Foreign Birth Registration?

shanerjb18s wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 06, 2019 7:04 pm

I recently submitted my Foreign Birth Registration application, from the USA, to Balbriggan. The Irish government’s website regarding the application process notes that if you’re an expectant parent, you should note that with your application. I am an expectant parent and so noted such with my application.

Any idea about whether expectant parent applications are prioritied or otherwise typically processed faster than 6 months? Because I’m claiming Irish citizenship through my grandparent, the only way for my child to be eligible for Irish citizenship is if I’m a citizen by the time the child is born. The baby’s due date is in May, so I’m wondering if there’s any hope for my application to be complete by then.

Any experiences from others who noted expectancy parent status on their application would be appreciated.

Thanks a million.

zippy12 wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:06 pm

danmur wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 02, 2019 1:51 pm

Hello all,

Chap from the postman to sign for a special delivery from Dublin!

Date on my certificate was 17-12-18 and jsut received in post today 2-2-19. This takes me just under the six months and I had a few issues in between with veryfiying documents.

Had asked for a passport application form during my FBR process and I also got one in the envelope with my certificate and supporting documents.

I’m going to go into Glasgow this week and get my passport completed. I had read previous regarding the photos being a different size required for an Irish passport could someone please advise?

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask and hopefully I can help.

Thanks.

Hi,

If you're going to Glasgow, I would recommend going to SnappySnaps in Byres Road, close to Hillhead Subway station who can provide the correct size photos for your passport. You can have your photos done in black and white or colour. I think it was £8.99 for the required 4 photos/

I would also recommend using the Passport Express service at the West Nile Street, Glasgow post office which is one of only two post office in the UK (the other is is Liverpool) which provides this service.

They will check your application to make sure everything is correct before sending it off.
The cost of the service is £11 over and above the £70 fee. This includes sending the passport back to you along with all the documents you submitted with your application. Your application and documents are sent directly to Cork for processing and not London as previously. I was advised by the PO clerk in Glasgow that this process would take 3 weeks- I asked if this lead time included first applications and was told yes, it did.
I submitted my application on the 21 Jan - and at the moment, the web passport tracking app (https://passporttracking.dfa.ie/) says that my passport should be issued on the 15th Feb. Fingers crossed.

Regards,
Zippy12

james_mcfc wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:15 am

Hi, how long did it take for your application to appear on the tracker? Sent my passport application off using the express service at the Liverpool post office yesterday and wondering how long I’ll be waiting to see it!

zippy12 wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:56 pm

james_mcfc wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:15 am

Hi, how long did it take for your application to appear on the tracker? Sent my passport application off using the express service at the Liverpool post office yesterday and wondering how long I’ll be waiting to see it!

Hi James,

I submitted my application at the post office on Monday 21 Jan, and it didn't appear on the tracker until Friday 25th Jan. Then, when I put in the tracking number, I was asked a few questions about the type of application it was before it returned the status as "received" and also said "The estimated* issue date for your Passport is: 15/02/2019. When I checked on 31 Jan, the status was still "received".

However on Tuesday of this week (5th Feb) when I checked the status, it had changed to "Your application is being processed" The estimated issue date is still 15/02/2019. Hopefully it's still on track for that date. So, based on my experience, by Tues or Wed next week, you should be able to see your application on the tracking system.
Good luck with your application!
Regards,
zippy12

theonlyh wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:06 pm

Hi,

I have been reading this post for several months now and thought it was my turn to reply.

I live in the UK so sent my documents to London on Saturday 6 October 2018. I was getting impatient few weeks ago, so I emailed for an update and got this reply....

‘Your application was received on the 08/10/18 and sent to Dublin for processing on the 06/12/18. The current processing time is 6 months.’

Does that mean 6 months from December or 6 months from when I sent it? Is there anyone else who sent theirs the same time as me to london- how is your application going?

Thanks

nic123 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:00 pm

I called the Dublin office Wednesday to get an update on my application (June 25th 2018).

The guy was very helpful, surprised I was still waiting. Checked and said 90% sure it's all ok. Gone for approval but with the move & how many applications there's big delays. Said if I hadn't heard within 2 weeks to call back. Also said I would get an email first before certificate printed & documents returned to me.
He also said if I was applying now it's a 12 month process due to the amount of applications.

So instead of waiting for the postman I'm checking my email regularly!!

Stephen_W wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:30 pm

spelga51 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 01, 2019 1:23 pm

In the meanwhile, I've got physical copies of the Irish passport form ready to be completed when I finally get my FBR certificate. I'm planning ahead. Glasgow has a fast-processing office so hopefully it won't take too long to get my Irish passport. It's just a waiting game now.

Spelga51, how long did your passport application form take to arrive from when you requested it online?

Court2 wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 08, 2019 5:24 pm

From most posts here of those who have completed the process, it is hit and miss who gets a 'Congrats' email and who doesn't.

I saw today on Instagram under tag 'Irishcitizen' that someone who applied just days before me in September 2018 has a few days ago received their certificate. They did not receive an email and I am still waiting for either to appear.

Bit of a lottery this whole process!

clongwill wrote: ↑

Thu Feb 07, 2019 9:01 am

shanerjb18s wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 06, 2019 7:04 pm

I recently submitted my Foreign Birth Registration application, from the USA, to Balbriggan. The Irish government’s website regarding the application process notes that if you’re an expectant parent, you should note that with your application. I am an expectant parent and so noted such with my application.

Any idea about whether expectant parent applications are prioritied or otherwise typically processed faster than 6 months? Because I’m claiming Irish citizenship through my grandparent, the only way for my child to be eligible for Irish citizenship is if I’m a citizen by the time the child is born. The baby’s due date is in May, so I’m wondering if there’s any hope for my application to be complete by then.

Any experiences from others who noted expectancy parent status on their application would be appreciated.

Thanks a million.

I posted on this last week, as I too am pregnant, and after checking the status of my just over 5 month old application whilst also mentioning my pregnancy (more as I was worried about having my documents for the birth - I've lived here all my life and my husband is born and bred Irish so no worries with the babies citizenship!), the guy I spoke to over email asked me for a doctors letter with a confirmation of due date and he would expedite.

Definitely send that on as well with the reference number of your application.

Congrats and good luck with your pregnancy (and application)!

Sulla wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:12 pm

Michael 123,

It's getting frustrating for me too. Feb 10th will mark one month since I received the citizenship email and I still have not received the FBR certificate or any other communication. I am hoping it arrives swiftly next week once people come back to work following Chinese New Year.
I am actually just about to start the Turkish citizenship acquisition process as part of their CBI scheme. I need some of the documents that the DFA currently have to do that. For the UK certificates, I can easily order duplicates, but for the Chinese certificate I have (marriage) I have to wait for the original to return. Quite annoying.

I hope everyone receives some good news soon.

• Monday 14/1/2019: Application in transit, via Royal Mail Special Delivery.
• Tuesday 15/1/2019: The tracked mail arrived at Irish Embassy in London, signed for at reception.
• Monday 21/1/2019: I sent an email to London DFA seeking confirmation of receipt of my FBR application.
• Friday 25/1/2019: No response received to email, so used the webchat via the DFA website to follow-up (the FBR webpage directed me to). Although the lady I chatted with was very helpful, she said that it was just for passport queries.
• Monday 11/2/2019: Email reply to my query of 21/1/2019, confirming that my FBR application has been received and that it will be processed in Dublin. The email also stated that: "All Foreign Birth Registration applications are now processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. In order to provide a more efficient and responsive service to our customers, we have transferred our customer service platform to Live Chat..."

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, can be a detailed and complex process often involving official documentation related to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Along with an increase in the number of applications received, an increase of incomplete applications has also been seen. Approximately 50% of applications received are not complete. Applications requiring clarification or further documents take longer to process. In addition, these incomplete applications delay the processing of the complete applications.

Applications generally take 5-6 months to process from the time all the required documentation has been submitted to the Foreign Births Registration team. In 2018, 88% of applications for Foreign Birth Registration were processed within six months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has responded to increased demand by creating a new, dedicated Foreign Birth Registration team, by reviewing and streamlining our processes, introducing improvements for efficiency and security. The new processes being introduced will create efficiencies to allow us to manage the increased volume of applications. These improvements will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently established a centralised Customer Service Hub to manage all queries related to foreign birth registration/ citizenship by descent, and passport applications. To improve our service to our customers, and to ensure that we are compliant with GDPR and Data Protection legislation, communication with our customers is now received via our LiveChat service and by phone instead of by email.

Our Embassy in London and Consulate General in Edinburgh no longer process Foreign Birth Registration, as these have been centralised to the Foreign Birth Registration team in Dublin. Queries regarding applications for Foreign Birth Registration should be directed to our Customer Service Hub, where they will be handled by telephone or LiveChat.

7 February 2019

emlyn wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 5:55 pm

Hello again all, my timeline so far:

• Monday 14/1/2019: Application in transit, via Royal Mail Special Delivery.
• Tuesday 15/1/2019: The tracked mail arrived at Irish Embassy in London, signed for at reception.
• Monday 21/1/2019: I sent an email to London DFA seeking confirmation of receipt of my FBR application.
• Friday 25/1/2019: No response received to email, so used the webchat via the DFA website to follow-up (the FBR webpage directed me to). Although the lady I chatted with was very helpful, she said that it was just for passport queries.
• Monday 11/2/2019: Email reply to my query of 21/1/2019, confirming that my FBR application has been received and that it will be processed in Dublin. The email also stated that: "All Foreign Birth Registration applications are now processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. In order to provide a more efficient and responsive service to our customers, we have transferred our customer service platform to Live Chat..."

So the webchat contact option was obviously in the works but it appears I tried to use it too early

Also noticed today that the Citizenship page of the DFA website has the following statement regarding Foreign Birth Registration:

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, can be a detailed and complex process often involving official documentation related to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Along with an increase in the number of applications received, an increase of incomplete applications has also been seen. Approximately 50% of applications received are not complete. Applications requiring clarification or further documents take longer to process. In addition, these incomplete applications delay the processing of the complete applications.

Applications generally take 5-6 months to process from the time all the required documentation has been submitted to the Foreign Births Registration team. In 2018, 88% of applications for Foreign Birth Registration were processed within six months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has responded to increased demand by creating a new, dedicated Foreign Birth Registration team, by reviewing and streamlining our processes, introducing improvements for efficiency and security. The new processes being introduced will create efficiencies to allow us to manage the increased volume of applications. These improvements will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently established a centralised Customer Service Hub to manage all queries related to foreign birth registration/ citizenship by descent, and passport applications. To improve our service to our customers, and to ensure that we are compliant with GDPR and Data Protection legislation, communication with our customers is now received via our LiveChat service and by phone instead of by email.

Our Embassy in London and Consulate General in Edinburgh no longer process Foreign Birth Registration, as these have been centralised to the Foreign Birth Registration team in Dublin. Queries regarding applications for Foreign Birth Registration should be directed to our Customer Service Hub, where they will be handled by telephone or LiveChat.

7 February 2019

oction wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 23, 2019 3:03 pm

james_mcfc wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 22, 2019 1:08 pm

Pleased to report that I have now received my FBR certificate!

So my final timeline is:

17/07/2018 Application submitted online (No. ***424)
25/07/2018 Documents received by London Embassy
16/11/2018 Response received to my email to the FBR team stating application had been put forward for approval
27/11/2018 Application approved and entered into FBR
22/01/2019 FBR certificate received with returned supporting documents.

So I’m just a couple of days short of the 6 month turnaround time based on the date the Embassy received my documents.

Now onto the passport application for me; as someone else suggested earlier in the thread I requested the form ahead of time from the Embassy. Good idea!

Good luck to those of you still waiting.

Thanks for this James -- very useful, as I believe your post is the closest match to my currently-open application, which only has the following to report:

25/07/2018 Application submitted online
01/08/2018 Documents received by London Embassy

So I am at the 6 month mark, pretty much. I've not had any further contact since then, so just rang up the FBR team, and slightly frustratingly my application doesn't seem to have really progressed at all yet. It's very interesting considering my application was confirmed to be received a week after the one above. So it would seem to indicate that the process is pretty much completely random in terms of processing order.

Oh well, let the waiting continue!

mayorob wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:59 pm

Hi all, hope you're well. Apologies in advance for this as I know you will have heard this before, but unfortunately I'm fully stressing out getting all of this documentation and I would rather not read through 62 pages of this thread .

I'm applying via an Irish born grandparent (parent hasn't yet done the process of registering birth).

How strict are they regarding certificates? I unfortunately don't have any genuine 'originals', i.e. from decades ago. The death certificate of my grandparent is a 'certified copy', and the certificates I have arriving in the post regarding my parent are from gro.gov.uk, which I assume won't be an 'original'.

Do they get picky about this? Ultimately it is an official document, ordered directly from the Government, which proves my Irish status. If this doesn't count as 'official', and if you're unable to get the genuine original, then what would count as an 'original'? I'm a little confused.

Any help would be massively appreciated. Many thanks in advance.