- Written by Enda McClafferty
- BBC News NI Political Editor
William Hay has been campaigning for 20 years to get a British passport
A DUP ally and former Stormont speaker is set to get his first British passport after a 20-year battle.
Lord Hay of Ballyore had been refused a passport because he was born in Donegal, despite having lived most of his life in Northern Ireland.
He was told that he would need to undergo naturalization procedures before he could obtain a British passport.
He currently holds an Irish passport, but on Friday ministers agreed to change the system.
“Right, wrong”
This will allow anyone born in the Republic of Ireland after 1948 who legally immigrated to Northern Ireland and resided there for at least five years to register as a British citizen.
Lord Hay welcomed the news, saying it had been a long battle but the government had finally accepted the “flaws in the system”.
“This matter was first raised in the House of Commons by my colleague Gregory Campbell, but the Home Office refused to make any amendments despite the obvious injustice,” he said.
“I’m glad common sense is finally prevailing, but it shouldn’t have taken this long.”
After the Republic of Ireland left the British Commonwealth in 1949, people born in the Republic of Ireland were no longer entitled to British citizenship or passports.
In introducing the bill, Gavin Robinson told MPs he was trying to right an injustice.
He said that under the Belfast Agreement, people born in Northern Ireland have the right to hold Irish passports, but people born in the Republic of Ireland who consider themselves British are refused British passports. Stated.
He added that he has been trying to introduce this bill for the past nine years without success.
In response, Home Secretary Tom Pursgrove said the government would support the bill subject to some minor amendments already agreed with DUP MPs.
He added that it was right to “find a way to fix this problem within the system.”
“It would certainly make a difference for Irish nationalists who want to become British citizens,” he said.
It is not clear when this bill will become law.