OVER THE PAST three years, the London embassy has issued the highest number of Irish passports of any diplomatic office in the world, while the rate for other European cities has trailed off.

While approval rates of UK requests for Irish passports has increased in the past few years – and in particular since the Brexit vote in June 2016 – that trend is not seen across other top cities. 

Requests from Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Brussels, the Hague and Rome have fallen since 2016. 

The top five countries for requesting Irish passports are London, New York, Canberra, San Francisco and Sydney:

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In 2017, there was a total of 789,701 requests for Irish passports and 781,375 of these were approved. From Great Britain, there were 80,752 applications for Irish passports, up 28% on the previous year.

Northern Ireland

Figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs show that so far this year, 63,370 applications have been received from Northern Ireland.

The number of applications received last year from the region was up 20% on the previous year. In fact, the number of requests for Irish passports from Northern Ireland has significantly increased since Brexit – jumping from 44,100 in 2013 and 48,500 in 2014, up to 67,600 in 2016 and 82,274 in 2017.

A total of 26,647 applications for citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration were received from applicants born in England, Scotland and Wales since the Brexit vote in June 2016 until the beginning of October this year.

That figure doesn’t include those born abroad who apply for citizenship through an Irish-born parent, and those born in Northern Ireland, as by-and-large they are entitled to Irish citizenship by birth.