Eleanor VaughanBill Nighy, the 75-year-old British actor best known for Love Actually and Living, revealed in May 2026 that he is "very proud" of his Irish passport — one he applied for after Brexit, citing his Irish grandparents. He is among an estimated one million Britons who have claimed Irish citizenship since the UK left the European Union. His candour puts a famous face on a legal route that hundreds of thousands of eligible Britons have still not pursued.
"When Brexit happened, like a million other British or English people, I applied for citizenship," Nighy told RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show ahead of the opening of his new drama 500 Miles in Irish cinemas. Both grandparents on his mother's side were born in Ireland, making him eligible. The process, he said, reconnected him with family roots he had always felt close to.
Who Qualifies for Irish Citizenship Through Ancestry?
Irish nationality law provides several clear routes to citizenship by descent. The most relevant for Britons are:
Grandparent born in Ireland: If one or both of your grandparents were born anywhere on the island of Ireland — including what is now Northern Ireland — you can apply for citizenship through Foreign Births Registration (FBR) with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. This is the route Bill Nighy used, and there is no generational time limit on the claim.
Parent born in Ireland: If a parent was born in Ireland and is already an Irish citizen, you are automatically entitled to Irish citizenship at birth and can apply for a passport directly.
Parent registered on the Foreign Births Register: If your parent claimed citizenship through their own Irish-born parent and was registered on the Foreign Births Register before your birth, you can also claim through them. The timing of their registration relative to your birth date is crucial — a point that catches many applicants off guard.
The island-of-Ireland rule matters for those with Northern Irish roots. Under the Good Friday Agreement (1998), everyone born in Northern Ireland is entitled to Irish citizenship by choice — a legal right that applies equally to their descendants.
How Many Britons Have Taken This Route?
The numbers are striking. Applications for Foreign Births Registration surged after the 2016 Brexit referendum and have remained elevated. According to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, more than 800,000 British nationals have obtained Irish citizenship since 2016. In 2023 alone, Ireland issued more than 120,000 passports to people living in the United Kingdom — a figure that reflects sustained demand more than a decade after the referendum vote.
Wait times at peak demand reached up to three years in 2022-23, though the Department has since cleared the backlog. Current processing times for straightforward FBR applications typically run at six to twelve months.
What Rights Does an Irish Passport Restore?
For Britons who grew up treating EU membership as a given, the restoration of European rights through Irish citizenship can be significant. As an Irish (and therefore EU) citizen, a passport holder can:
- Live and work anywhere in the 27 EU member states without a visa or work permit
- Access healthcare across the EU via the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
- Vote in European Parliament elections in their country of EU residence
- Use the EU/EEA fast-track lane at airports across the continent
- Pass Irish citizenship to their own children born after their FBR registration
For those with family in Europe, plans to retire abroad, or careers in international organisations, these rights represent a material change in options — not merely symbolic reconnection with ancestry.
What the Application Involves
Applying through Foreign Births Registration is procedurally straightforward, though it depends heavily on document availability:
- Qualifying ancestor's birth certificate: Obtained from the General Register Office in Dublin or from civil records offices in Northern Ireland
- Chain of connecting documents: Your grandparent's marriage certificate (if applicable), your parent's birth certificate, and your own birth certificate
- Completed FBR application form and the current registration fee (€278 as of 2025)
- Valid passport or other proof of identity
Applications are submitted to Irish embassies or consulates, or directly to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin. The Irish Citizens Information Service provides official guidance on every step of the process.
When Should You Consult a Solicitor?
Many applications proceed smoothly without professional help. However, a solicitor specialising in Irish citizenship law can be invaluable when complications arise:
Documents are missing or destroyed: Irish civil records before 1864 are incomplete, and some post-1864 records were lost in the 1922 Four Courts fire. Alternative evidence — church baptismal records, census returns, ship manifests — requires specialist knowledge to identify and verify.
Ancestral identity is unclear: Name changes, adoptions, or anglicisation of Irish names (common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) can create gaps in the paper trail that a standard FBR form cannot easily accommodate.
Northern Ireland complexity: The interaction between the Good Friday Agreement, citizenship entitlements, and recent UK legislation has created edge cases where legal clarity is genuinely necessary. The same applies to anyone born in Northern Ireland before partition in 1921.
You hold a third nationality: While the United Kingdom permits dual nationality, some other countries do not. If you hold a passport from a country that prohibits dual citizenship, obtaining Irish nationality may have legal consequences at home that a solicitor should review in advance.
Your parent's FBR registration date is uncertain: Because the timing of a parent's own registration affects your eligibility, verifying the exact date matters — and errors here can lead to rejection.
For applicants in any of these situations, professional advice is not a luxury. A solicitor familiar with Irish citizenship law can identify the strongest evidential route, draft supporting documentation, and handle correspondence with the Department of Foreign Affairs — reducing the risk of a refusal that resets an already lengthy timeline.
Legal disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Eligibility for Irish citizenship depends on individual circumstances. Please consult a qualified solicitor for advice specific to your situation.
A Quiet Prompt From an Unlikely Source
Nighy's wit is characteristically dry about the whole business. "I'm pretending to be Irish," he told the Irish Times in May 2026. "So God help us all. May my mother forgive me." Behind the self-deprecation, though, is a genuine legal entitlement that millions of Britons share and many have not yet claimed.
If your family tree includes a grandparent born on the island of Ireland, the path to European citizenship may be shorter than you assumed. Understanding the UK citizenship changes already in motion for 2026 adds further context to the broader landscape of nationality rights facing British residents. For anything beyond a straightforward application, a solicitor is the right first call.
