Foreign Birth Registration

Hi Everybody,
I just did my online application today and paid my €278 and I’m feeling quite excited!
The process seems quite straightforward so far and my next step will be to get my documents certified by a Notary/Solicitor.
I live in Glasgow and wondered if anyone who has been through the process in Scotland could offer any advice or pointers on the best people to deal with for this. I imagine they are all pretty much on the level and similar in price etc. but any advice would be much appreciated as would hearing your experience of the process.
Just found this forum and beginning to read through the posts so apologies if this has already been discussed. I found out about it through these 2 blogposts which I found very helpful

Third party blog posts removed by moderator

Many thanks and all the best to everyone
Donald

You can use the post office - hope that helps!

Thank you, I also saw another post where the person said her Nationwide building society manager did it for free....certification of documents that is. Employing a Notary/solicitor gives peace of mind that everything is done correctly but I haven’t had any quotes done yet.

DRodgers wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2020 9:35 pm

Thank you, I also saw another post where the person said her Nationwide building society manager did it for free....certification of documents that is. Employing a Notary/solicitor gives peace of mind that everything is done correctly but I haven’t had any quotes done yet.

Hi DRodgers ,

I wouldn't get a solicitor to do anything , more costly than like JCampbell mentioning the Post Office , I think I paid £12 something at my Post Office . I have tried the Nationwide at 2 different branches in Bristol but both times I'm told that they only witness mortgage applications , for my passport application .
I used my doctor to witness my FBR application which cost me £30 but you can always try to see if your bank manager will do this for you and my Metro bank said no but you might get a friendlier response in Glasgow .

DRodgers wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:59 pm

Hi Everybody,
I just did my online application today and paid my €278 and I’m feeling quite excited!
The process seems quite straightforward so far and my next step will be to get my documents certified by a Notary/Solicitor.
I live in Glasgow and wondered if anyone who has been through the process in Scotland could offer any advice or pointers on the best people to deal with for this. I imagine they are all pretty much on the level and similar in price etc. but any advice would be much appreciated as would hearing your experience of the process.
Just found this forum and beginning to read through the posts so apologies if this has already been discussed. I found out about it through these 2 blogposts which I found very helpful

Third party blog posts removed by moderator

Many thanks and all the best to everyone
Donald

I'm in Scotland as well and will be shortly submitting my passport application so I'll keep an eye out for your follow-up post on getting your docs notarized. I was in the US when I submitted my FBR application so I have no experience here, I don't have a GP yet so I'm out of luck there and it sounds like the PO is a good way to go. Please share your experience and I'll do the same and we can compare notes!

I figured I would post this here in case anyone else ever has the same issue:

After speaking again to the FBR helpline, I found it that if a parent or grandparent in the application does not have a current ID to include, then instead you can submit a letter from their hospital or GP which states the age and address of the individual, and that due to their age it is unlikely that they would ever renew their passport or have a driving licence etc.

So pretty straightforward, lacking their ID is nothing to worry about in submitting your application.

Thank you Jcampbell, Lee and Dana Marie for your replies, much appreciated!
I was under the false impression that a Notary/solicitor would be necessary at some point of the process regarding authentification of documents but I now see that isn’t the case and the « witness » can do that part. Fortunately I have a friend who is a nurse so I should be able to get that done ok but the Post Office, Bank Manager or Doctor do seem like good options for anyone who doesn’t know someone who falls into the necessary categories in the guidance and also much cheaper than a Notary.
I have managed to get in touch with a Lawyer who has been through the Foreign birth process herself and she kindly emailed me with advice and said the easiest option would be to go through someone already known to you but that if you have to go through a Notary to check the Law Society website for a list of firms in Glasgow and choose a small practice near you, you don’t need a big firm to do this and they probably charge more.
If you haven’t used a lawyer or know one who already knows you, then a new lawyer would take you on as a client. That would mean going through the Law Society regulations for money laundering that apply to new clients. It seems a rigmarole just to get the forms signed and they would charge you.

I’ll post an update when I have the forms certified and witnessed, good luck to everyone!
Donald

Regarding the witness I had problems getting any witness, doctor, bank manager etc who was comfatable in doing it.

In the end I went on a website for finding lawyers where you can en-masse send an email to all lawyers in your area to ask them to witness your FBR form.

Fortunately I was able to find 1 out of 10 lawyers who was prepared to do it no questions asked all for £10

It was painless and didn't require any paper work since the money they were charging was too small to need any checks under the law society regulation.

So worse case that may be your only option!

Jcampbell05 wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 09, 2020 4:50 pm

Regarding the witness I had problems getting any witness, doctor, bank manager etc who was comfatable in doing it.

In the end I went on a website for finding lawyers where you can en-masse send an email to all lawyers in your area to ask them to witness your FBR form.

Fortunately I was able to find 1 out of 10 lawyers who was prepared to do it no questions asked all for £10

It was painless and didn't require any paper work since the money they were charging was too small to need any checks under the law society regulation.

So worse case that may be your only option!

Where there's a will there's a way! Well done J

Jcampbell05 wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 09, 2020 4:50 pm

Regarding the witness I had problems getting any witness, doctor, bank manager etc who was comfatable in doing it.

In the end I went on a website for finding lawyers where you can en-masse send an email to all lawyers in your area to ask them to witness your FBR form.

Fortunately I was able to find 1 out of 10 lawyers who was prepared to do it no questions asked all for £10

It was painless and didn't require any paper work since the money they were charging was too small to need any checks under the law society regulation.

So worse case that may be your only option!

What a result and it's cheaper than the PO , wow I would of never thought they would do it that cheap . Well done finding it that cheap .

An update:

Certificate finally arrived today at 10am - took around 2 days from them issuing tracking code to the package arriving at my doorstep.

Now onto applying for a passport!

Good luck to everybody else

Happy Friday to me! Just received the email asking for my confirmation of address. For those wondering, my application was sent on 15th March straight to Dublin, and I received confirmation of receipt on 20th March. So around 10 months for me.

I assume the next stage is just to await the certificate in the post? Or is there another email before that?

mayorob wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:47 pm

Happy Friday to me! Just received the email asking for my confirmation of address. For those wondering, my application was sent on 15th March straight to Dublin, and I received confirmation of receipt on 20th March. So around 10 months for me.

I assume the next stage is just to await the certificate in the post? Or is there another email before that?

Once you confirmed your address , you just wait. If it hasn't arrived then you can ask them for a tracking code by replying to that same email.

I sent my application off on Monday, just had an email to say it was recieved today, here's hoping there's not going to be any problems!

I had it witnessed by a colleague on the list of professionals, and thankfully my mother and grandmother had kept all the original documents required!

DRodgers wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 09, 2020 1:16 pm

I was under the false impression that a Notary/solicitor would be necessary at some point of the process regarding authentification of documents but I now see that isn’t the case and the « witness » can do that part.

I'm glad you brought that up. My witness signed my photocopies of my passport as I was pretty sure it said they could in the requirements, but after the repeated talk about notaries and solicitors in here I was starting to wonder whether I misread it. Good to have my mind put at ease slightly.

mayorob wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:47 pm

Happy Friday to me! Just received the email asking for my confirmation of address. For those wondering, my application was sent on 15th March straight to Dublin, and I received confirmation of receipt on 20th March. So around 10 months for me.

I assume the next stage is just to await the certificate in the post? Or is there another email before that?

Just out of interest, did you hear anything at all between confirmation of reciept and the confirmation of address email?

brainiacghost wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2020 1:43 am

[quote=mayorob post_id=<a href="tel:1865573">1865573</a> time=<a href="tel:1578660471">1578660471</a> user_id=212292]
Happy Friday to me! Just received the email asking for my confirmation of address. For those wondering, my application was sent on 15th March straight to Dublin, and I received confirmation of receipt on 20th March. So around 10 months for me.

I assume the next stage is just to await the certificate in the post? Or is there another email before that?

Just out of interest, did you hear anything at all between confirmation of reciept and the confirmation of address email?
[/quote]

Nope

Hi there! This is a really handy thread, thanks.

Please can I ask how long it has taken recent recipients of the 'Citizenship confirmation email' to then actually receive their tracking code / certificate and documents?

I got the confirmation email in early December, and replied to confirm my postal address.
But haven't heard anything back since, despite emailing a few times and asking for a tracking reference.

Is the next step that they just randomly email you the tracking number? and then it arrives?
or something else in between? and roughly how long did this take?

FYI if it's helpful then I submitted my application in Feb 2019, so it took 10 months to get the FBR confirmation.

Thanks!

sunshine2019 wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:59 pm

Hi there! This is a really handy thread, thanks.

Please can I ask how long it has taken recent recipients of the 'Citizenship confirmation email' to then actually receive their tracking code / certificate and documents?

I got the confirmation email in early December, and replied to confirm my postal address.
But haven't heard anything back since, despite emailing a few times and asking for a tracking reference.

Is the next step that they just randomly email you the tracking number? and then it arrives?
or something else in between? and roughly how long did this take?

FYI if it's helpful then I submitted my application in Feb 2019, so it took 10 months to get the FBR confirmation.

Thanks!

I received the address confirmation email on 26 November, contacted them for an update on 17 December and received a tracking number then. My tracking number activated 31 December and I received my certificate on 3 January. There seems to have been a definite delay due to the holidays and my DFA contact said there was also a delay with the printing.

Jcampbell05 wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:33 pm

Nope

Thank you, I guess no news will be good news for the next year or so!

I read on another board that the same witness must be used on all the documents (passport copy, photos, application form itself) for the FBR application package - does anyone know if that is true? I'm applying from the US and plan to use the notary public at my bank - sometimes different people on different days of the week. Do I need to have all the various documents notarized at the same time to ensure the same witness?

TrishMc wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:26 pm

I read on another board that the same witness must be used on all the documents (passport copy, photos, application form itself) for the FBR application package - does anyone know if that is true? I'm applying from the US and plan to use the notary public at my bank - sometimes different people on different days of the week. Do I need to have all the various documents notarized at the same time to ensure the same witness?

YES! Same witness. -For the photographs he/she can just use a business card if he/she doesn't have a stamp.

The witness has to sign the application form, sign and date 2 of the 4 photos(and use a stamp or include a business card) & sign a copy your ID (passport /driver license).SAME WITNESS for all three.

When I did my application I had the witness write a statement under my passport copy stating :
That he personally knew me, his profession and that the photo was a true copy of my passport (I had him get this notarized).

I also had his signature on the application notarized but nowhere does it say that must be done.

The only problem I had was that banks aren't supposed to notarize ID's in the USA. I used a non banking notary. I notarized everything. The notary can be different for documents but the witness must be the same.

Hope that helps.

jgclancy

Wow, glad I asked. Thanks!

Same witness? OMG!!! Applied in July 2019 and havent heard from them.. the whole application documents (apart from copy of my passport) where certified and witnessed by same doctor. He refused to sign on a copy of my passport (same to all other professions in my country - they all refused to sign official IDs and push you to notary public as an authorised body to certify such documents).

What shall I do? Cant re-do the process again it took me long to collect the documents and caused a lot of hassle... any help is much appreciated

Fbrlad wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 12, 2020 8:01 pm

Same witness? OMG!!! Applied in July 2019 and havent heard from them.. the whole application documents (apart from copy of my passport) where certified and witnessed by same doctor. He refused to sign on a copy of my passport (same to all other professions in my country - they all refused to sign official IDs and push you to notary public as an authorised body to certify such documents).

What shall I do? Cant re-do the process again it took me long to collect the documents and caused a lot of hassle... any help is much appreciated

It is interesting that it doesn't actually say that the certified copy of the ID has to be done by the same witness that does your application/photos. It just says by a witness from the approved list. You can either call them up and ask or just wait and see if it's a non-issue. I have always read it as witness (singular) .
jgclancy