I have dual citizenship - Irish/British - and have passports for both countries.
Am I bound by the 90/180 day rule when travelling in the EU after Brexit?
Are dual Irish/British citizens bound by the 90/180 day rule when travelling in the EU after Brexit?
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9You are an Irish citizen, why would you not be allowed to stay in the EU as long as without Brexit? – Willeke♦ Mar 17 '19 at 19:48
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@Willeke If you're an EU citizen, you can stay as long as you like. If you're a post-Brexit British citizen, you can only stay as long as you're allowed. Unless you know the answer, it's not obvious what happens if you're both of the above. – David Richerby Mar 17 '19 at 21:37
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@DavidRicherby Unless there's a no-deal Brexit, which sadly I doubt will happen, British citizens will retain full EU rights until 2021 – Crazydre Mar 17 '19 at 22:15
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1@DavidRicherby: that would make sense only if the 90/180 day rule was some kind of punitive/security measure against the UK, which it is not (unless the whole brexit debacle spiralled way out of control when I wasn't looking). Otherwise, I don't imagine nationality in a third country would play any role whatsoever. And here, it is not even a third country --- Ireland is in the EU. – tomasz Mar 18 '19 at 12:56
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1@DavidRicherby Ireland is in the EU, why would being a dual citizen with any other country affect an Irish citizen's right to be in the EU? You really think an Irish citizen would be forced to move to Britain? – Kevin Mar 18 '19 at 17:25
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Show 3 more comments
Because of your dual citizenship, you are in the position of being able to effectively ignore the border control aspects of Brexit. No matter what happens, you will still have the right to enter both the UK and the EU without restrictions.
The only thing that could change this is if Ireland chooses to leave the EU, too. This does not seem likely at this point.
answered Mar 17 '19 at 19:56
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3@Mehrdad the Irish border issue concerns customs, not immigration. To the extent that anyone is worried about immigration, it has to do with people other than Irish citizens getting to the UK through Ireland, but even if that were to lead to stricter immigration checks on travel between the ROI and the UK, it wouldn't create a restriction on the amount of time an Irish citizen can spend in the UK. – phoog Mar 17 '19 at 23:38
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5@Mehrdad: As I understand it, the big issue is border enforcement, which typically implies having to cross at official border crossings (and waiting at the checkpoint and so on). Even if every citizen of either country is guaranteed to be admitted at such a crossing, it nonetheless creates a lot of "friction". – ruakh Mar 17 '19 at 23:58
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3@Mehrdad: Well, the "bombings" thing is just because it means reneging on the agreement that ended the bombings. I don't know how serious the risk of resumed bombings really is. But even if it doesn't spark renewed terrorism, you should keep in mind that the border is currently completely open. Many people even live on one side of the border and commute daily to work on the other side, because the border didn't matter. So if leaving the customs union involves (say) closing 250 roads (out of roughly 270) and causing (say) 40-minute delays on the rest, that's a huge change. – ruakh Mar 18 '19 at 0:18
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2@Mehrdad what works fine in Hong Kong? I've never crossed its border. But keep in mind that the situation is more complicated in northern Ireland, because it is part of the UK. Hong Kong is not associated with any other country. – phoog Mar 18 '19 at 0:31
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6@Mehrdad: My terse comment doesn't do justice to the problems of Northern Ireland, but the core point is that the open EU borders have removed the need for a consistent Irish/British governmental presence in the border area, which has helped dramatically with lowering the friction between the governments and those who oppose them (in some cases up to the point of terrorism). Having to reopen the border posts risks reigniting those anti-governmental sentiments and thus sparking a new wave of rebellions (even if they manifest differently than before). – Flater Mar 18 '19 at 10:42
Even after Brexit, you will be an EU citizen because of your Irish citizenship, so you have all the rights that an EU citizen has. When you enter the EU, you should do so using your Irish passport. There are more details in the answers to our reference question about using two passports.
answered Mar 17 '19 at 21:38
