Irish citizenship: Covid backlog leads to 'heartbreaking' delays

Maeve and Adam have lived in Thailand for 10 years but now want to return to Europe

"If I wasn't married to a British citizen, I'd be living in France now," says Maeve Henry.

Maeve's husband Adam Taylor is one of more than 30,000 people waiting for their Irish citizenship application to be processed through the foreign birth registration route.

Maeve is an Irish and EU citizen and Adam, who is British, is entitled to citizenship through his grandmother, who was born in Ireland.

However, in March 2020 the processing of foreign birth registrations was paused so staff could be redeployed to essential services during the pandemic

Even before Covid, the processing time was already around 18 months, after the UK's exit from the European Union sparked a surge in applications from people with Irish roots.

Now applicants are being told to expect a wait of approximately two years.

• Brexit 'made me want to become Irish'

• Irish passport applications skyrocket

Following Brexit, UK citizens no longer have an automatic right to live or work in the EU.

But as the Republic of Ireland is a member of the EU, citizens have visa-free travel benefits and can live or work in any other EU country.

This has prompted many eligible British citizens to apply for Irish citizenship.

Maeve, 51, and Adam, 53, have lived in Thailand for around 10 years but for several years they have wanted to move back to Europe to be closer to their parents.

Adam, who was born in Reading, works in the yachting industry and the UK offered few job opportunities for him.

Meanwhile, Maeve speaks French and Italian - so the Mediterranean was an obvious place for the couple to settle down.

However, just as he was about to submit his application to register for an Irish passport, the office closed because of the pandemic.

The advice at the time was not to submit any supporting documents until it reopened, which finally happened on 15 November.

Staff continued to provide an emergency service, for example for expectant parents or stateless individuals. But only 5,000 emergency applications were processed in 2021.

After getting citizenship, people can apply for an Irish passport

The couple now face a two-year wait after recently submitting his application.

"This is heartbreaking for us," says Maeve. "Both our parents are elderly and we are very anxious to move closer to home."

In the meantime, Adam has been trying to find work in Europe but with no success.

"There's been a number of jobs that have come up and my skill-set fits the bill perfectly," he says.

But when he tells recruiters he isn't an EU citizen, job offers disappear.

Irish citizenship

• You are automatically an Irish citizen if one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, and was born on the island of Ireland

• If you were born outside of Ireland, you can become an Irish citizen through foreign birth registration if one of your grandparents was born in Ireland or one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, even though they were not born in Ireland

• Once a person is entered onto the Foreign Births Register they are an Irish citizen and entitled to apply for an Irish passport

• Applications cost €278 for adults and €153 for under-18s

Source: Irish Department of Foreign Affairs

India, 26, currently lives in Brussels, Belgium, and has worked as a freelance dancer in several EU countries.

After a difficult period during the pandemic, when theatres were shut for long periods, India - who was born in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire - is still struggling to get work as a non-EU citizen.

She applied for citizenship through her Irish grandfather in May and says the delays mean it's difficult for her to work in Europe.

In a competitive industry, India - who did not want to give her surname - says additional requirements for non-EU citizens such as work permits or visas mean she has missed out on opportunities.

She has even been offered jobs only for them to be withdrawn because she was not an EU citizen.

"Irish citizenship would enable me to travel and do what I need to do without being restricted by what border I'm crossing and how much money I need to play for certain visas," she says.

"I've had quite a lot of anxiety about it because I'm not sure how to plan my next move - whether I should stay here or come back to the UK."

However, in the UK she says most work is concentrated in London, where it was too expensive for her to live.

Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has promised to allocate extra resources to process foreign birth applications and said his department was working to recruit additional staff.

A Department for Foreign Affairs spokesman said applications had been securely held and would be processed in strict date order.

Maeve and Adam are hoping the extra staff will make a difference.

"It's delayed everything," Adam says. "Both of our parents are getting older so it would be nice to get home as quick as possible."