Does an Irish citizen need to take an oath of allegiance to become a British citizen?
Normally yes. But not if you’re already a British subject or if you’re any of the following: • Under 18; or • Also a British Dependent Territories citizen, British Overseas citizen or British National (Overseas); or • Also a citizen of any country with the Queen as Head of State (eg Australia, Canada or New Zealand but not all of the other Commonwealth countries). Claiming retention of British subject status for those born before 1949 does not require an oath of allegiance. How many Irish people born before 1949 have British subject status? Approximately 165,000 claims to retain British subject status have been made since 1949, with about 2,500 claims being made each year in the 1990s. There are no figures on how many of these people are still alive, but it is likely to be at least half of the above number. There is no information available on how many of these are living in Southern Ireland as opposed to elsewhere. How many Irish people living in Britain take out British citizenship?
