Irish Citizenship?

[The 585]

Hey guys, have any of you obtained or know about obtaining Irish dual citizenship through ancestry? My parents are interested because my great grandparents were born in Ireland -- my father's grandparents.

So I was wondering if my parents obtained citizenship, would I then be able to apply as the child of citizens? I'm starting to realize all the positive benefits of having EU citizenship, so it would be hard to pass up if it's a possibility! But I haven't yet done much reseaerch on it. Thanks in advance!

[former player]

Google is your friend.  I suspect that your father could obtain citizenship (via the Foreign Births Register) but you could not.

[NextTime]

Hmm. Now you have me curious about Polish citizenship.

[Moonwaves]

As far as I know, if your parent(s) did not have Irish citizenship at the time of your birth, then you cannot claim citizenship. The citizen's information website is usually pretty good.
See this page on citizenship through descent: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html - I think your case falls into category E of the table given there.

[reeshau]

@Moonwaves ' reference is the right starting point, but as I read it I think you could do this.  Look, in particular, at the chart with the 5 scenarios A-E.  I think you are describing yourself as scenario E.  Also notice immediately below that a link to an online tool to check the math, so to speak.

[ROF Expat]

@Moonwaves ' reference is the right starting point, but as I read it I think you could do this.  Look, in particular, at the chart with the 5 scenarios A-E.  I think you are describing yourself as scenario E.  Also notice immediately below that a link to an online tool to check the math, so to speak.

I think scenario E would only apply if OP's parent had obtained Irish citizenship before OP's birth.  Most countries are pretty careful to write in some stops that prevent citizenship from being transferred to people who have no physical link to the country.  American citizenship has similar limits.  That said, If OP is truly interested, the thing to do is to gather up photocopies of the appropriate documents and have a discussion with a consular officer at the local Irish consulate. 

[Metalcat]

DH got Irish citizenship through his grandparents. That was years ago though.

You can figure this out with a quick phone call.

[Moonwaves]

Scenario E applies, I think, but in particular the second part of the sentence explaining it:

Entitled to Irish citizenship, by having your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register, but only if your parent D had registered by the time of your birth.

[Ants]

Yes, I got my Irish citizenship several years ago and am now in the process of registering my new son on the Irish Foreign Birth Registry. The process is cumbersome with a good deal of documentation required but generally went through without any problems. I applied due to the fact that my Mother was born in Northern Ireland and that allows me and my children to apply. I believe that you have to have a grandparent or parent born in Ireland. My son is qualified because his grandparent was a natural born citizen not because I am a citizen.

Ants

[Pigeon]

My cousin did it.  Two of our grandparents were born in Ireland, but both of our parents were not Irish citizens.  My cousin went the Foreign Births Register.  It was a bit of a process, but it went through.

[ObviouslyNotAGolfer]

I applied in November of 2018 and received my Irish Foreign Birth Certificate (Irish/EU citizenship) in October of 2019. It is a time-consuming, fairly expensive (about 700$ for me), and lengthy process. Take estimated processing times with a grain of salt because the number of applications has skyrocketed in recent years due to Brexit and, um, events in the U.S. When I applied, the estimated wait time was six months, but it took nearly a year. Nevertheless, their bureaucracy is fairly straightforward, and the people are nice.

My wife and I may retire there (Both of us are U.S. citizens). Somewhere near Ennis in the west is a place of interest (We visited a few years ago). Hopefully soon Scotland will be with the EU and not the UK and we might consider somewhere there as well. Finistère (Brittany) is also a place of interest (even if very unlikely). I speak some French and love the landscape, food, etc (Was in Brittany last year.). Also love Paris!

I understand that housing in Dublin is extremely expensive, but we don't like central Dublin all that much any way (great museums, cultural attractions, but way too busy as a place to live). Some fabulously beautiful places were selling for 500k euros about an hour south in the Wicklow Mountains, and in the west, prices seemed quite reasonable as well.

[The 585]

Thanks for the input, guys! Yeah looks like I won't be eligible for Irish citizenship but my father will be.

HOWEVER, I just remembered that my grandmother (died when I was very young) was born and raised in Scotland, moved to the US and never renounced her citizenship. I know with brexit and everything it wouldn't grant an EU passport anymore (unless Scotland breaks back into the EU like ObviouslyNotAGolfer said) but it'd still be worth looking into... would Scottish citizenship be granted in this case?

[bogart]

@Geographer, after the 2016 election I felt outraged for the umpteen millionth time about the fact that because my mother, a U.K. citizen (who in fact grew up largely in the U.K.) was born outside the U.K., I -- who was born and have grown up in the U.S. where my mother now lives -- did not qualify for U.K. citizenship.

I went online and discovered that since the last time I had felt outraged, it was now possible to enter information (about parents and grandparents and such) into U.K. immigration attorneys' (or maybe solicitors, see, I really am American...) websites to learn whether one did or did not have a plausible claim to citizenship.  I used https://www.sableinternational.com/ and was advised I ... didn't.  So I set that aside and forgot about it.

In late 2017 or early 2018, I got an email from that same firm advising me that a recent U.K. Court case had changed the rules and I was now a good candidate for citizenship. 

What happened was that a case known as the Roumein case brought to the attention of the U.K. system not only that it was sexist that children of British fathers born outside the U.K. to British parents (born inside the U.K.), but not children of British mothers similarly situated qualified for citizenship, but that this was not OK.  Also, although generally people claiming U.K. citizenship on the basis of their grandparents must claim before they are adult, the Roumein case provided (effectively) an extension to people (like me) who qualified under the new rules the case established but who hadn't qualified (because those rules weren't in place) before we turned 18.

I got U.K. citizenship.  It was very easy and not particularly expensive (80 pounds, plus assorted mailing costs that probably doubled that amount).  It wasn't particularly speedy (but it wasn't horrifically slow, either).  I was able to apply online (I did have to mail physical documents, and show up in person at a consulate once it was determined that I could register as a U.K. citizen).

That's surely way more info. than you want, but a key point, I think, is that if the Scottish grandmother you mention is paternal rather than maternal, and you're an adult, then I don't think you can claim U.K. citizenship anymore.  I may be wrong, and the website I link above would be a simple and free way to check (as would others -- I have no connection to any of them beyond having used that one, though I will say I had several email exchanges with someone who worked there and she was very, very helpful).

HTH.