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Nationality Guidance


The Cabinet Office’s “Civil Service Nationality Rules” determine who the Northern Ireland Civil Service can open posts to. All Candidate Information Booklets will tell you what the nationality requirements of that post are.


The posts will be described as being 'Public Service' or 'non-Public Service'.

If a post is described as ‘Public Service’, then you must be a UK national to be able to apply.


If a post is described as 'non-Public Service', you are eligible to apply if you are a:


(i) UK national;

(ii) Commonwealth citizen;

(iii) British Protected Person;

(iv) National of the European Economic Area (EEA);



(i) ‘UK National’ means a person who is a British citizen (including persons from the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), a British subject under Part IV of the British Nationality Act 1981 having the right of abode in the UK or a British Dependent Territories citizen acquiring his/her citizenship from connection with Gibraltar.


(ii) ‘Commonwealth Citizen’ means any person who has the status of a Commonwealth citizen under the British Nationality Act 1981, not covered by the ‘UK Nationality’ definition above.  This includes British Dependent Territories citizens (other than Gibraltarians), British Overseas citizens, and from 1986 those persons in the category British National (Overseas).


(iii) ‘British Protected Person’ means a member of any class of persons declared to be British Protected Persons by Order in Council under the British Nationality Act 1981, or by virtue of the Solomon Islands Act 1978.      


(iv) ‘EEA National’ means a national of one of the following countries:

Austria                         Finland                        Latvia                          Portugal

Belgium                       France                         Liechtenstein               Romania

Bulgaria                       Germany                     Lithuania                      Slovakia

Croatia                        Greece                        Luxembourg                Slovenia

Cyprus                         Hungary                      Malta                            Spain

CzechRepublic            Iceland                        Netherlands                 Sweden

Denmark                      Ireland                        Norway                         United Kingdom

Estonia                        Italy                             Poland                        


N.B. nationals from Switzerland also have the same free movement and employment rights.


‘Family member of an EEA or swiss national’ means:


(i) That national’s spouse*; or


(ii) A direct descendant (child, grandchild etc.) of that national or his/her spouse who is under 21 years of age or is their dependent; or


(iii) A dependent relative in the ascending line (parent, grandparent etc) of the EEA national or his/her spouse.


*Note:  ‘Spouse’ does not include a party to a marriage of convenience and in the case of EEA national vocational students; family members are restricted to spouses and dependent children only.


Further guidance on nationality can be obtained at