citizenship to only those children born after they themselves were registered and not to any children born before registration.

Citizenship acquired through descent may be maintained indefinitely so long as each generation ensures its registration before the birth of the next. All adoptions performed or recognised under Irish law confer Irish citizenship on the adopted child if not already an Irish citizen if at least one of the adopters was an Irish citizen at the time of the adoption.

From 30 November three years after the Citizenship Act came into force , [40] citizenship of the spouse of an Irish citizen must be acquired through the normal naturalisation process.

Previously, the law allowed for the spouses of most Irish citizens to acquire citizenship post-nuptially by registration without residence in the island of Ireland, or by naturalisation. The naturalisation of a foreigner as an Irish citizen is a discretionary power held by the Irish Minister for Justice. Naturalisation is granted on a number of criteria including good character, residence in the state and intention to continue residing in the state.

In principle the residence requirement is three years if married to an Irish citizen, and five years otherwise. Time spent seeking asylum will not be counted. Nor will time spent as an illegal immigrant. Time spent studying in the state by a national of a non- EEA state i. Section 12 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act allows the President, on advice of the Government, to "… grant Irish citizenship as a token of honour to a person, or the child or grandchild of a person who, in the opinion of the Government, has done signal honour or rendered distinguished service to the nation.

Although known as "honorary Irish citizenship", this is in fact legally a full form of citizenship, with entitlement to an Irish passport and the other rights of Irish citizenship on the same basis as a naturalised Irish citizen.

This has been awarded only a few times. Plans were made to grant honorary Irish citizenship to U. Kennedy during his visit to Ireland in , but this was abandoned owing to legal difficulties in granting citizenship to a foreign head of state. Renunciation is done by lodging a declaration with the Minister for Justice.

If the person is not already a citizen of another country it is only effective when he or she becomes such. Irish citizenship cannot be lost by the operation of the law of another country, [52] but foreign law may require a person to renounce Irish citizenship before acquiring foreign nationality see Multiple citizenship Multiple citizenship avoided. An Irish citizen born on the island of Ireland who renounces Irish citizenship remains entitled to be an Irish citizen and may resume it upon declaration.

While not positively stated in the Act, the possibility of renouncing Irish citizenship is provided to allow Irish citizens to be naturalised as citizens of foreign countries whose laws do not allow for multiple citizenship. The Minister of Justice may revoke the citizenship of a naturalised citizen if he or she voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country other than by marriage after naturalisation but there is no provision requiring them to renounce any citizenship they previously held.

Similarly, there is no provision of Irish law requiring citizens to renounce their Irish citizenship before becoming citizens of other countries.

Irish nationality law

WITH Brexit delayed until later this year, there's no better time to join the record numbers of Brits applying for Irish passports. Britain's departure from the EU will likely strip its citizens of the freedom of movement to live and work on the continent — unless they can acquire that right elsewhere. Last year, over , Irish passports were issued — representing yet another significant jump on previous figures since the Brexit referendum in June

With Brexit on the way , the number of British people applying for Irish passports has boomed. A break from the European Union could leave people in Britain unable to live or work elsewhere on the continent unless they can acquire the right elsewhere. Irish heritage is among the most common in the UK, with hundreds of thousands of Irish-born people living across the country - and even more who can trace their descent to an Irish parent or grandparent. Those people are entitled to Irish passports. Check the information below to see if that applies to you, and how to do it.

Becoming an Irish citizen through marriage or civil partnership

Moderators: Casa , push , JAJ , ca. Click the "allow" button if you want to receive important news and updates from immigrationboards. Board index Immigration to other countries Ireland. Forum to discuss all things Blarney Ireland immigration. I don't meet the financial requirements to sponsor my wife for a British spouse visa. Would it be possible for me to get her an Irish passport since I, her husband, am an Irish citizen? I'm simply inquiring whether or not my wife is eligible to apply for an Irish passport for herself on the basis that she is married to an Irish person. Having done some research, I have found the answer to my question, which is that my wife is not eligible for an Irish passport because she is not currently living in Ireland, and has not lived in Ireland for two out of the last four years before the current year of required residence. In I married an Irish citizen.

How to apply for an Irish passport: the application process and eligibility rules explained

NOTE: Applications from persons where it is deemed that they are seeking such permission to simply gain entry to the State or where they seek such permission simply to continue their length of stay in the State for whatever reason, such applications will be refused and the appropriate and necessary action taken to remove the individual from the State. Any misinformation given during the application process will result in the application being refused immediately. Marriage to an Irish national does not confer an automatic right of residence in the State. A non EEA national who wishes to reside in the State on the basis of their marriage to an Irish national must make an application for permission to remain in the State.

Irish nationality law is contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts to and in the relevant provisions of the Irish Constitution. A person may be an Irish citizen [1] through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. The law grants citizenship to individuals born in Northern Ireland under the same conditions as those born in the Republic of Ireland. Irish citizenship law originates with Article 3 of the Constitution of the Irish Free State which came into force on 6 December ; it applied domestically only until the enactment of the Constitution Amendment No.

Get your UK spouse or partner visa the easy way

There are a variety of relationships that qualify in this regard, so you should never feel put off from investigating your options just because your relationship is non-traditional. You can apply for this visa if you are married to a British citizen or a person who has a right to live and work or settlement status in the UK i. You are allowed to live and work in the UK for a two-and-a-half-year period initially, and you may also exit and re-enter the country multiple times. At the end of the two and half years, you can apply to to extend your stay in the UK for a further two and a half years.

SEE VIDEO BY TOPIC: NEW STRICT LAW ON IRISH CITIZENSHIP-HOW MANY IRISH CITIZENSHIPS WILL GET REVOKED?

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EU UK Referendum: FAQs - Citizenship, Passports & residency entitlements

This website uses cookies. Find out more in our Privacy and Cookie Policy. Hide this message. My parents were both born in Great Britain and so was I. Am I entitled to Irish citizenship based on my Irish grandparents? Yes, you are entitled to Irish citizenship by descent if any of your grandparents was born in Ireland, but you must first register your birth in the Foreign Births Register.

The last year spent in Ireland prior to the Citizenship Application must be unbroken residency. If there is an absence of six weeks in any year that must be explained. We are currently taking cases before the High Court challenging this rule and we expect that the requirement will be deemed unconstitutional.

Can I apply for an Irish passport in my original unadopted name? The ordinary rules for entitlement to Irish citizenship are that anyone born on the island of Ireland before 1 January is entitled to be an Irish citizen. An individual born outside of Ireland may be an Irish citizen by descent if one of their parents was born in Ireland and was an Irish citizen. British passport holders can generally hold dual nationality and are not required — under UK law — to give up their British nationality when they acquire the nationality of another country.

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