Adopted and Irish father not on birth certificate

I was adopted soon after birth in the UK to an English woman. I have recently traced my birth mother and she has confirmed my genetic father was an Irish man. He is not named on my original birth certificate. I have also had a DNA test done which has shown results that link me to others in my father’s family tree.
My father died in 2008 and my birth mother has lived in the US since 2002.
I am entitled to an Irish passport but I have no idea how to prove this. It is not an option to get my father added to my original birth certificate (his widow will not cooperate).
Any help or guidance to get my Irish passport would be very gratefully received. Thank you.

Unfortunately you are not entitled to an Irish passport as you do not have a documented Irish parent. Without a name on your birth certificate there is nothing you can do, legally you have no claim to Irish citizenship.

Thanks for the helpful post. I guess that actually I am entitled to an Irish passport, but my problem is proving my father is Irish.

Do you happen to know if there are other ways this can be proven? DNA perhaps? Any ideas on who I should contact for help?

No, you are not entitled to an Irish passport. To be be entitled, you must have a DOCUMENTED Irish parent, and you do not. There is no mechanism to have a deceased person legally documented as your parent.

No birth cert with an Irish parent = no Irish passport.

Sorry, but there it is. There is nothing you can do about it.

nhaqueoi wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:38 pm

It is not an option to get my father added to my original birth certificate (his widow will not cooperate). Any help or guidance to get my Irish passport would be very gratefully received. Thank you.

Granista wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:33 pm

There is no mechanism to have a deceased person legally documented as your parent.

Actually, you can - the following webpage gives advice on how to do this in the UK via a 'declaration of parentage:'

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/special ... s-13849625

However, it looks like the OP might have an insurmountable problem if his mother won't play ball.

BrexitEscapee wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:47 pm

nhaqueoi wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:38 pm

It is not an option to get my father added to my original birth certificate (his widow will not cooperate). Any help or guidance to get my Irish passport would be very gratefully received. Thank you.

Granista wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:33 pm

There is no mechanism to have a deceased person legally documented as your parent.

Actually, you can - the following webpage gives advice on how to do this in the UK via a 'declaration of parentage:'

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/special ... s-13849625

However, it looks like the OP might have an insurmountable problem if his mother won't play ball.

For Ireland this requires birth certificate re-registration. As BrexitEscapee pointed out, OP's mother need to cooperate. However in some cases if the mother refuses to cooperate, there are legal means to pursue this. Ireland is very keen in making sure that every child has the right to know their parents. I am sure if the OP contacts with relevant authorities, the matter will be resolved albeit with lots of paperwork. If you really want to do so, it can be done.

BrexitEscapee wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:47 pm

nhaqueoi wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:38 pm

It is not an option to get my father added to my original birth certificate (his widow will not cooperate). Any help or guidance to get my Irish passport would be very gratefully received. Thank you.

Granista wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:33 pm

There is no mechanism to have a deceased person legally documented as your parent.

Actually, you can - the following webpage gives advice on how to do this in the UK via a 'declaration of parentage:'

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/special ... s-13849625

However, it looks like the OP might have an insurmountable problem if his mother won't play ball.

I don't think you read what you linked to there, it says quite clearly: It is also necessary to prove that the deceased father is the biological father of the child. This is usually achieved by using a scientific test i.e. DNA testing to determine parentage. And the biological mother here is not the legal mother (the adopted mother is) and would likely not have standing in court to apply. Even if she did, she is a US resident and appears unwilling to apply to an English court anyway

In THIS CASE, OP has no mechanism to add her alleged biological father to her birth cert.

To the other poster: no-one in Ireland can help with this. OP is a British national, with a British birth certificate, British legal parents, and no documented link to any Irish family.

I'm sorry OP, but there is nothing you can do. The Foreign Births register will only register you if you have a birth certificate listing an Irish parent. You don't have this and can't get this.

Granista wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:14 pm

I don't think you read what you linked to there, it says quite clearly: It is also necessary to prove that the deceased father is the biological father of the child. This is usually achieved by using a scientific test i.e. DNA testing to determine parentage.

When I read the following in the OP's post, I'd assumed it meant he had DNA evidence that his biological father was Irish:

nhaqueoi wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 25, 2020 4:38 pm

I have recently traced my birth mother and she has confirmed my genetic father was an Irish man. I have also had a DNA test done which has shown results that link me to others in my father’s family tree.

It looks like my always-shaky English comprehension has let me down here - perhaps you could explain what the OP actually meant by the above?

Granista wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:14 pm

And the biological mother here is not the legal mother (the adopted mother is) and would likely not have standing in court to apply.

Thanks for all your expertise here - I'm sure the UK Govt will also be surprised to find out that they've made a mistake in their published guidance by specifically stating that the 'declaration of parentage' process is specifically aimed at 'natural' parents, rather than adoptive parents. (I must confess: I made this mistake too, as I'd always thought that only natural parents, and never adoptive parents, were ever mentioned on the birth certificate.) Perhaps you could review this erroneous official advice and explain to them that natural parents have no standing to apply. I'm sure they'd be grateful for your expertise:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... rs-details

DNA tests between members of the alleged fathers family and the OP are no help here. The only test that could be done is a dna test of a living alleged parent and the OP, in person, at a lab accredited by the British Courts for the purpose at hand. The alleged parent is not living, ergo no possible DNA test can be done, ergo no change of birth certificate.

You can encourage the OP to waste her time and money if you like, but it can't be done.

Granista wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:56 pm

DNA tests between members of the alleged fathers family and the OP are no help here. The only test that could be done is a dna test of a living alleged parent and the OP, in person, at a lab accredited by the British Courts for the purpose at hand. The alleged parent is not living, ergo no possible DNA test can be done, ergo no change of birth certificate.

There are 12 accredited labs for testing DNA for use in UK courts. I've looked at a few at random and they all seem to have made the same mistake: they all claim it's more difficult, but still possible, to prove paternity through living relatives when the father is dead - especially if the mother is still alive. Here's one example:

https://www.cellmark.co.uk/dna-testing/ ... -dna-test/

Perhaps you could give them a call and put them right? It's going to cause chaos if they keep putting out this misinformation.

Granista wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 18, 2020 3:56 pm

You can encourage the OP to waste her time and money if you like, but it can't be done.

As always you make a very good point here and I'm chastened by your admonition. It was reckless of me to keep encouraging the OP like this:

BrexitEscapee wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:47 pm

However, it looks like the OP might have an insurmountable problem if his mother won't play ball.

Okay, cards on the table. I've been having a bit of fun at your expense here, but there's a serious point to all this: Those of us who've been helped by the information available on this forum ought to feel a duty to provide help to others - or at the very least, not to hinder them. Whilst I tend to agree with your assessment of the OP's chances in this case, your contribution to this thread has been an ever-changing litany of misinformation about this legal issue. If this misinformation went unchallenged, someone else might have stumbled across this thread and given up on an FBR application when it may well have had a chance of being successful.