Irish National Applying to be British

[sabrinana]

Hi All,

My friend's adult son is an Irish national and wants to apply to be British.

Our understanding is that:-

1. He will not need to pass the B1 test as he is Irish, as such exempt.
2. He will need to pass the life in UK test.

The concern is that he did not have comprehensive sickness insurance during his time in the UK. I understand that this is mandatory for EEA nationals. Will this result in it getting refused.

Or is there a different rule for Irish nationals?

Many Tanks in advance

[Casa]

There is a concession for Irish nationals applying for British citizenship. Has he been residing in the UK for at least 5 years?

[sabrinana]

There is a concession for Irish nationals applying for British citizenship. Has he been residing in the UK for at least 5 years?

Yes he has been in the UK for 5 years.

[sabrinana]

Casa, do you have any further advice or links to further information?

Thanks

[secret.simon]

Page 18 of the Booklet AN.

The position of Irish citizens is different to that of other EEA nationals. Irish citizens are not normally subject to any form of immigration control on arrival in the UK because Ireland is part of the Common Travel Area. If you are an Irish national, you will be free from immigration time restrictions for naturalisation purposes. You do not need to apply for a permanent residence document or indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) before you apply for naturalisation

Irish nationals are treated as "settled" in the UK from the day they arrive in the UK and don't need to meet the requirements for EEA nationals to hold PR (which is where CSI comes in) or settled status. To the best of my knowledge, they also don't need to meet the English language requirement for naturalisation.

You will of course still need to meet the other (absence, physical presence and LITUK) requirements.

[sabrinana]

Thanks Simon.

I could not find any specific guidance for Irish nationals applying to be British.

Are you aware of any such guidance?

Thanks

[secret.simon]

There is no separate guidance specifically for Irish nationals naturalising in the UK.

The paragraph that I quoted above should suffice.

In any case, due to the CTA, Irish citizens are treated as having almost all the same rights as British citizens on arrival anyway. So you need not rush to naturalise.