As above. With Brexit zooming along I have the option of becoming Belgian which would be nice from the point of being able to work in and zip around Europe (if it still exists 🙁 ). The Belgians are positively welcoming to this.

Has anyone here taken a second nationality and were there any downsides? I’m quite liking the idea. At the moment it seems to be 200EUR and copies of 5ys of tax returns

What have you got to lose?

I qualify for Irish citizenship, and I’m considering it.

What are the ancestry requirements? I had Polish grandparents on one side and it’s tempting. I wonder if Poland will fill with highly qualified Brits working menial cleaning jobs.

I qualify for Irish citizenship, and I’m considering it.

Me too, just need to look into it properly though.

Leffeboy – because you are already living in Belgium?

Rachel

I would if I could. 🙁

Apparently, the only family ancestry outside the UK is Norwegian about four generations back which doesn’t exactly help.

Plastic paddy here. Makes travel nicer. The Irish passport seems to be much more welcome than a British one in lots of countries

What have you got to lose?

I have no idea really. I can’t see any real downsides unless there are obligations later in life.

What are the ancestry requirements

Zero as far as I can see. All I need is 5 years tax returns and there doesn’t even appear to be a language requirement (although I would meet it) as working here for 5 years appears to be considered sufficient. My children were born here, have gone to local schools and we are reasonable well integrated though

I qualify for Irish citizenship, and I’m considering it.

I thought I did as I had Irish Grandparents but they closed that door a few years ago.

I travel a lot for work and thought that travelling on an Irish passport was safer than a UK one. The ‘Mericans and the Brits tend to be top of any terrorist’s list. The only people who hate the Irish are the Brits, everyone else seems to love them.

Leffeboy – because you are already living in Belgium?

Yes, sorry. Missed that bit out. I’ve been here for a while now.

My Irish/Italian roots are too far back to be used*, but I’ve a Scottish grandparent so I’m watching the indy referendum closely.

He moved from Ireland to Birmingham and married an Italian dancer; I’m pretty sure I’m a Peaky Blinder.

I’m seriously considering a relocation to either France of Germany until this whole Brexit debacle is resolved. If I stay for 5 years, I can apply for citizenship.

so I’m watching the indy referendum closely.

So am I but I’m really not convinced the result will be any different or at least I’m not convinced we would get an independent Scotland in Europe which is what I would want.

I’m seriously considering a relocation to either France of Germany until this whole Brexit debacle is resolved.

[img]https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder990/32017990.jpg[/img]

I qualify for Irish citizenship, and I’m considering it.
I thought I did as I had Irish Grandparents but they closed that door a few years ago.

Not true can still get it if you want. Can apply online. Need to get yourself put on the foreign births register, which gives you citizenship. Then you can get a passport. Costs a few hundred quid.

Not true can still get it if you want. Can apply online. Need to get yourself put on the foreign births register, which gives you citizenship. Then you can get a passport. Costs a few hundred quid.

Only if your parents had registered. I don’t think mine did and as they are no longer with us then that route is closed for me.

Canadian, but we moved here 9 years ago thinking ah it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get dual nationality on the basis of access to the EU 🙄 so much for that.

Unfortunately my job is so annoyingly niche finding it hard to move back to Van

You sure about that? Doesn’t say anything online about it.

Citizenship through descent from Irish grandparents
If one of your grandparents is an Irish citizen who was born in Ireland, but neither of your parents was born in Ireland, you may become an Irish citizen. You will need to have your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register – see below.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html

From their website:

If you are entitled to register, your Irish citizenship is effective from the date of registration. The Irish citizenship of successive generations may be maintained in this way by each generation ensuring their registration in the Foreign Births Register before the birth of the next generation.

@tuskaloosa – have you found any downsides to having a second nationality yet?

Me, I’m looking forward to squatting in SaxonRider’s caravan once he no longer has free movement to come across here 🙂

Yes, Canadian, and no downsides. Actually looking forward to moving out there in a couple of years time 🙂

I might even be applicable for Scottish too if they end up doing the off, so plenty of options 🙂

The only downside I can come up with after much thought is that I have no consular protection in two countries rather than just one.

France

Yes, the consular protection thing is there. I’ll need to see which applies when travelling.

I can get a Norwegian passport if I choose to. Im considering it. I have lived in Norway for quite some time and have a Norwegian wife and a kiddie

gobuchul – Member
From their website:

If you are entitled to register, your Irish citizenship is effective from the date of registration. The Irish citizenship of successive generations may be maintained in this way by each generation ensuring their registration in the Foreign Births Register before the birth of the next generation.

I think that’s just in relation to passing it down from great grand parents and further. ie passing it on to your children and their children.

Have you actually applied before?

leffeboy, you’ll have to find it first! 😛 Actually, where are you? I’m in Wallonia, close to Namur.

In answer to the OP’s question, I (obviously) also hold Canadian citizenship, and have experienced no downsides. I have the right to German citizenship under the 1991 ‘right of return’ law, but would have to be resident there in order to claim it.

The beauty of being born in Canada to mixed parents! 8)

My dad is Irish, and born in Ireland so technically i’m an Irish citizen. I’m in the process of getting a passport, if only to skip queues at airports… but maybe one day getting a job in the EU.

Just got my Irish passport

Yes I got a Swedish passport last year, apparently the 2nd best passport to have after zee geeerrmans . Go me

leffeboy, you’ll have to find it first! Actually, where are you? I’m in Wallonia, close to Namur.

South edge of Brussels so not a million miles away. I thought you were further down in the Ardennes

Seems like loads of folks are ‘dual’ nationality of some sort. Loving the ‘plastic paddy’ :). Looking at it further I think I have paid tax for slightly longer in Belgium now that I have in the UK. Wasn’t expecting that

huckleberryfatt – Member
Just got my Irish passport

Through what route?

Through what route?

Born outside Ireland but with a parent who was born in Ireland

I’ve got a few options having been born in New Zealand with an American father, rasied in the UK and moved to Sweden 10 years ago. So I guess I could technically have all the above, British only has been fine until recently so now in the process to obtain the Swedish passport for back up!

It will probably be something I’ll have to do, too in the not too distant future. But I’ve been living in Germany for 17 years and have four children born here so I hope it won’t be that much of a problem. This is one thing I’ve never understood about this whole Brexit fiasco is that the British citizens who stood to be affected most by Brexit (i.e. Those living in Europe) weren’t allowed to vote! 👿

There was a process to vote from overseas.

I spent over 5 years in Australia and am proud to now have Australian citizenship as well as British. And yes the Brexit did partially influence our decision there.

I qualify for an Irish passport and will probably get one once the Brexit negotiations have finished and the immigration/travel situation is a bit clearer. The other half is Polish and is applying for a British passport but this is not for a desire to belong to an insular jingoistic sovereign state but to claim her pension after 35 years of being a higher rate tax payer in the U.K. on retirement. (Some will see that as a benefits cheating scam 🙄 )
We both see ourselves as European and want to stay that way.

@tarquin – have you found any any downsides yet? I’m not really sure that there are any but it does seem like one of those things you won’t really find until you do it. It would be great to be able to vote again as I can’t vote in the UK any more and I can’t vote here either. Feels weird

As dual US UK citizen, I have recently realized, neither is of much benefit at at the moment. However, I can vote on both sides of the Atlantic while residing in the UK. Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope.
You win some, you loose some and then try to support the majority until you have a chance again but, I’ve never felt so completely unrepresented before. It’s a real eye opener.