I'm Irish

Today, I am a citizen of the European Union.

About a month ago, I was reading the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister)'s speech to the US Congress, and I particularly noticed he said Ireland was going to relax the rules for Americans to become Irish citizens through descent. This got me thinking of all the advantages Irish citizenry would have for someone living in the European Union, of which Ireland and the UK are member states (for example, you never have to worry about getting another visa to live and work in an EU member state, which is a complex, expensive and time-consuming affair). I started looking into it and found that, in fact, I was already eligible to be a citizen, by virtue of the fact that my Grandfather was born in Ireland.

I looked into it some more, and found that, if I claimed Irish citizenship, it would not mean I would have to give up my US citizenship. What's more, because I would be applying for citizenship through descent, and not by virtue of having lived in the country long enough to obtain residency, it was actually a really simple and inexpensive process. Much, much easier and cheaper than when Grace and I applied for work visas in February. For example, the form for a work visa is 50 pages long. The form to be a citizen of Ireland (through descent) is two pages.

I emailed my parents about it and, to my surprise, they moved super fast in getting together all the documents I needed, which were mostly birth certificates to show that I was indeed the grandchild of an Irish born Irish citizen. So, without delay, I went over to the Irish Embassy on April 16, and submitted my application. They said it would take 8 weeks to process, but today I got my certificate in the mail. I'm Irish!

The next step is to apply for an Irish passport. After that, we'll have the documents we need for Grace to apply for a UK residency card, which she can get as the spouse of an EU citizen (me). The residency card is really good, since, unlike a visa, it has no limitations on what you can do in the UK or how long you can stay and it never has to be renewed (I think). Also, it's free. After that, we're done with paperwork forever (well, nothing is forever).

It's a bit strange now to suddenly have a second citizenship. Unlike the image we have of the process to apply for US citizenship, there was no test on government, history or values to ensure I would be a loyal citizen. I didn't have to stand up and swear allegiance to anyone or anything. I just signed a form saying I did want to become a citizen and, bam, here I am. Suddenly an EU citizen, with just as much right to be here as anyone else.

In some ways, I feel a bit bad about it. While out with some friends two weekends ago, I met a girl from Ireland, and I mentioned I had applied to become an Irish citizen. She wasn't exactly thrilled or anything, though she wasn't rude. I guess it would seem strange to me if some foreigner with a weird accent (to my ear) mentioned they would be becoming a US citizen soon, even though though don't live in the US or even have that much intention to. And over here, in Britain and Ireland, I think a lot of people are unhappy about mass immigration into their countries. Historically Ireland and Britain, for example, haven't been known as melting pots. They were more the ingredients that got melted down in the American melting pot.

But, anyway, I'm not that weird about it. It's not like I'm some complete stranger to the country. Clearly, it's in my close ancestry. And Grace and I spent a great six months there in 2003. Grace, who will not be becoming an Irish citizen (you have to live in the country for years to get citizenship through the marriage route), has actually lived in the country for twice as long as me.

To close, here's a photo of Grace and I having a grand old time in my newly adopted second homeland.