Irishinamerica wrote: ↑Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:57 pm
I have scrolled through and haven't seen a timeline for this specific topic so my apologies if this is a duplicate.
My husband and I are in Ireland (Northern) after a successful EEA application...we weren't sure we'd get it given the fact I am a dual Irish/British citizen but they did...
perhaps in error but I wasn't going to point out their mistake. However we want to apply for the 5 year residence card and from research we're pretty sure it would be denied based upon my EU/UK citizenship so I have decided to renounce by british cotizenship; I have never held a British passport and whole heartedly view myself as Irish but to settle things quickly I happily sent of my £321. I just wondered if anyone has done the RN1 recently and if so how long it took to process? In order to have time to make our application for the residence card so that we can ensure my husband can continue working after his FP expires on 31/12 we need to get it sent of asap but I need to include the certificate of renunciation so am standing still while we wait.
Any experience you can share would be so appreciated. My application has been gone roughly a month at this point.
Under the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement of 1998, the British government is obliged to allow persons from Northern Ireland to identify as either Irish, British or both. For this purpose a "Northern Ireland" person is someone who was born in Northern Ireland with at least one parent who was a British citizen, Irish citizen or U.K. permanent resident.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... eement.pdf
The two Governments:
... recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they
may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments
The British and Irish Governments declare that it is their joint understanding that the term "the people of Northern Ireland" in paragraph (vi) of Article 1 of this Agreement means, for the purposes of giving effect to this provision, all persons born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British citizen, an Irish citizen or is otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence.
There is at least an argument that if the British government refused to treat a Northern Irish born (and resident) person as solely Irish for British domestic purposes it would be in breach of the 1998 Agreement. It may be worth discussing with an immigration solicitor in Northern Ireland for more information. It is also at least possible that this policy has already been quietly adopted by the Home Office.
The other option which may exist as an alternative to renouncing British citizenship would be to sponsor husband under the domestic U.K. Immigration Rules, if otherwise eligible.
This is not intended to be legal or professional advice in any jurisdiction.
