Stop applying for passports! Ireland says it can't handle massive surge in demand after Brexit result
- Ireland has seen a surge in Britons
clamouring to get an Irish passport - Some UK citizens are desperate for passport to retain links to the EU
- But Irish Foreign Ministry has urged Britons to stop applying for passports
- They add they can't keep up with the demand for passports since Brexit
Ireland has urged Britons clamouring to get an Irish passport in the wake of the Brexit result to slow down after a surge in demand.
The spike in interest in obtaining an Irish passport stems from desperate UK citizens eager to retain a link with the European Union.
On Friday, after the Leave vote was confirmed, Google reported a huge increase in the UK of searches of people asking how to obtain an Irish passport, with one in four Brits thought to have Irish heritage.
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Ireland has urged Britons clamouring to get an Irish passport in the wake of the Brexit result to slow down after a surge in demand
Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan, pictured, has intervened and urged Britons to apply for Irish passports only if it was necessary as it was putting a strain on the service
But now Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has intervened and urged Britons to apply for Irish passports only if it was necessary as it was putting a strain on the service.
He also explained that freedom of movement would also be enjoyed by British passport holders within Europe until a formal exit was negotiated.
He added: 'The increased interest clearly points to a sense of concern among some UK passport holders that the rights they enjoy as EU citizens are about to abruptly end.
‘I want to state clearly that this is not the case.’
It comes after post offices in Northern Ireland, which voted to remain in the EU, reportedly ran out of application forms for Irish passports at the weekend.
Among the unlikely proponents for signing up to Irish citizenship was Ian Paisley Jnr, Democratic Unionist Party MP and prominent Leave campaigner.
‘My advice is if you are entitled to a second passport then take one,’ he tweeted.
A guide published on the Irish Foreign Ministry website stating how people in the UK can apply for an Irish passport
British people living in European countries are also said to be considering their options regarding obtaining an EU passport
The surge comes after the Irish Foreign Ministry were forced to publish advice on their website on Friday, advising people how they could obtain an Irish passport.
It says that people living in the UK with Irish-born parents can apply for citizenship and in some cases people with Irish grandparents are also eligible.
The guide states: 'You can also apply for Irish citizenship if one of your parents, while not born in Ireland, was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth.
'In most cases applications of this type are made through a grandparent who was born in Ireland. You may also qualify if one of your parents obtained Irish citizenship through Naturalisation or Foreign Birth Registration before you were born.
'In these cases, Irish citizenship can be passed on to the next generation as the parent was an Irish citizen at the time of the applicant’s birth.'
However, British people living in European countries are also said to be considering their options regarding obtaining an EU passport.
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