THE NUMBER of Irish passports issued in Northern Ireland surpassed that of UK passports for the first time ever in 2020, new figures show.
According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Irish Times, 48,555 citizens in Northern Ireland applied for a UK passport in 2020, at least 356 fewer than those who opted for an Irish passport the same year.
The figures were provided by Her Majesty's Passport Office in London, with figures on Irish applications in Northern Ireland also only including those issued through the Northern Ireland Passport Express service, and not those applying directly from Dublin.
The 2021 figures show UK passport applications returned to a level above Irish applications, with 63,774 compared to 56,709 respectively.
So far, figures for 2022 show that 198 UK passport applications were processed in January, with more than double (419) Irish passports processed during January and February for Irish passports.
May experts believe the increase in Irish passport applications is a result of the 2016 Brexit referendum, as an Irish passport allows the holder to travel freely within the EU
A person outside of Ireland is entitled to an Irish passport if one of their parents is an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen at the time of that person's birth.
An individual can also get an Irish passport if they have an Irish-born grandparent who was an Irish citizen at the time of their birth.
Under the Good Friday Agreement, people from Northern Ireland have the right to identify as either Irish, British or both, with dual citizenship requests allowing for both passports.
