Gregory Campbell urges London to make it easier for Donegal folk to get British passports

The DUP MP raised the long-standing anomaly in the British House of Commons.

Unionists from the 26 counties are not automatically entitled to British passports if they were born after the Irish Free State’s departure from the British Commonwealth in 1949.

As such they face considerable costs and red tape if they want to obtain one.

Mr. Campbell’s party colleague, DUP veteran, Willie Hay, who was born in Milford in 1950, is one such unionist.

Addressing the British Minister of State for Immigration, Robert Jenrick, at Westminster, Mr. Campbell said: “The Minister will be aware that there are thousands of citizens across the United Kingdom, many of them in Northern Ireland, who were born a few miles across the border in the Irish Republic after 1948 but who are currently not allowed to get a British passport.

"Technically, even though they reside in the UK, have lived in the UK for decades, are taxpayers in the UK and vote in the UK, they cannot get a British passport without naturalising at a cost of £1,300.

"They have the support of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of this House and they have cross-community support in Northern Ireland.

"Once the passage of this Bill has concluded, will the Minister undertake to look again at this matter, revise it, and hopefully come forward with a proposition that will alleviate the problem?”

Mr. Jenrick replied: “This is an issue that I am aware of and I would be happy to have a further conversation with him and to give it further thought.

"We want a fair system whereby British citizenship is available to all those who are naturalised and who have lived here for sustained periods, and a system that is as accessible as possible.”

The problem has been raised on many occasions at Westminster.

Last year Willie Hay estimated that it affected around 40,000 people across the North.

In March he asked if the British Government would make it easier for unionists born in the 26 counties after 1949 to obtain British Passports as it moved to allow Hong Kongese who served in the British military to live and work in the UK.

Simon Murray tells Willie Hay it is not ‘discriminatory’ to make Donegal unionists pay £1,300 and take Britishness tests for British Passports