Irish citizenship through naturalisation

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the exact correct place to post this topic, but here goes and feel free to move it to the correct section.

I have a wife and daughter currently living in Thailand and my plan has always been to finish my studies to enable me to get a job in the UK that is guaranteed to earn over the income requirement to bring my wife here (my daughter now has a British passport so that shouldn't be a problem). I had never earnt this much before my studies so I thought this would be the sure fire route. I looked into taking a year out and doing the Surinder Singh movement instead, but this proved to be a bit of a leap in the dark to go to Ireland in the hope of landing a job that would support the three of us through the process and the UK government had been trying to close that route for a long time. Then David Cameron made pre-referendum negotiations again to restrict this route and finally Brexit is on the horizon.

So I will be earning over the requirement once I finish my studies as finding a job after this course is never really a problem as it is in high demand. The point is I don't really fancy handing over the £7,837.29 it costs for the overall process of UK immigration (not including flights etc. ) http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/ in fact I resent doing so and will need all the money I can get to start a life with my family and lumping fines onto new families seems the cruelest way for the government to claw back money.

I have a possible opportunity to do the same job I am training for in ROI and having looked into I could still attempt the Surinder Singh route, but a) I would have to start the process ASAP before the expected Brexit in 2019 and b) even if we made it into the UK, what would happen to my wife and daughter when we leave the EU...not sure anyone knows the answer to this...I'm guessing it might be OK as EU citizens have been assured (though not guaranteed) they can stay post-brexit, but she is not an EU citizen and neither am I, so really not sure on this at all.

My only other option that I can see (and please tell me if this is not possible) is to move to Ireland and stay there for 5+ years. If I can get the job there I think I would love the place and may stay. If we then get an Irish passport through naturalisation could we then not move to the UK no questions asked if we felt we wanted to? An additional bonus would be free movement through the EU for holidays etc. But I wonder if those that have Irish passports via naturalisation are treated differently to those born in Ireland or those with Irish parents/grandparents when it comes to the right come and go freely to the UK.

So this is a little long-winded, but really I resent handing the money over to them as I will be working as a civil servant and giving back once I've finished my studies and yet they would place a fine on me bringing my family here. Frankly I can only see these fees going up too. The earliest I could make the application after working 6 months would be early 2018 and I am almost positive they will go up again this coming financial year under Theresa May. In your opinions what are my best options?

The most straightforward option for you would probably be, as you have already mentioned, coming to Ireland for work and bringing your family with you. This will save you money and actually avoid separation from your family while you are waiting to show 6 months of suitable income.

While Brexit is getting closer, it is not clear how the movement of the Irish/British citizens between the two islands will be affected by it, mainly because the common travel area agreement was in place way before the EU. For this reason it is likely that some sort of arrangement will be made between Ireland and the UK even post-Brexit, although it's not guaranteed. Since you are a British citizen, you will always be able to try the more costly spouse route with the UK authorities if Brexit affects your ability to continue working in Ireland. If you say that you can find similar jobs in both places, I'd say try Ireland first, while you can. But this is strictly my personal opinion.

As for your question regarding the rights of born vs naturalised Irish citizens in the UK, there is no difference. A valid passport is what proves your citizenship whilst in a foreign country, not your birth certificate.