NI British passport cost anomaly branded 'disgraceful'

The chief commissioner of the NI Human Rights Commission has called on the government to fix an anomaly which means people who live in NI but were born in the Republic of Ireland must pay £1,300 to get a UK passport.

Les Allamby was speaking at the NI Affairs committee at Westminster on Wednesday.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell told the committee the situation was "amazing."

Committee chairman the Conservative MP Simon Hoare, said it was "disgraceful."

Asked for his view, Mr Allamby said he had "no idea" why the government has not fixed the anomaly and said he did not believe the Good Friday Agreement presented any impediment to changing the law "if the UK government decided to exercise its discretion to do it."

The committee is carrying out an inquiry into citizenship and passport processes.

A standard UK adult passport costs £75.50 if applied for online, or £85 if applied for by paper.

Mr Campbell said: "If we look at the de facto position at the moment, which is that people in Northern Ireland, who have never been to the Republic [of Ireland], never lived in it, never paid taxes in it, never voted in it, never were resident, can apply in Northern Ireland by going on to post office getting the application form for an Irish passport, paying the required fee and then become Irish passport holders.

"That's been the case for a number of years.

"People in Northern Ireland [who] perhaps 50 or 60 years ago were born a couple of miles across the border in the Republic but have lived in Northern Ireland virtually all their lives - they regard themselves as British citizens, they're British taxpayers, British residents, British voters - they apply for a British passport.

"They have to pay the princely sum of £1,300 to become what they already are."

The MP for East Londonderry said this applied to "tens of thousands of people" who had lived in Northern Ireland virtually all of their lives.

Asked why he thought the government had not addressed the situation, Mr Allamby said "I have no idea whether it is inertia……or whether there's some issue of principle."

Mr Campbell said it was something which had to be resolved