ldollard

Ok so this question may seem totally off the wall, but I'm really not sure of the answer.

I'm a British citizen, but today I found out I can apply for Irish Citizenship.

My wife is an American citizen and my two kids can get British passports.

So here is my question/comment.

If I get Irish citizenship, does that mean I can essentially get my wife an EU entry permit into the UK without having to go through the whole UK spouse visa BS?

And if I can do we first need to move to ireland then get the permit there or simply move to the UK directly from America?

Lastly will my kids need anything or simply show their UK passports, also will the UK immigration thing I'm doing something dodgy as i'll also have a British passport and will no doubt be in their system as a UK national?

I'm pretty excited by this prospect? I've seriously procrastinated on sending off my UK spouse visa for my wife, perhaps this is the reason why!

Pulaski

You and your children can show up in the with your British passports. Nothing else is reqd.

To do a "Surinder Singh" via Ireland you don't need to be an Irish citizen, any EU citizen can do that (with the possible exception of Romanians and Bulgarians (?) ).

I don't know if you can "immigrate" to the UK on your Irish passport and obtain an EU entry permit for your wife to enter the UK.

ldollard

I think the difference here, is that as an Irish citizen, I can apply for a residency permit from the USA as long as I travel with my wife.

As a British citizen, i have to be resident in Ireland or another EU state before I can apply for an Residency permit.

Still would like to know if this is all correct though, anyone?

Perth

This was answered on a previous thread in response to someone with Polish and British citizenship and I'm afraid the answer was no. Your British citizenship takes precedence, and you would not be able to use your Irish one to claim entry for your wife through Surinder Singh.

ldollard

So this means I would need to be in Ireland for around 3 months before I can get her the EU residency permit?

rebeccajo

One never uses another citizenship to enter on Singh. Claiming Singh means you exercise an EU right in your home country (as a citizen of that country) only AFTER you have gone to another EU country and lived and worked there.

You are confusing Singh with McCarthy. The McCarthy decision says that a British citizen can't just claim nationality to exercise free movement. (In other words, if you are British then that trumps everything else). What McCarthy does is make it clear that UK citizens HAVE to go the Singh route.

Idollard, what you would do is enter Ireland as a Brit, live and work there, and then apply for an EEA family permit under Singh. You don't need to get Irish citizenship to exercise this right.

Pulaski

Which is what I said in the original reply to the OP's question.

rebeccajo

Correct.

I was writing to perthhomeschool. I wasn't "correcting" anything anyone else said.

What I wrote might sound like semantics. But they are two different, important court decisions with different implications.

Pulaski

Agreed. I didn't mean to sound irritated, and I appreciate the additional details that I did not have at my fingertips.

rebeccajo

ldollard

what you wrote made it very clear, thanks

larrabee

So, ldollard will you move on with the spouse visa now?

ldollard

I am just seriously procrastinating. To be honest I will probably just send off the Spouse visa application this month, seems like it would be easier than going to Ireland for 3 months then getting the EU family permit. But if it comes to that, we'll just do that.

JAJ

I would suggest caution before using a visa status that could be affected by a withdrawal from the European Union (although there would probably be an opportunity to switch to domestic visa status, if this occurred).

If one did choose to move to Ireland, and remained for 5 years, there would be an opportunity to apply for Irish citizenship. Notwithstanding future changes in the law, etc. Irish passport holders may live in the United Kingdom and there is a good chance would continue to be able to do so post-EU membership.

Also note that if the (British) spouse is an Irish citizen, the 5 years for Irish citizenship is reduced to 3 years. In addition, residence in Northern Ireland (with a U.K. visa) counts.

Under current laws, etc, the spouse of a dual British/Irish citizen could become an Irish citizen after 3 years in Northern Ireland. After that, he or she immediately becomes a permanent resident in British (regardless of existing U.K. visa) and could immediately lodge an application for British citizenship.

There are caveats - for example, the Irish spouse must have been a citizen for the entire period (which affects those with a grandparental link who have not registered before), however the option can work for some. As always, confirm with an immigration solicitor in the relevant jurisdictions if making life plans on this basis.

rebeccajo

IMO, any withdraw of Britian from the EU is a red herring as far as Irish nationals and their right to live in the UK.

The Irish/Anglo Agreements supercedes the formation of the EU and created a special relationship between the Republic and Britain. The British Nationality Act of 1981 specifically states that Irish who reside in the UK after five years may naturalize. And, as long as the CTA exists, Irish can cross freely into the UK and reside there. And the CTA was recently reaffirmed in 2011, signed by no less than Damien Green of the current xenophobic coalition goverment.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotla...tizens_hrt.htm