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I have asked a question on behalf of a work colleague regarding a EEA family visa over on the UK section but it's got me thinking.
He is a Irish Passport holder born in Derry and lived in England most of his life. His Girlfriend Non EU (Japanese) which he will marry early 2014 is in England on a work visa which will expire late 2014. They currently live together in England. My question is could they apply to the Irish embassy/Irish home office (forgive my ignorance) for a EEA Family visa which would give her the right to live and work in the UK?
I'm told they can't apply to the UK immigration/home office for a EEA as in the eyes of the UK he is British. Obviously they could apply the regular UK spouse visa route as I and my wife did so some years ago however, I didn't have potential options being 100% plain old British and the Price whilst still expensive, not as extortionate as it is now, also there where no tests or minimum earning requirements back then.

It would be possible for your friend to apply for an Irish visa. Being unmarried, you may find that the UK's interpretation on Singh is less generous than you might have thought.

They will marry in March 2014 which then will leave them about 7 months to sort something out before her work visa runs out. Sorry I should have been clear. It is this time that I'm seeking the advice for not right now.

So lets assume they are already married. what options do they have regarding applying to Irish authorities? EEA through Ireland or a Irish Visa. Would an Irish visa entitle her to stay and work in the UK?

A UK citizen could move to Ireland with family member (wife in this case), work there for a period of time and then use EU law to return to the UK at a later date if they chose to do so.

On moving to Ireland, the non-EU family member would require to apply for a residence card within three months of arrival. Japanese people are not visa nationals for Ireland, so no visa would be required.

But he holds an Irish Passport not a British although he could if he wanted. Tbh they could apply to the UK for a regular spouse visa as they meet all the requirements. It was just a thought to save on the ridiculous visa costs the UK has.

An Irish person born in Derry is likely to be British automatically. If this is the case, he would be a dual national. This can make things a little more complicated, especially as far as the UK is concerned. (See McCarthy case).

If he were solely an Irish national, he could use that to obtain residence documentation for his spouse in the UK. As things stand, he may need to move to another member state in order to benefit from EU law.

He could apply to the UK authorities and find out, especially if he has only used his Irish nationality.

I think this thread may be better served in the EEA route section. I've moved it there.