Foreign Birth Registration

Michael123 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 6:39 pm

With all the recent Aug applications being approved, I feel like we are all alumni now! Wr should somehow keep in touch independently of this board! Maybe meet in Dublin for a pint?

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Laurie9434 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 4:50 pm

This morning I received an email from the FBR office saying you will soon be added to the FBR. Please confirm your mailing address by replying !

Is this real? I can’t believe it!

Laurie

After you are added, you will get email same day.. then 2 weeks to delivery of FBR certificate. I suggest that you sign up for USPS informed delivery, you will know when the package reaches NYC as you will see a IE tracking nmbr in the app and email, you will have a day or two notice so you can be home to sign for package!

Laurie9434 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 4:50 pm

This morning I received an email from the FBR office saying you will soon be added to the FBR. Please confirm your mailing address by replying !

Is this real? I can’t believe it!

Laurie

CONGRATS!!!

Thank you so much everyone!! I hope to see everyone getting the same email very soon!! I’m in the United States and my application went directly to Dublin. Thanks for the tip on confirmed delivery. I will definitely do that!

Laurie

Laurie9434 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 8:56 pm

Thank you so much everyone!! I hope to see everyone getting the same email very soon!! I’m in the United States and my application went directly to Dublin. Thanks for the tip on confirmed delivery. I will definitely do that!

Laurie

Congratulations - great to see the August applications ticking off.

Laurie9434 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 4:50 pm

This morning I received an email from the FBR office saying you will soon be added to the FBR. Please confirm your mailing address by replying !

Is this real? I can’t believe it!

Laurie

Sounds like great news to me. I am sure you will be receiving the official citizenship confirmation email shortly. Congratulations.

This means that approximately 2/3 of the August applicants on this thread have now been approved. I hope that the next 2-3 weeks will yield good news for the remaining people waiting. It will also be interesting to see what the final spread is on approval dates. Right now, I assume 8-9 months difference between the 1st August approval (complete applications) and the final one. We shall see.

MilesB92 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:54 am

Hi Sulla

I have applied for fbr and my application was received Oct 22nd 2018. I have called numerous times and been told it will be Oct 2019 before I get added but I'm seeing a few people have been granted their citizenship in less than a year so I am staying hopeful for August September. This thread is amazing and thank you for your help.

Miles

Miles & Bruce (Costus)

I have added you both in and you will both appear when I post the next update. I try to keep this to about once a week at most to avoid clogging up the forum. Thanks for sharing your information.

Still waiting on my FBR. Sent everything off in the post in June 2018. Phoned them a month a go, and they said end of July but haven't heard anything. I originally thought I would get it before last Christmas, how wrong I was.

Another lurker here, here's my timeline:

Application recived at London Embassy - 16/OCT/2018 (Tracked post)
"Official" email acknowledging reciept of application - 8/MAR/2019 !!!!
Still pending

A couple of recent phone calls say mine probably won't be processed until October.. (Unfortunately this is when my current visa also expires )

Thanks for all the info everyone, and for compiling that list Sulla, this thread is great

Okay, weird coincidence since I don't post here often, but I just got an email from my local embassy saying that my application has been approved. The email said I will get the certificate in "due course". Irish citizen!

ben321 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:32 am

Okay, weird coincidence since I don't post here often, but I just got an email from my local embassy saying that my application has been approved. The email said I will get the certificate in "due course". Irish citizen!

Congratulations Ben. I have you on the list as a Mid-June applicant. I half thought that you and Cindy (also waiting from Mid-June as far as I know) could have received your FBR certificates and forgotten to tell us! All the July people have now been processed and one would have imagined that June came before July in any logical order. However, the FBR section are certainly full of surprises. I wish you well and hope you receive your physical certificate promptly.

Your case just goes to show that what people are told over the phone when they call the FBR section is of dubious reliability. To be candid, I think some of the call handlers there just say whatever comes into their head to get us off the phone.

Macdo_Macdo wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:14 am

Another lurker here, here's my timeline:

Application recived at London Embassy - 16/OCT/2018 (Tracked post)
"Official" email acknowledging reciept of application - 8/MAR/2019 !!!!
Still pending

A couple of recent phone calls say mine probably won't be processed until October.. (Unfortunately this is when my current visa also expires )

Thanks for all the info everyone, and for compiling that list Sulla, this thread is great

You have been duly added in. I have included you as an October applicant. Despite what some people at the DFA may try to claim, the date of physical postal receipt is all that counts for calculating processing times.

Gennart Meehan wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 05, 2019 2:32 pm

Hello everyone - here is my (as yet inconclusive) timeline:

Application to be entered on to the FBR acknowledged as received at London Embassy - 7th February 2018
Email from Dublin, 'Unable to proceed as baptismal certificates are not acceptable' (rule changed in January unbeknownst to me) - 19th June 2018
Application to register birth of Grandmother (1879) sent to General Register Office - 24th August 2018
Birth registered - 15th September 2018
Application to be entered on to the FBR acknowledged as received at London Embassy - 1st October 2018
Nothing received since then.

GM

Still nothing - I go on Sulla's list as 1st October 2018 receipt (London Embassy) - pending

GM

Sulla wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:45 am

Your case just goes to show that what people are told over the phone when they call the FBR section is of dubious reliability. To be candid, I think some of the call handlers there just say whatever comes into their head to get us off the phone.

Could you clarify what you mean? Surely Ben's case is that the call handler told him 'end of July' and he got it on 1st August.

BrexitEscapee wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 1:22 pm

Sulla wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:45 am

Your case just goes to show that what people are told over the phone when they call the FBR section is of dubious reliability. To be candid, I think some of the call handlers there just say whatever comes into their head to get us off the phone.

Could you clarify what you mean? Surely Ben's case is that the call handler told him 'end of July' and he got it on 1st August.

In Ben's case, it may have been the case that he coincidentally received his FBR on 1st August after being told the 'end of July'. However, you only have to look back through this thread at countless applicants waiting including myself who all report back that the FBR call handlers do not have anything meaningful to add and most 'estimates' are completely wild guesses.

I can support this through my own experience, constantly being told different estimates and timescales ranging from a few weeks after the call to over 1 year since I applied (September 2018). So it does indeed feel like anything is said to get rid of applicants from the phone. I gave up calling a while ago for this reason.

Whether or not this is true, no one will really know unless an FBR/DFA employee tells us, which is unlikely for obvious reasons. It is a valid feeling and thought which Sulla and others on this forum clearly feel. If you do not agree then fine, it is easy to criticise other's responses to a difficult situation when you have completed it and look on from afar.

Court2 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 4:32 pm

In Ben's case...

I can understand you speaking up for Sulla here, however, I can't help pointing out the irony in what's just happened. Sulla was so keen to use Ben's experience to make personal criticisms of the incompetent DFA staff that he completely failed to read what Ben had written. The fact is that the DFA call handlers gave Ben 100% accurate information, but Sulla proceeded to give a sermon based on how they'd got it wrong. Can you imagine the song and dance he'd have kicked up if they'd got anything as wrong as he just did?

You're right - it's easy for me to be all zen-like about the process now I've got my FBR and I don't doubt you've been frustrated by vague and inaccurate DFA estimates in the past. With a bureaucratic system overloaded with thousands of applications of varying levels of complexity, they're bound to rely on guesswork to some extent aren't they? However, according to Sulla's admittedly-excellent list, you should be getting confirmation within the next couple of weeks. My advice is to do what I did - wait. It's an impersonal, bureaucratic process which takes as long as it takes - no amount of emails and phone calls will change that.

Credit where it's due: Sulla's list is a godsend for anyone still waiting. However, he knows his anti-public-sector rants will be deleted by the mods so all he's left with is persuading people to feel bitter about the process. And this is futile. When you get your FBR, then, like me, Ben, Laurie9434 etc. etc., you'll be over the moon. And looking back you'll realise that any feelings of bitterness towards DFA staff didn't quicken the process one iota. We all know that any talk of legal redress etc. is pie-in-the-sky. Unless anyone can come up with a realistic course of action to speed up their application, the best advice is to do what you tell your kids on Christmas Eve: be patient and try and do something else to take your mind off it.

Master Caution wrote: ↑

Mon May 20, 2019 5:36 am

Good Morning all,

I have been following this and the closed thread regarding FBR for some time so I thought as well add my experiences of the FBR process to date.

I am applying for citizenship via FBR because my Grandfather was born on the Island of Ireland.

Timeline.

July 2018 to August 2018:

Collection of all required documentation. Meticulous in my efforts might I add.

August 26 2018:

Paid the fee online and printed out the form. Got it signed by an approved witness.
Sent the forms to the Irish Embassy in Berlin.

September 11 2018:

All original documents returned, but with a request to supply my marriage certificate and the divorce certificate of my parents. This was requested in the form of a handwritten note on the "required documents" page that I printed off so obviously, being meticulous requires a degree of crystal ball consultation as well.

October 2018.

Marriage cert and divorce cert of my parents sent to Berlin. As to date, I haven't seen these documents again.

28 November 2018.

Email from DFA saying that my application has been received and it can take up to six months etc.

Entry onto FBR: Unknown

FBR Certificate: TBD

Passport application: TBD

If I hear anything or receive anything, I shall post straight away, particularly considering the email I received confirming application is just about to hit the 6 month mark from the day it dropped into the inbox.

Good luck to those waiting for information

MC

Thank you to all of those folk who have contributed to this thread. Sulla, thanks for keeping tabs for people, it is highly appreciated.

My timeline is as above and it still stands. There has been no further communication or progress.

Marwin, you applied through the same embassy as I did and your outcome has been successful so well done to everyone involved and especially to yourself!

I'll keep on watching............

MC

Master Caution wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 7:50 pm

Master Caution wrote: ↑

Mon May 20, 2019 5:36 am

Good Morning all,

I have been following this and the closed thread regarding FBR for some time so I thought as well add my experiences of the FBR process to date.

I am applying for citizenship via FBR because my Grandfather was born on the Island of Ireland.

Timeline.

July 2018 to August 2018:

Collection of all required documentation. Meticulous in my efforts might I add.

August 26 2018:

Paid the fee online and printed out the form. Got it signed by an approved witness.
Sent the forms to the Irish Embassy in Berlin.

September 11 2018:

All original documents returned, but with a request to supply my marriage certificate and the divorce certificate of my parents. This was requested in the form of a handwritten note on the "required documents" page that I printed off so obviously, being meticulous requires a degree of crystal ball consultation as well.

October 2018.

Marriage cert and divorce cert of my parents sent to Berlin. As to date, I haven't seen these documents again.

28 November 2018.

Email from DFA saying that my application has been received and it can take up to six months etc.

Entry onto FBR: Unknown

FBR Certificate: TBD

Passport application: TBD

If I hear anything or receive anything, I shall post straight away, particularly considering the email I received confirming application is just about to hit the 6 month mark from the day it dropped into the inbox.

Good luck to those waiting for information

MC

Thank you to all of those folk who have contributed to this thread. Sulla, thanks for keeping tabs for people, it is highly appreciated.

My timeline is as above and it still stands. There has been no further communication or progress.

Marwin, you applied through the same embassy as I did and your outcome has been successful so well done to everyone involved and especially to yourself!

I'll keep on watching............

MC

I want to add you to the list but your case is a little more complex in terms of dates than usual. Can you please give me a date that your application was received by the Berlin embassy? I mean received in the post, not their conformation of receipt. Thanks. I personally think this should be an October date as it should run from the date all documents and the application are submitted and complete.

BrexitEscapee wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:34 pm

Court2 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 4:32 pm

In Ben's case...

I can understand you speaking up for Sulla here, however, I can't help pointing out the irony in what's just happened. Sulla was so keen to use Ben's experience to make personal criticisms of the incompetent DFA staff that he completely failed to read what Ben had written. The fact is that the DFA call handlers gave Ben 100% accurate information, but Sulla proceeded to give a sermon based on how they'd got it wrong. Can you imagine the song and dance he'd have kicked up if they'd got anything as wrong as he just did?

Court / BrexitEscapee

I simply made a mistake yesterday. I read both of Ben's posts together and confused the June and July dates. That left me with the impression that he had been waiting a month (rather than a day) longer than told over the phone. In this instance, the call handler did a fine job and credit to him. Apologies for any confusion and please let's not start any arguments on the thread over this. It was my error. I own it.

With that said, Court is perfectly right to assert that a great many applicants have been given incorrect or misleading information over the phone. Court himself obviously, Michael plenty of times and a cornucopia of others. I do not think it is unfair to state that there is quite a large amount of inaccuracy in what call handlers tell applicants. In general, if I had to characterize it as reliable or unreliable, it would be much closer to unreliable.

As for bitterness / frustration, I think that very much depends on the individual. Mine has certainly yet to dissipate. As I recall, (BrexitEscapee) you did not endure such a lengthy wait - coming in at about the 6 month mark for your application? Nor did you endure the incompetence involved in taking 3.5 months to print a certificate. Maybe this impacts your feelings. For me, however, if I receive bad service (anywhere) it will certainly not pass unremarked and my attitude to the organisation in question will remain hostile thereafter. It's not as if I have attempted to keep this a secret.

In terms of legal redress etc, I complained (hard via demand letter) and a day later my certificate was printed. Of course that could be coincidence. Given the tone of the responses I received, since there was no denial of fault, I do think that a claim for negligence (based on the treatment of incomplete applications) would have been successful. I did not pursue it and I did not escalate to the ombudsman, so we will never know. I was appeased enough by getting the certificate. Naturally, that means appeased enough not to sue them, it did not turn me into a fan. In any case, the settlement would have been token in amount and thus not worthwhile. At that time, I also had 2 other ongoing litigation cases. Fortunately, these have now been positively resolved. A further case for such a minuscule sum would have been a distraction.

So you remain unhappy with the process/department/people that dealt with your application, but your assessment is that attempting any legal redress wouldn't be worth it. What do you think about current applicants? Do you think seeking legal redress would be worth their while? Or is there any other course of action you would recommend they take which would help their situation? If there isn't, then do you think providing a constant commentary on the incompetence/malice of the DFA and its staff is actually being helpful to them whilst they wait?

(Don't worry everyone - I DO understand its only human to enjoy a good moan about stuff like this. I'm just having a bit of fun with Sulla whilst he's having to be in 'stealth mode' to bash the public sector etc. on here.)

Applied to the FBR last month, here's a timeline of my events

Paid application fee and submitted application online: June 4th 2019

Sent forms to FBR Office in Dublin: July 3rd 2019

Acknowledgement of application: July 8th 2019

In for a long wait by the looks of it

powerbook1 wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 25, 2019 10:21 am

Sulla wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:06 pm

Quondam wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:16 am

Would it be fair to say from the forums experience, that some of the smaller consulates provide a faster processing time?

There is some evidence to support the thesis that consulates or embassies that are less busy provide faster turnaround times for FBR. This is mainly due to them being able to speedily perform the initial document check on behalf of the FBR section. For Instance, I applied from China and was approved (on the register) in 3.5 months. Richard applied from Scotland in July 2018 and got his certificate well before other applicants that applied through the London embassy. There is also a recent example from Malaysia of quick delivery.

I'm not sure if this applies to New Zealand or not. It could, but on the other hand there are probably more people there who are eligible for citizenship through descent. It's hard to judge.

From what I have seen it also seems to depend on the efficiency of the embassy

I also applied at a Chinese embassy / consulate, and despite handing over my documents one month ago, they have yet to start the checking process before sending to Dublin. My application is one of a small handful that they are handling, so it seems FBR applications have to take a backseat alongside other embassy work

This was news to me as I thought the checking process occurred when I originally handed over the documents (as I waited an hour whilst they went through a checklist). It seems however there is some other processes that need to occur after this, and only then can they be sent to Dublin

Wow I almost can't believe I'm writing this

I called Dublin again this morning to see if my documents had been attached, and was told my application had already been approved! That means my entire application process took just over a month

The adviser said some embassies / consulates can make their own decisions on FBR applications, without sending all the paperwork to Dublin, which happened in my case. I can only assume because I applied at a small consulate, my application was probably the only one they had to deal with, and hence I got approved so quickly

It seems that the document checking process that I referred to in my previous message was actually the full application check, rather than a pre-screening prior to sending to Dublin

The adviser did mention though that it could be a while before I get my certificate, because my passport photos and address proofs need to be sent to Dublin (so these can be added to the certificate). He estimated it could be 1.5 months either way, depending on diplomatic mail schedules.

My timeline is thus so far:
11 Jun - Application Submitted Online
26 Jun - Documents Submitted
23 Jul - Documents added to application
25 Jul - Name entered into FBR

powerbook1 wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 02, 2019 8:28 am

I called Dublin again this morning to see if my documents had been attached, and was told my application had already been approved! That means my entire application process took just over a month

Congratulations on making it onto the register so swiftly. I hope that it does not take so long to get your actual physical FBR certificate printed. Mine took 3.5 months. With luck, you should be holding a new passport in your hands in about 4 months.

It is interesting that some embassies have the power to approve people independently. I have certainly not heard of that previously. It has not been mentioned by anyone on this board that I am aware of. It would certainly speed up the process massively if this approach was widely used.

Sulla wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:43 pm

I want to add you to the list but your case is a little more complex in terms of dates than usual. Can you please give me a date that your application was received by the Berlin embassy? I mean received in the post, not their conformation of receipt. Thanks. I personally think this should be an October date as it should run from the date all documents and the application are submitted and complete.

Hi Sulla,

IIRC, the documents were received by the Berlin Embassy during the last week of October by registered post.

My own personal view is that the stopwatch started on the 28th of November when I received the confirmation e-mail which leaves me at eight months in. Based upon what I have read on here, I optimistically expect a communication from the DFA in October to November.

However, if that doesn't happen, it is what it is.

Happy Days!


MC

BrexitEscapee wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 02, 2019 12:17 am

So you remain unhappy with the process/department/people that dealt with your application, but your assessment is that attempting any legal redress wouldn't be worth it. What do you think about current applicants? Do you think seeking legal redress would be worth their while? Or is there any other course of action you would recommend they take which would help their situation? If there isn't, then do you think providing a constant commentary on the incompetence/malice of the DFA and its staff is actually being helpful to them whilst they wait?

(Don't worry everyone - I DO understand its only human to enjoy a good moan about stuff like this. I'm just having a bit of fun with Sulla whilst he's having to be in 'stealth mode' to bash the public sector etc. on here.)

I don't think I have ever accused the DFA of malice. Incompetence certainly, but not malevolence. We could hone that down a little to the FBR section specifically. The DFA as a whole also includes the passport division. I had a pretty good experience there and I have not been shy about saying so.

I do think that current applicants could submit negligence claims against the DFA based on mishandling of incomplete applications. Of course, that would exclude people whose own applications were incomplete. I have said this previously.

Personally, I did not regard it as worth doing. The settlement would likely be a proportion of the fee paid and depend on how late certificate delivery was. In my own case, since I waited 1.5 months extra it would probably have been no more than Euro 70. I assume I would have been able to wring that and a veiled apology out of them.

The route that current applicants should go down (if unhappy) is simply to complain to the DFA about the performance of the FBR department. If enough people do so, there will be a cumulative effect. By law they need to log all complaints and this will feed into their performance data. This could impact many aspects from future planning to staff performance reviews.

I view the forum as a place for people to share information and vent frustration. I think many others share that opinion. If people are bothered by something, they often want to express how they feel about the process - this is often negative. I have been through the delays and I completely relate to them. I am not attempting to make anyone angrier with the FBR section. People have arrived at that stage on their own. I agree with how they feel. I think that it is actually helpful to have someone agree with you when you feel that way. Of course, you may disagree with me on that.

I have not made any remarks about the public sector in general since the last thread. As I recollect, I made exactly one such comment there and even then it was related to the FBR section . Hardly voluminous compared to my post count. I am not in stealth anything. Nor am I trying to propagate wider disdain for the public sector as a whole by using a small, niche, forum thread as my vehicle. I simply consider that the FBR section have been and are doing a tremendously poor job. There is a panoply of evidence to illustrate this. It's really all far more mundane that you think.