British vs. Irish Citizenship - Similar Experience Anyone?

[king0fhearts]

Hi there,

I'm just writing to ask a question about the pros and cons of Irish vs. British citizenship as I'm planning on doing a fair bit of travelling for work and potentially study over the next 5-8 years (preparing all my materials to leave early 2010) and am planning on spending a considerable amount of time in both the Republic of Ireland, the UK and other parts of Europe.

Essentially, my father was born in Northern Ireland in 1957 with a long family history in the area. He moved to Australia in 1977, gained Australian citizenship, married, my parents had me and we have remained in Australia ever since. At the time of the move, I'm about 90% sure he possessed a British passport. I'm wondering if I'm eligible to apply for Irish citizenship?

If successful, in your experience, what are the limitations of Irish citizenship with respect to living, working, studying and travelling in the UK? The reverse question, which I’m also interested in getting a response to is what are the limitations of having British citizenship and wanting to live, work, study and travel in the Republic of Ireland.

If I'm eligible for both, I'm wanting to gain a passport that will give me easiest access throughout Europe, or do they both afford the same rights and it's just a matter of personal choice? Thanks for any responses in advance - I haven't been getting very far with the Irish/British embassies in Australia unfortunately and a lot of the material online is very confusing. A lot of historically significant material, but I'm hard set finding current legislation.

[tom4]

My 2 cents worth...
Virtually no limits either way.
If you are eligible for both (I think so), then get both. You never know what will happen with citizenship laws in the future.
Some would say that Irish is better from a personal safety and friendliness of locals point of view, British foreign policy has created a bit of resentment in some places around the world, Oz passport should be more or less middle ground on that score.

Makes b*gger all difference to most people.

Hope this helps.

[king0fhearts]

My 2 cents worth...
Virtually no limits either way.
If you are eligible for both (I think so), then get both. You never know what will happen with citizenship laws in the future.
Some would say that Irish is better from a personal safety and friendliness of locals point of view, British foreign policy has created a bit of resentment in some places around the world, Oz passport should be more or less middle ground on that score.

Makes b*gger all difference to most people.

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for that.

I have been toying with the idea of just getting British and Irish passports but am not sure if it's even legal to have 3 passports (Irish, British and Australian)? Any ideas? They all allow dual citizenship, but I'm unsure if that only extends as far as one other citizenship.

That would definitely be the easiest option though. Good point about the Irish getting a more friendly reception than the British around the world. That was actually weighing on my mind a little.

Do you know if there are any restrictions for Irish citizens as far as working and living in the UK goes or is it just like another EU entity (I have been told there are no restrictions at all between EU countries)?

Thanks again for your help.

[tom4]

I have been toying with the idea of just getting British and Irish passports but am not sure if it's even legal to have 3 passports (Irish, British and Australian)? Any ideas? They all allow dual citizenship, but I'm unsure if that only extends as far as one other citizenship.

Yes, perfectly legal, if they all allow "dual" read that as "multiple". What they really mean is more like "citizenships other than ours".

Do you know if there are any restrictions for Irish citizens as far as working and living in the UK goes or is it just like another EU entity (I have been told there are no restrictions at all between EU countries)?

That's right.

Thanks again for your help.

No problem.

[king0fhearts]

I have been toying with the idea of just getting British and Irish passports but am not sure if it's even legal to have 3 passports (Irish, British and Australian)? Any ideas? They all allow dual citizenship, but I'm unsure if that only extends as far as one other citizenship.

Yes, perfectly legal, if they all allow "dual" read that as "multiple". What they really mean is more like "citizenships other than ours".

Do you know if there are any restrictions for Irish citizens as far as working and living in the UK goes or is it just like another EU entity (I have been told there are no restrictions at all between EU countries)?

That's right.

Thanks again for your help.

No problem.

Great!

Will be applying for UK and Irish passports ASAP.

Thought I'd get both just to be safe.

Thanks

[frustrated13]

Hi King,
Can I just say...
It is probably best to use the passport of each country to enter and/or work in that country (obviously), it also makes you less prone to prejudices (both ways), but no doubt your Oz accent will achieve the same.

I hope you are aware of the really bad economic situation over here, particularly in Ireland. Not trying to put you off, but you need to know. Ok, enough of the doom and gloom.

Just one more thing... it might be relevant or might not...
If you have a non-EU spouse/family it may be easier to do the reverse (use UK passport in Ireland and vice versa) due to the odd way EU law for third country nationals works. More about that on other threads in this forum.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

You are now in Australia?

It is likely worth getting both passports eventually. They may help clarify and plan the citizenship of your children, if you are so inclined.

Note that applying for a UK passport in the UK is half the cost of applying for it through an embassy or high commission.

[calai]

[quote="king0fhearts"]Hi there,

I'm just writing to ask a question about the pros and cons of Irish vs. British citizenship as I'm planning on doing a fair bit of travelling for work and potentially study over the next 5-8 years (preparing all my materials to leave early 2010) and am planning on spending a considerable amount of time in both the Republic of Ireland, the UK and other parts of Europe.

Essentially, my father was born in Northern Ireland in 1957 with a long family history in the area. He moved to Australia in 1977, gained Australian citizenship, married, my parents had me and we have remained in Australia ever since. At the time of the move, I'm about 90% sure he possessed a British passport. I'm wondering if I'm eligible to apply for Irish citizenship?

If successful, in your experience, what are the limitations of Irish citizenship with respect to living, working, studying and travelling in the UK? The reverse question, which I’m also interested in getting a response to is what are the limitations of having British citizenship and wanting to live, work, study and travel in the Republic of Ireland.

If I'm eligible for both, I'm wanting to gain a passport that will give me easiest access throughout Europe, or do they both afford the same rights and it's just a matter of personal choice? Thanks for any responses in advance - I haven't been getting very far with the Irish/British embassies in Australia unfortunately and a lot of the material online is very confusing. A lot of historically significant material, but I'm hard set finding current legislation.[/quote]

Something that you might think about is your right to vote and taxation matter. Say you want to vote in all elections in Ireland, you have to be an Irish citizen. You may also check with the relevant authority as some student grant/loan may be limited to local students (national) rather than EU students. You may pay less tuition fee as a local student (national) rather than an EU citizen.

For taxation, your nationality is not an important issue unless you are likely to be both Irish and UK residents & ordinarily residents (stay in UK/Ireland for more or less the same peiod of time in the future). But this is probably too far for you to plan at the moment.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

You may also check with the relevant authority as some student grant/loan may be limited to local students (national) rather than EU students. You may pay less tuition fee as a local student (national) rather than an EU citizen.

It is no longer possible for public institutions to give lower fees to national students. EU citizens and their family members are entitled to exactly equivalent conditions for fees and entry into state education.

The UK has kind of worked around this by saying that the people who get discounted tuition are those who have lived in the UK for 3 years. If you are a UK citizen who has just returned from 5 years living in Germany, you will pay the same as a German who has just arrived in the UK (and more than somebody who has lived in the Uk for 4 years).