A record number of British citizens applied for an Irish passport in 2018 as the U.K. braces for what is gearing up to be a chaotic departure from the European Union on March 29 of 2019.
There were a total of 98,544 applications from Great Britain, up 22% from 2017, and another 84,855 applications from Northern Ireland, up 2% from 2017, according to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. Northern Ireland, the smallest of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom, remained a part of the U.K. when the Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922.
That comes after a 20% rise in applicants from Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2017, the first year after the 2016 referendum.
Britons with dual Irish-British nationality will continue to enjoy the benefits of EU membership, including the right to live and work in all 28 member countries without a visa. That is an increasingly attractive option given the uncertainty about the terms under which so-called Brexit will take place.
Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a key parliamentary vote on the deal negotiated by her government in December at the very last minute, which was read as a clear sign she would lose. MPs are unhappy with the backstop arrangement for the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, which would keep the latter in parts of the single market and customs union if no permanent trade agreement is reached that avoids the reinstatement of a hard border.
May survived a no-confidence vote on her leadership in her own party and said she would seek further reassurances from Brussels on the backstop before another parliamentary vote on Brexit terms in mid-January.
The debate about the deal is expected to resume on Jan. 7.
MarketWatch topics: Brexit
Read also: Bank of England sees intensifying economic unease over Brexit uncertainty
Some Labour Party activists are lobbying for a second referendum that would include an option to reverse the Brexit process and remain in the EU. Many Britons are concerned at talk of a possible no-deal Brexit, in which the country would leave the trading bloc without any new agreements in place. But Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he would rather renegotiate the current deal than seek another referendum.
A no-deal exit has raised concerns of chaos at ports and potentially even food shortages. Some senior members of May’s Conservative Party and Labour are reportedly seeking to push the departure date back to July from March to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Read also: Brexit’s aura of inevitability is vanishing
The Irish government issued more than 822,000 passports in 2018.
Anyone born to an Irish citizen is eligible for an Irish passport, while those with at least one grandparent born in Ireland is also eligible to apply. Britons living in Ireland who do not have an Irish grandparent can become eligible for a passport under residency rules.
Read now: Northern Ireland is betting on a high-tech future — with cruise-ship tourism
Want news about Europe delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Europe Daily newsletter. Sign up here.
Ciara Linnane Ciara Linnane is MarketWatch's investing- and corporate-news editor. She is based in New York.
