Visa Refused/EEA Family Permit/Revoking British Citizenship Implications

Hi All,

I hope you have the patience to read through this and any help would be much appreciated.
I have been together with my now Filipino wife for over 6 years, we have lived together in China and most recently Thailand during this time.
We move back to the Philippines for a six month break last July and got married in her home town in September.
I returned to the UK (Northern Ireland) in December and we applied for a tourist visa in April of this year which was recently refused.
I have now been advised to renounce my British Citizenship and apply for an Irish passport and consequently apply for a EEA Family Permit for 6 months and then a EAA Residency card following that.
Is this sound advice? Has anyone any experience of this? What are the chances of success? I am also worried about revoking my British Citizenship and the implications it might have post Brexit
We are both now applying for full time work in our respective countries to increase the chances of any future applications as we have been out of work since July last year.
Looking forward to any advice,
Many thanks.

I looked at this - as I can obtain Irish Citizenship through my grandfather

I think it looks like a good deal because of the Common Travel Area agreement... basically if you're Irish you're treated like you're English when in the UK... but not exactly vice versa for Irish Pension purposes (they get a good pension there)... but other than that pretty much the same - you can claim their benefits etc.

I don't know about applying for a family permit - I know you could - I was looking at living in Ireland and getting my wife into Ireland and possibly the UK later through the softer Irish immigration requirements.

I didn't see any major problems with revoking my British Citizenship as I thought an Irish passport would be better post Brexit anyway - having said that it's not something I would do in a hurry.

BTW you may be in the wrong forum - this is more of a Europe question than it is UK

Don't know if that helps you - it very much depends on your particular circumstances and how quickly you can get it done - you might find that by the time you get to apply for your Family permit you're answering the same questions they ask for a UK settlement visa...

Hi Paul Welcome to the forum

It is possible to do what you say but.......It will take you six months plus to revoke plus £200 plus Andy Ram has done this a couple of years ago.

However given the ever changing goal posts our delightfull H.O. are forever changing and the uncertainty of deal no deal Brexitt you might want to consider

The Spouse visa route £18600 income in the UK for six months plus considerable visa fees seperation Im afraid

Or alternatively look in to getting your Irish Passport and seeing if you could meet Irish requirements for a spouse visa and eventual Irish Citizenship for the Wife before a return to the UK

I have all the requisite docs for Irish Citizenship too (through my Grandmother) ... 'just in case' . Haven't bothered to progress it so far though.

Why not just find a job paying at least £18,600 gross ( little more than minimum wage now) , somewhere to live, and start the ball rolling ?

hi--welcome to the site.
why was the visit visa refused ?

Maybe bcoz they both don't have a work since last July.

could be... but if it was a refusal reason that could be overcome--she could apply again and join her husband for up to 6 months.

I realise this is an old post but just in case anyone needs to know

I was born in London.

In 2010 I learned from a friend that as my mother had been born in Northern Ireland (that was on the island of Ireland) she was Irish. She never held an Irish PP and was as dead when I applied for an Irish passport.

I now have dual British and Irish nationality. There is NO REQUIREMENT TO RENOUNCE one nationality to take up the other

When Brexit came along my son APPLIED for Irish nationality on the grounds that his grandmother was born in the island of Ireland. It took a lot of paperwork over about six months but he now has dual nationality too

More than a year ago I too assembled all the required documents necessary for me to claim my (Southern) Irish Citizenship... through my maternal Grandmother. I have them all here with me in the Phils.

So far I haven't proceeded any further. I had heard somewhere that I'd need to renounce my British Citizenship though... so thanks for clarifying that situation for me.

100% for sure under irish and U.K. law you can have Irish and British, and probably as many others nationalities as you wish

I know many people who have both

Thanks. That's most reassuring.

If you have children worth doing now as if you become an Irish citizen you can pass it on. They need you to become Irish as you get it through grand parent and they can't go that far back to claim.

And yes can have both - I have although got through birth as born in northern Ireland.

UK does not object to multiple citizenships although there are a number of countries which do including a number of EU countries. I was surprised at now many limit the ability to have dual nationality.

Interesting filipinos can get soannish citizenship after two years and keep filipino citizenship. If British have to give up uk citizenship if wanted spannish.

Ireland requirement for citizenship for spouse is only three years and Irish citizens have the ability to use Common Travel Area to live in UK.

I was Irish because my mother was born in Ulster.

When my son applied, that I was Irish through my mothers’s place of birth could not be used. He had to claim it through his grandmother and it was fairly complicated.

His children will have no right to Irish nationality

Not quite as simple as I thought and had to do a bit more reading. Guessing you were born outside Ireland so would have had to have your birth registered before your children were born for th3m to be elegible that way. Unfortunately requires planning these things in advance of children from next generation being born. Had thought that could be done after the event.

But if your son is registered in foreign birth registers before has children they should be eligible to be registered and get Irish citizenship.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Births_Register

The system of citizenship registration was established by the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1956. A child born outside Ireland to a parent who holds Irish citizenship and who was also born outside Ireland may acquire Irish citizenship by having the child's birth entered into the Foreign Births Register or a Foreign Births Entry Book.[2] The citizenship of such children is effective from the date of registration,[3] or for those registered on or before 30 June 1986, effective from the date of birth, or 17 July 1956 if the person was born before that date.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_nationality_law
By descent

A person is an Irish citizen by descent if, at the time of his or her birth, at least one of his or her parents was an Irish citizen. Place of birth is not a deciding factor.[31] In cases where at least one parent was an Irish citizen born in the island of Ireland[31] or an Irish citizen resident abroad in the public service,[32] citizenship is automatic and dates from birth. In all other cases citizenship is subject to registration in the Foreign Births Register.[33]

Due to legislative changes introduced in 1986, the Irish citizenship of those individuals requiring registration, dates from registration and not from birth, for citizenship registered on or after 1 January 1987.[34] Citizenship by registration had previously been back-dated to birth.

Anyone with an Irish citizen grandparent born on the island of Ireland is eligible for Irish citizenship. His or her parent would have automatically been an Irish citizen and their own citizenship can be secured by registering themselves in the Foreign Births Register. In contrast, those wishing to claim citizenship through an Irish citizen great-grandparent would be unable to do so unless their parents were placed into the Foreign Births Register. Their parents can transmit Irish citizenship to only those children born after they themselves were registered and not to any children born before registration.

Citizenship acquired through descent may be maintained indefinitely so long as each generation ensures its registration before the birth of the next.

Hi All,

My husband is born and raised in Northern Ireland. His father is Canadian and mother is from Northern Ireland. I am from Philippines and we now have 2 kids. He lived here in the Philippines from 2011-2017 trying our luck to settle here but it was a struggle so he went back to his country on 2017 to get start his life and later on process our papers. He is now working so yay!

My concern is, we want to process my papers and the kids' too to live with him in Northern Ireland. Does the family permit only applies to employment of EU national in UK? If we are not entitled, the only option is family visa since we have kids and it costs a fortune.

Any advise is deeply appreciated

He will be treated by ukvi as a British national unless renounced his British citizenship and ukvi will not grant an EU family permit. Number of court cases on this subject at the moment and not kept up on them so position may have moved forward.

Kids should be able to claim both Irish and citizenship so should not be an issue there assuming he is named in birth certificate and is biological father.

Has he gone back to northern Ireland to work or to england)/Scotland/Wales ? If northern Ireland one option is to get Ireland visa and live south of border.

Just realised that you want to live in northern Ireland which means living south of border may definitely be option depending on how close he works to the border.

If married and living on island of Ireland you will qualify for Irish citizenship after three years which is a bit of a plus as would replace need to apply for ILR if living in northern ireland. Can still get British passport latter.

If don't have UK or Irish passports for children then need to get as soon as possible. Then only need spouse visa for you.

Makes life easier and will help your visa application. Not sure which is easier to get although good to have both.

Just a minor matter. If a person or a parent is born on the island of Ireland, they are Irish so do not have to claim it

I was born in London. My mother was born in N Ireland. In 2010 I applied for my Irish passport it was issued

My son claimed Irish National because his grand mother was born on the island of Ireland. That was a bit complicated

I presume you have to provide birth/marriage certs to show the direct link