HELP! Foreign Birth Registration

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to work through my anger about Brexit (sigh) and am applying for an Irish passport but need to do the foreign birth registration - am applying because my granddad was Irish. The info available on the embassy website is minimal and frustrating and it's hard to get in touch with them.

Does anyone have answers to the following:

-will they accept a notarised copy of a passport? it says they do but then I have seen that it must be original copies (I can't be without a passport for 6 months plus!)

-if there has been a surname change must you send deed poll/marriage certificates?

-what proof of residence do they accept? if I send my savings account with co-op statement, current account with NatWest statement and phone bill will this suffice? wasn't sure if two bank statements would be accepted (are from different banks so should be okay)? It's tricky for me to provide anything more because I am moving out of my house and just staying with friends for the foreseeable future so won't technically have a fixed abode in terms of being able to provide utility bills etc.

-if I book an appointment to go to the embassy office on Cromwell road in London then will they help me? I wasn't sure if they dealt with FBR there.

Thank you for all of your help in advance, am hugely overwhelmed by the process as there doesn't seem to be much support online (maybe it's just me!).

Hello

1. Yes - passports or driving licences should be notarised copies. I asked a lawyer to do mine. Everything else needs to be original or new certified copies from the relevant Registry offices.
2. The main documents for each person (you, the relevant parent, and the relevant grandparent) are: birth, marriage (if any, plus any divorce) and either photo ID (if alive) or death certificate. In most cases, these documents will evidence name changes. However, if they don't I would also send other forms of proof.
3. Yes - bills, statements, etc., seem to work fine. You could always do something to trigger a new document being issued (e.g. make a change to your tax record to produce a HMRC document, or change the payment method for council tax).
4. I'm not sure they do this??. The FBR process is based on documentary evidence of descent. I would focus on getting all the documents ticked off your checklist, and then apply for official versions of anything missing. The actual form takes a minute to complete; the documents are the (potentially) tricky area. Then you have to get it all witnessed, but focus on the documents first. I had all the documents for me, but I had to help my dad apply for his UK passport as it was a decade out of date, and I had to send off for my grandmother's birth certificate, marriage cert, and death cert. This all took a couple of weeks to get everything together.

Good luck!

apb89 wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 25, 2019 11:36 am

-if I book an appointment to go to the embassy office on Cromwell road in London then will they help me? I wasn't sure if they dealt with FBR there.

The London embassy handled initial processing of FBR applications until earlier this month. That may be because they are also "stretched" by passport applications. Since they previously accepted applications, they are likely knowledgable enough to provide assistance. It might be tough to schedule an appointment if they are so busy. But it can't hurt to try.