Thread by @SimonFRCox

Brexit will create four classes of N Irelander:
- Dual Brit/IRL
- Brit-only
- IRL-only
- & other

All with different rights.

Good piece by @L4ingstone - but missing crucial info. Thread 1/

https://twitter.com/andybgoodwin/status/1090816063758131200

Right now EU law means there’s few rights distinctions between EU cits in NI.

Brexit is set to change that.

Of course, non-EU cits have a whole lot less rights rn. Unless they are family members of Irish cits, or dual UK/IE cits. Even then its complex. 2/

So let’s just talk about people born in NI, to parents settled there.

How does Brexit affect their rights? 3/

Every baby born in UK to a parent settled in UK is a British citizen by birth: s 1 British Nationality Act 1981.

That applies to N Ireland.

GFA didn’t change that 4/

GFA say NIrelanders have right to *identify* as British & Irish, Brit-only or Irish-only.

But that’s not citizenship.

While many NI-born people identify as Irish-only, few renounce Brit cit’ship.

So legally they stay British. 5/

Irish law says people born in N Ireland to Irish parents are entitled to have Irish citizenship just by asserting it.

So almost all NI-born “Irish-only-identifiers” & “Irish-British identifiers” *legally have* both British & Irish citizenship. 6/

NI-born ppl who ID as “Brit-only” probably won’t have got Irish cit’ship. They just have Brit cit’ship.

EU equal rights for Brit & Irish cits is great solution to complex & delicate situation. It ignores difference of cit’ship, so identification doesn’t matter for rights 7/

Brexit takes rights away from all 3 kinds of NIrelander.

Dual cits who ID as Brit & Irish lose least. They keep rights to move freely across EU, with their families (whatever their own cit’ship.

So do Irish cits. 8/

NIrelanders who don’t use their right to Irish cit’ship will lose their EU law right to move across EU26.

But under Irish law, Brit cits will keep right to live in Ireland. 9/

It’s N Irelanders without British cit’ship who stand to lose the most from Brexit. Because of laws that limit rights to British cits.

But this is messy. 10/

Immigration Bill plans to exempt Irish cits from needing immigration leave to remain in UK.

So N Irelanders who ID as Irish only won’t be treated differently at immigration 11/

UK employment & benefits law uses “needs leave to remain” as the basic divider between Brit cits & others.

So Imm Bill will put Irish cits on the “British cit” side of this divide.

No discrimination there. 12/

And a few laws name ”Irish citizens” as having the same rights as British Citizens - most obviously voting rights under the Representation of the People Act 13/

But a few laws use “Brit cit” as crucial requirement for entitlements. Current UK law says social services should be denied to “EEA cits” who aren’t “Brit cits”, unless that breaches human rights. (I know, right?)

Unless amended, that’s a real problem

https://twitter.com/andybgoodwin/status/1090816063758131200?s=21

14/

Education fees & grants may be another area where laws refer to British citizenship.

Easiest way for UK Gov to fix this is amend these benefit / education laws to put Irish cits on same footing as Brit cits. Across UK.

And Immigration Bill is ideal vehicle. 15/

@BernardRyan1 @NIHRC