Foreign Birth Registration

Hi All,

Long time lurker, now finally registered . . . .

Great advice and insight Into the process, especially since the last 6 months of silence regarding my application from DFAT.

My dates are :-
submitted app in Late May 2019 from UK, through Grandparents details.
Confirmation of application received and 6 month deadline e-mail 4 June 2019

Looking at other posts, should I expect to hear something in April?

The original 6 months in the e-mail would have been great as I am flying through Dublin next weekend, would have been great to have passed through immigration in Dublin as a citizen, but hey ho, I am sure they are processing the applications as fast as possible.

DoddyOD

Doddyod wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:26 pm

Confirmation of application received and 6 month deadline e-mail 4 June 2019

Looking at other posts, should I expect to hear something in April?


DoddyOD

Right now it seems that people getting processed with no additional document requests are getting the
confirmation to be added to FBR in approximately 10 months from date of documentation received email.
Hope they can cut it to 9 months but it all depends on the volume( Which is unknown)
jgclancy

@Catie It seems that some people here are recently advising that it is taking them 3 weeks to print the certificate and an additional one week to mail/receive it. Also A helpful for tip anyone waiting for their certificate

If you've been waiting for your certificate for a while (give it time to be printed) you can respond to the email asking for your address to request a tracking code from DFA.

They should hopefully then respond to you with one - usually when they do this and they notice your certificate hasn't been sent when it should then they will make sure its sent off in-order to be able to provide the code.

If it has been sent then you will at least be able to track how far away it is and track it with the carrier. I hope this helps you. Congratulations to you!!! I am still waiting for mine, I haven't received my address verification yet. i guess that will be in the next 3-4 weeks, God willing.

I wanted to send off my passport application this weekend or next but after asking my college teacher to witness and sign my witness section on the vericatoon form . I wasn't sure if I have my verication form signed with my witness details then this dosen't need a stamp but only the copy of state ID needed a stamp and he didn't have a stamp or business card . Previously I have a spare copy of my UK passport notified by the Post Office dated July 1st 2019 , will this be ok ? I can't see anywhere with a date limit apart from photos & passport application can't exceed 6 months .
Thanks in advance

Hi all,
Looking for my GF/GM 1907 marriage certificate in NY state. Just heard back from the town that they do not have any record of the marriage. A little poking around genealogy sites found that Catholic's marrying around that time did not always get a municipal license (for cost or other reasons) and it was not yet legally required to do so. Does anyone know if FBR will accept an official marriage certificate (embossed) from the NY church where they were married?

TrishMc wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:54 pm

Hi all,
Looking for my GF/GM 1907 marriage certificate in NY state. Just heard back from the town that they do not have any record of the marriage. A little poking around genealogy sites found that Catholic's marrying around that time did not always get a municipal license (for cost or other reasons) and it was not yet legally required to do so. Does anyone know if FBR will accept an official marriage certificate (embossed) from the NY church where they were married?

Church records aren't allowed anymore apparently. But send it anyway, along with a cover letter explaining exactly what you've said here. You will also need to provide the birth and death certificate for the grandparent you aren't seeking citizenship through.

DanaMarie wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:26 pm

TrishMc wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:54 pm

Hi all,
Looking for my GF/GM 1907 marriage certificate in NY state. Just heard back from the town that they do not have any record of the marriage. A little poking around genealogy sites found that Catholic's marrying around that time did not always get a municipal license (for cost or other reasons) and it was not yet legally required to do so. Does anyone know if FBR will accept an official marriage certificate (embossed) from the NY church where they were married?

Church records aren't allowed anymore apparently. But send it anyway, along with a cover letter explaining exactly what you've said here. You will also need to provide the birth and death certificate for the grandparent you aren't seeking citizenship through.

Hi DanaMerie,
Where does it say I need to provide the birth and death certificates for my GM (I am seeking citizenship through my GF)? First I have heard of that - is it because of the missing marriage certiificate? Thanks!

TrishMc wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:29 pm

DanaMarie wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:26 pm

TrishMc wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 12:54 pm

Hi all,
Looking for my GF/GM 1907 marriage certificate in NY state. Just heard back from the town that they do not have any record of the marriage. A little poking around genealogy sites found that Catholic's marrying around that time did not always get a municipal license (for cost or other reasons) and it was not yet legally required to do so. Does anyone know if FBR will accept an official marriage certificate (embossed) from the NY church where they were married?

Church records aren't allowed anymore apparently. But send it anyway, along with a cover letter explaining exactly what you've said here. You will also need to provide the birth and death certificate for the grandparent you aren't seeking citizenship through.

Hi DanaMerie,
Where does it say I need to provide the birth and death certificates for my GM (I am seeking citizenship through my GF)? First I have heard of that - is it because of the missing marriage certiificate? Thanks!

Sorry Trish, it looks like the requirements may have changed since I applied, since I don't see those docs listed on the DFA website. It used to be if you were missing the civil marriage certificate that you had to provide additional documents. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Hi All,

Finally got my passport this week! Hurray! Here’s the final timeline of my journey:

Docs received October 10th 2018
citizenship confirmation email received October 17th 2019
FBR certificate printed November 1, 2019
Applied for passport via consulate November 21, 2019
Passport printed December 12, 2019
Passport “dispatched” December 14, 2019
Passport received at consulate January 14, 2019

All in all, the biggest hold ups after approval of being added to the FBR were just waiting for printing and shipping, presumably because there’s so much demand. I don’t know if my times are typical, but I definitely found the waiting at the end to be the most difficult—at a certain point you just want it to be done with!

I would advise applicants to put their nervous energy toward being more connected with your local Irish community, whatever that looks like where you live. Everyone I came into contact with was amazingly friendly and helpful. Need a passport form? Contact a local Irish community center! Need help figuring out how to get your forms witnessed? Ask the local community folks! In the US, there are Irish associations all over the place, and you might be amazed by what you find—I’ve found Irish language/history courses and music lessons and a theater group near me. The connections I’ve made with people through this process have been truly inspiring.

Thank you to all of you who have in the past or will in the future contribute to this board. It’s truly an excellent resource. Best of luck to everyone still waiting!

Doddyod wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:26 pm

My dates are :-
submitted app in Late May 2019 from UK, through Grandparents details.
Confirmation of application received and 6 month deadline e-mail 4 June 2019

Looking at other posts, should I expect to hear something in April?

I got my confirmation of docs received on 25 March 2019 so I’ll let you know... not heard anything yet!

Doddyod wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:26 pm

Confirmation of application received and 6 month deadline e-mail 4 June 2019

I would not consider it a deadline. It is an estimate. It all depends on their backlog, how many new applications they are getting and the complexity of checking your application.

PasadenaTom wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 2:01 am

Doddyod wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 10:26 pm

Confirmation of application received and 6 month deadline e-mail 4 June 2019

I would not consider it a deadline. It is an estimate. It all depends on their backlog, how many new applications they are getting and the complexity of checking your application.

Hardly matters now.. whatever it was it is long past!

tom_bcfc wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:48 pm

CaitieElise wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:35 pm

Hello everyone!

I've been following this forum since mid last year, and it has kept me ever so hopeful! I received some wonderful news last night - my certificate will be approved shortly and will be on its way, so I guess I'm an Irish citizen now!

My timeline is as follows..

Application and payment submitted: 9th March, 2019
Confirmation of documents received at DFA: 21st March, 2019
Confirmation of document arrival and application approval: 14th January, 2020

Has anyone got a rough time frame of how long their certificate took to arrive?

I'm 2 weeks ahead of you. I was told aprox 3 weeks for printing, and then a week for delivery. Hope they come asap so I can get the passport asap!!!

How exciting! I was told up to 25 days for printing, and 20 days for delivery ... but I am based in Australia, so I guess it's expected to take a little longer. Hoping to have my passport by end of March. I hope your certificate arrives soon!

IrishNJUSAMan wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 17, 2020 1:48 am

@Catie It seems that some people here are recently advising that it is taking them 3 weeks to print the certificate and an additional one week to mail/receive it. Also A helpful for tip anyone waiting for their certificate

If you've been waiting for your certificate for a while (give it time to be printed) you can respond to the email asking for your address to request a tracking code from DFA.

They should hopefully then respond to you with one - usually when they do this and they notice your certificate hasn't been sent when it should then they will make sure its sent off in-order to be able to provide the code.

If it has been sent then you will at least be able to track how far away it is and track it with the carrier. I hope this helps you. Congratulations to you!!! I am still waiting for mine, I haven't received my address verification yet. i guess that will be in the next 3-4 weeks, God willing.

Thanks so much, I'll send them a follow-up email in a few weeks for the tracking code. I hope you hear some exciting news soon!!

My address of record (residence) is in the USA. Looking at the expected timeline for delivery of my certificate (assuming successful application) I believe my certificate is likely to be mailed to me when I'm not home. How is the certificate sent to USA addresses? Is a signature required for receipt? Thanks, Richard.

I myself am about to go though the Foreign Birth Registration and register myself as an Irish citizen through my grandparents on my mothers side (who was both born in Ireland before moving to England to get married and live in the early 1950’s)

I have original copies of both my grandparents Irish birth certificates, their marriage certificate and both their death certificates from the UK.

For my mother I have her birth certificate her marriage certificate for her marriage to my father and her death certificate.

And for myself have my current British passport, both certificate and utility bills addressed to me.

That basically covers everything the DFA website asks for the Foreign Birth Registration but there are a few questions I would like to ask others before I do actually go ahead and submit my application, on both my grandparents Irish birth certificates it only has their first name and surnames no middle names which both my grandparents have on their marriage and death certificates, my mothers birth and death certificates has her middle name correctly but on my parents marriage certificate it has her middle name differently! (It actually has my grandmother’s first name as my mothers middle name)

Also on the DFA website it doesn’t ask for divorce certificates (as my grandparents and parents divorced) but none of my grandparents or parents was ever remarried after their divorces and my grandmother and mother kept their marriage names after they was divorced until the they they died! (Which is reflected on both their death certificates)

So the only name change documents I’d be required to submit would be my grandparents and parents marriage certificates (as they was the only time my grandmother and mothers names changed)

Even though I only need to have one grandparent born in Ireland I will probably submit both of my grandparents documents and have my grandfather as the main person I’ll be claiming Irish citizenship from.

So would there be any issues with either of my grandparents not having a middle name on their Irish birth certificates? And my mothers middle name being incorrect on my parents marriage certificate?

Any help from you good people on here who have gone through the Foreign Birth Registration process would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

Hello
I applied for my daughter’s FBR in August 2019. I never received a confirmation of receipt email, which seems to be standard, so I called them on Friday and they said the paper application was received on 26th Aug and is in the queue. They said the processing time is currently 10-11 months.
Good luck everyone!

Hi all!long time lurker whilst going through the FBR process!

Applied online - November 2018
Docs received - March 2019 (not sure why such a delay!)
FBR received - 18/01/20

I’ve now submitted the passport application form online and pulled together the documents that I think are required and had them certified by a school secretary.

Question is, am I required to send my original Uk passport?! I fly to and from the Netherlands every week so can’t give up my passport for any length of time! I’ve had the secretary certify a copy of my passport. Should I send this or would I be wasting my time?

Obviously keen to get the passport before the end of the month to avoid stress at the border on the 3rd Feb!

chelsearob77 wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:16 pm

So would there be any issues with either of my grandparents not having a middle name on their Irish birth certificates? And my mothers middle name being incorrect on my parents marriage certificate?

Any help from you good people on here who have gone through the Foreign Birth Registration process would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

The missing or altered middle names issue is extremely common. I myself faced it. Please include a letter with your application summarizing the name discrepancy situation along with any explanations that may exist. It was not a problem for me at all and many others have encountered this issue without negative results.

rhughes wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 5:01 pm

How is the certificate sent to USA addresses? Is a signature required for receipt?

Mine was delivered in July 2018 by the U.S. Postal Service and a signature was required.

Olispence wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:54 pm

Hi all!long time lurker whilst going through the FBR process!

Applied online - November 2018
Docs received - March 2019 (not sure why such a delay!)
FBR received - 18/01/20

I’ve now submitted the passport application form online and pulled together the documents that I think are required and had them certified by a school secretary.

Question is, am I required to send my original Uk passport?! I fly to and from the Netherlands every week so can’t give up my passport for any length of time! I’ve had the secretary certify a copy of my passport. Should I send this or would I be wasting my time?

Obviously keen to get the passport before the end of the month to avoid stress at the border on the 3rd Feb!

Hi Oli ,

I would only send the certified copy of your passport that's what I did and I sent as follows

1 x Verication form
1 x Cover Page
1 x Check list of documents (Wasn't sure if you need to send this but did anyway)
1 x Witness signed copy of passport & 1 x Certified copy of passport just incase because witness didn't have a stamp so to make double sure I supplied 2 .
1 x FBR certificate
1 x Birth certificate
1 X Online bank statement
1 x Credit card statement

Sent on Saturday 18th January via Post Office tracked delivery .

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these posts since Novemeber and wanted to share my update as well, even though I've taken longer than many on here. Perhaps it's because I'm in Canada....haha.

Online application submitted Feb 10, 2019.

Documents received in Ireland February 17, 2019

January 20, 2020 - No updates

I had called in to DFAT about my status over a week ago and was informed applications are taking between 9 to 12 months. It's now been a little over 11 months, so a tad frustrating, given my documentation was very straight forward and everything included.

I'm hoping I get an address verification email soon and have it shipped it. I have a tentative job offer the 2nd week of March in Zürich, Switzerland. I have my Irish passport application ready and will be paying to speed up the process.

CaitieElise wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 12:58 pm

tom_bcfc wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:48 pm

CaitieElise wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:35 pm

Hello everyone!

I've been following this forum since mid last year, and it has kept me ever so hopeful! I received some wonderful news last night - my certificate will be approved shortly and will be on its way, so I guess I'm an Irish citizen now!

My timeline is as follows..

Application and payment submitted: 9th March, 2019
Confirmation of documents received at DFA: 21st March, 2019
Confirmation of document arrival and application approval: 14th January, 2020

Has anyone got a rough time frame of how long their certificate took to arrive?

I'm 2 weeks ahead of you. I was told aprox 3 weeks for printing, and then a week for delivery. Hope they come asap so I can get the passport asap!!!

How exciting! I was told up to 25 days for printing, and 20 days for delivery ... but I am based in Australia, so I guess it's expected to take a little longer. Hoping to have my passport by end of March. I hope your certificate arrives soon!

Sorry to say it but you might have to change expectations for passports. I live in Canada and they told me 12-14 weeks. Basically had to change all of my moving plans because of this.

Do I pay the 300 Euro application free, then print out the application form with my witness' signature to send along with the rest of the documents?
Or is the 300 to be paid after the documents have been sent?
It just confuses me why it says I need to have collected all the documents before completing the application form online.

cdcd2cs2ds wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:51 pm

Do I pay the 300 Euro application free, then print out the application form with my witness' signature to send along with the rest of the documents?
Or is the 300 to be paid after the documents have been sent?
It just confuses me why it says I need to have collected all the documents before completing the application form online.

You pay for it first. Then print the application form.Then you have to finish filling it out & getting witness to sign/date/stamp (or add witnesses business card) etc....just follow the instructions.

They WANT you to have everything else ready. ALL birth,marriage & death certs///photos made ///mailing address docs///I.D.copies should be done. They say this so you can get it all to them soon. If,let's say, you fill it out then can't get a document for whatever reason it slows it all down. The process really doesn't start until they receive your document package with everything it.

Remember to write down the exact application # on the outside of packaging too. It's small but it is on the application.Make a copy of EVERYTHING to keep too.

Good Luck...jgclancy