American eligible for UK and Irish citizenship

Hiya! I'm an American living/working in Europe, but in 2007 I plan to emigrate to the UK to attend university. My mother is British, her father was Irish (I was born in the US in 1965), so I'm eligible for citizenship in both the UK and Ireland. I already have all the necessary paperwork for both registrations, but the process is quicker in the UK than in Ireland. I want to attend university in York, England - if I take UK citizenship, am I entitled to the UK tuition rates (I'll be getting a masters degree)?

Does anyone know if it's a problem getting both UK and Irish citizenships, knowing the bad feelings between them?
I'd rather have the Irish, but I'm going to be under a tight time constraint in obtaining the citizenship before the start of the Fall 2007 school year, and I can't even begin the process until March 2007. I do NOT plan to give up my US citizenship.

Thanks for any info.

~ Sian
nightmist@zetnet.co.uk

nightmist wrote:


For UK tuition rates you need to have been resident in the UK or another EEA
state for 3 years beforehand, even if you're a British citizen.


Does anyone know if it's a problem getting both UK and Irish
citizenships, knowing the bad feelings between them?[/quote]

Not a problem. And the "bad feelings" are more part of history than the
present day relationship.


I'd rather have the Irish, but I'm going to be under a tight time
constraint in obtaining the citizenship before the start of the Fall
2007 school year, and I can't even begin the process until March 2007.[/quote]

Why can't you begin the process until March 2007?

You should aim to have both citizenships (as immigration control between the
UK and Ireland could always be introduced one day), but as regards British
citizenship there is an alternative route other than registration as a
British citizen by descent now. You could move to the UK on an Irish
passport and become naturalised British after 5 years. This would give
you the advantage of being British "otherwise than by descent" and any
children born to you outside the UK would be eligible for British
citizenship.

However if the Irish are going to take a long time to process your
application then if there is an urgency about the move you may have to take
a view about going for British citizenship immediately, or dealing with the
hassles of a UK student visa.

British citizens by descent have only limited rights to transmit citizenship
to non-UK born children. You normally need to have lived in the UK for 3
years *and* apply within 12 months of the child's birth.

Also be aware that any future children you have can be registered as Irish
citizens by descent.

Have you any children now?

I do NOT plan to give up my US citizenship.[/quote]


You won't have to. However when you renew your US passport you are likely
to be asked about naturalisation in another country - you should make it
clear in writing on the form that you intend to keep your US citizenship.
these days the State Dept normally makes that assumption unless you say
something to the contrary. You should keep a valid US passport and
continue filing US tax returns.

http://www.richw.org/dualcit/ is worth a look.

You should ensure you keep up to date with nationality law developments in
all three countries, US, UK and Ireland