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AN IRISH CITIZENSHIP campaigner from Northern Ireland, Emma DeSouza, has dropped her legal challenge following a change to immigration laws.
DeSouza has been involved in a long legal battle with the Home Office over whether being born in Northern Ireland automatically confers a person with British citizenship.
A recent change in immigration laws means people from the North can now use a scheme designed for European nationals – the EU Settlement Scheme – to apply for residency for non-European spouses, without first having to renounce British citizenship.
Effectively it means people in NI have an entitlement to be treated as Irish citizens under immigration laws if they so wish.
However, the move only applies for the duration of the EU Settlement Scheme, which closes to new applications next year.
DeSouza’s case came following an application for a residence card from her US-born husband Jake.
She has now withdrawn her legal challenge.
“The changes forced through by our case will now allow my husband to remain in the United Kingdom on the basis of my Irish citizenship and require the Home Office to respect my right under the Good Friday Agreement to be accepted as Irish – the terms which set the foundation of our legal complaint and the grounds we were forced to argue in court time and again until the British government finally conceded that we were right all along,” she said.
“Therefore we have been left with no other option but to withdraw our application to appeal to the Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland.”
DeSouza added: “We know that many will be disappointed by this news, as our work to address the inconsistencies in the implementation of legislation for the Good Friday Agreement has highlighted that there is so much more at stake here than just the changes we achieved in our case.
“The changes to the Immigration rules, whilst enormously welcomed and beneficial to many, do not fully address all the underlying issues plaguing this region.
“The British government has failed to give domestic legal effect to the birthright provisions of the Good Friday Agreement and continues to automatically confer British citizenship on all the people of Northern Ireland, even if they identify as Irish, by promoting a narrative which implies identity and nationality are not synonymous, an absurd assertion when considering the language of the internationally binding treaty would-in their interpretation- grant citizens a right to ‘feel’ Irish rather than ‘be’ Irish.
“We had hoped our legal challenge could help right that wrong and force the British Government to amend statute to fall in line with its international obligations.
“But legally, with this concession from the Home Office, we regrettably can not proceed.”
DeSouza said the We Are Irish Too campaign will continue to push for “full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement including our right to be accepted as Irish or British or both”.
“We will continue to work with political parties across Northern Ireland, civil society, and rights organisations, along with the Irish Government, who have long supported us in this fight, as well as members of Congress in the United States, thanks to the Ad Hoc Committee to Protect the GFA, to see the work of the Good Friday Agreement complete.
“We are not giving up,” she said.
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Over 50 years since the first civil rights marches took place in the north and Irish citizens are still having to fight for their rights in Ireland. Bit by bit though, we are winning the fight.
@Johnny 5:
She obviously didn’t feel very strongly enough about her desire not to be a British citizen. It would have cost her £200 to have her British Citizenship revoked. So instead she went to court, lost and is still a British Citizen.
The fact that anyone born in Northern Ireland is a British citizen at birth, unless they actually renounce it, it still stands in UK law. They don’t have to act on it, or ever use their British citizenship, but it is always there.
On the other side of that coin, is that in Irish law, anyone born in Northern Ireland is an Irish Citizen by default, again they don’t have to act on it or ever use it but it is always there. I don’t know if there is a legal route in Ireland to renounce your Irish citizenship.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: under the Good Friday Agreement she is entitled to both Irish & British citizenship,…. it was a legal issue as a result of Brexit with regard to her husband, a loophole that needed to be fixed of which there are many in both countries in unrelated matters… that crop up now and again.
And to prove my point that she is entitled to both UK & Irish citizenship as a result of the Good Friday Agreement I point to the New Zealand actor Sam Neill who was born in Northern Ireland and has both UK & Irish Citizenship.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh:
Your understanding of the case is completely incorrect. Read up on it
It had nothing to do with Brexit. It was not a loophole. It was a very significant point of international law.
The GFA allows for people born in Northern Ireland to “identify” as British / Irish or both.
The UK’s stand was very logical and responsible: A child, born in Northern Ireland does not have the faculties to identify as an Irish citizen. If they were not considered a British citizen at birth, they would effectively be stateless. The UK government would then be in breach of its international obligations.
deSouza, and those funding her, had no chance of winning their case.
@Paul O’Sullivan: She was not trying to argue her entitlement to Irish or British citizenship
She was attempting to argue in law that she was “not” British by default.
@Paul O’Sullivan: Sorry Paul, the first comment was in response to you, obviously not to myself
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: You must be sickened at this news. You did everything you could to fight it. Ireland always had her traitors and that is as much the case today as ever. You sided with the British in another blatant infringement of an IRISH citizens rights. I hope when this island celebrates reunification that your friends tell you not to bother coming down to the pub to celebrate. You wont be welcome.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: you ok hun?
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: it had everything to do with Brexit..
@Conan Campbell:
The complexities of this case are obviously beyond your capacity to understand it.
I am far more of an Irishman than someone who supports any organisation responsible for the murder of an Irish soldier, Irish Gardaí and Irish citizens. Here is a list of the Irish soldier and numerous Gardaí murdered by the traitorous organisations of the IRA and INLA.
Pte Patrick Kelly, Detective Garda Jerry McCabe, Garda Richard Fallon, Insp Samuel Donegan, Garda Michael Reynolds, Garda Michael Clerkin, Garda John Morley, Garda Henry Byrne, Garda James Quaid, Garda Patrick Reynold, Garda Patrick McLoughlin, Garda Gary Sheehan, Garda Francis Hand, Sgt Patrick Morrissey
@Paul O’Sullivan: Sorry Paul. The original case had absolutely nothing to do with Brexit. If you don’t believe me, read up on the case. Its a very interesting case.
What happened recently was different, and yes, was related to brexit. The UK government changed the immigration law so as to treat both Irish and British citizens born in Northern Ireland as EU citizens in respect getting residency for a non EU spouse. What that meant for the deSouzas was that her nationality was irrelevant to the immigration process.
What it meant for the court case was that the deSouzas now effectively have no legal standing to take the case, and the current UK law still stands in that a person born in Northern Ireland is regarded as a British Citizen at birth.
@Feardorcha Ó Maolomhnaigh: What has this to do with the topic. Ps you failed to mention Dublin Monaghan bombings which was supported and aided by British intelligence, Bloody Sunday, Murders in Ballymurphy, and many other innocent civilians murdered by loyalists and security forces..A bit of balance please .
Yes bit by bit indeed. Nothing irritates the British Gov more than the north of Ireland being discussed in the U.S Congress. London being Honest Brokers and all that.
There’s Hozier again
Does this mean that a baby born in NI to parents from NI (UK citizens) cannot automatically be conferred with British or Irish citizenship? Do we have to wait for the baby who can choose either citizenship? If the state can’t assign me citizenship without consent, should my parents be able to? They might be high-ranking members of the DUP, but how do they know the baby doesn’t think it’s Irish? They might be infringing the childs rights to be an Irish citizen and not be British.
@Conall:
They are still automatically regarded as British Citizens in UK law. They are also regarded as Irish Citizens in Irish law.
The Good Friday Agreement allows for a person born in Northern Ireland to identify as Irish, British or both. It does not allow for their parents or guardians to make that identification for them.
There is nothing to signify at what age a person is capable of making that identification, it would need to be tested in court.
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