UK Government Refuses to recognise Irish citizenship

The Good Friday Agreement was overwhelming supported in referenda both North and South- yet a core principle and the very integrity of the treaty itself is currently being questioned and undermined. I am an Irish citizen born in Northern Ireland, whose Good Friday Agreement right to identify as such has been persistently denied by the UK Home Office.



In 2015 when I married my American husband Jake, I discovered that my lifelong Irish identity is evidently considered secondary to an unclaimed British identity. I have always believed throughout my life that I was Irish; it’s not a choice, it’s not a decision - it is simply who I am. I haven’t held a British passport or claimed British citizenship- yet there I was; in an unprecedented situation where this additional and entirely imposed citizenship was stripping me of my EU Right to Family Life. Our application for an EEA Residence Card was met with a letter of refusal, accompanied by a deportation order.

The UK’s Home Office rejected Jake’s application for an EEA residence card in Northern Ireland, for complex reasons. Although I was born in Derry, and have a right under the Good Friday Agreement to identify as either Irish or British or both, the UK has classified me as being British.

In their refusal letter, the Home Office wrote:

“…your spouse is entitled to renounce her status as a British citizen and rely on her Irish citizenship, but until that status is renounced she is as a matter of fact a British citizen”.

The UK government effectively argued that I am a British citizen until I revoke it in favour of my Irish citizenship. As they therefore class me as a British citizen, but am an Irish passport holder, the UK government had classed me as having dual-citizenship, and cannot go through the UK immigration system as an EU national. On this basis, my husband’s application for a residence card was refused.

This presupposition goes against my understanding, not just of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, but of my identity as a whole.



We appealed the Home Office’s decision on the grounds that the Good Friday Agreement explicitly allows the people of Northern Ireland to chose their nationality- be that Irish or British or both- and were successful at the first hurdle, with Judge S Gillespie ruling:



"The constitutional changes effected by the Good Friday Agreement with its annexed British-Irish Agreement, the latter amounting to an international treaty between sovereign governments, supersede the British Nationality Act 1981 insofar as the people of Northern Ireland are concerned. He or she is permitted to choose their nationality as a birth right. Nationality cannot therefore be imposed on them at birth."



Two years later, and the UK Home Office are still seeking to have this ruling set aside. Worryingly, the Secretary of State has lodged grounds of appeal, stating “A treaty HMG is a party to, does not alter the laws of the United Kingdom”, and devastatingly for us the UK Government has pursued us tirelessly through the courts – for the duration of our marriage – because I hold Irish citizenship and will not accept a government-imposed British citizenship. The Home Office’s appeal is based on arguing that the judge’s interpretation of the law was flawed, and that the Good Friday Agreement has less authority than British immigration law.





The legal wrangle is now entering it’s fourth year. For the first two years, we lost our Freedom of Movement. The UK Home Office retained Jake’s passport with no legislative authority or policy to do-so. With these restrictions, Jake was unable to leave the country and had to turn down opportunities for work. The highest price, however, was losing the last two years of his grandmother’s life. Every request to see Jake’s grandmother in her progressively deteriorating condition was denied. When she passed away at home in Los Angeles, Jake’s request to attend the funeral was denied. It was only after increased media pressure that the Home Office eventually relented- couriering Jake’s passport back to us and allowing him a belated farewell to his late grandmother; a bitter-sweet farewell mired by remorse for not having been afforded an opportunity to say goodbye.

By this point, the personal cost and loss resulting from the Home Office and their decisions was becoming overwhelming.



Most troubling though is that our experience is not unique, but rather a window into a much deeper and wider issue occurring across our society. The reality being felt by myself and many in our community is that there is a price on Irish identity. A personal price that leaves many questioning what our identity is truly worth. A process referred to as Renunciation of British Citizenship is offered by the UK Home Office as a solution, but what does it really entail?



Firstly, the form is a legal document that begins with a declaration; “I am a British citizen”



It also requires substantial evidence to prove you have British citizenship. Birth in Northern Ireland constitutes automatic British citizenship for those seeking to realize their EU rights. For those renouncing, it is considered insufficient evidence of British citizenship. Considering that many individuals choosing this route do not consider themselves British in the first place, it can be an emotionally arduous process.



In addition, the process also costs £372!! No small fee for renouncing a citizenship which under the GFA should be entirely optional. There should be no levy on an Irish person to be recognised as Irish to live on our island! Anyone taking this route will also lose Freedom of Movement for up to 6 months while the Home Office processes your application.



Then there’s the uncertainty; nobody knows what the ramifications of renouncing are. In a recent case, the Home Office went so far as to question the residency rights of a citizen who had renounced their British citizenship. There is a very real possibility that going forward, anyone else choosing to renounce may be exposed to further impedance of their right to remain in their home. There’s also concern about the rights of the wider family as a whole, and the effect renouncing may have on them.



This, in my opinion, is not a reasonable solution.



The basis of the Good Friday Agreement is founded on equality of treatment and respect for the two communities of Northern Ireland. A commitment the British Government agreed to, and in the Brexit negotiations, has promised to uphold, however the Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes has raised grave concerns as to the British Government’s intentions stating;



“Our view is that an international agreement such as the Belfast Agreement cannot supersede domestic legislation... as a matter of law, people in Northern Ireland are British by birth”



My assertion calls into question the UK government’s interpretation and dedication to the Good Friday Agreement, the effects of which are far-reaching, and are causing immense personal strain and hardship on families across Northern Ireland.



For many, identity is something which cannot be taken away, or even questioned. It has been long accepted by many as the most fundamental of rights. It is of paramount importance to the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement.

If the UK Government can arbitrarily disregard rights guaranteed to the people of Northern Ireland under an internationally binding peace treaty, what safeguards are in place to prevent further diminution of rights? The uncertainty and lack of legal protections seems certain to get worse with the onset of Brexit, for us 2019 will mark another court hearing on the right to have my identity recognised, respected and accepted as Irish.

This piece was written for the Irelands Future Conference and was featured as part of their programme. I’d like to thank them for the opportunity to write about our story.