Foreign Birth Registration

[amolbawate]

Hi Folks,

I will be applying for Irish citizenship soon. I have a query regarding Foreign birth certificate. There is a minor spelling mistake in my surname on my birth certificate but the passport and rest of the documents has correct spelling. Will that be an issue ?

The certificate is in English and my mother tongue. I have spoken to few peoples back in India to check if i can get new birth certificate will correct spelling and they told me its not possible since its issued only once and if i have to fix the surname spelling I will have to do go through name change process.

Anyone from forum had similar issue ?

Regards,
AB

[LA8887]

Hi Folks,

I will be applying for Irish citizenship soon. I have a query regarding Foreign birth certificate. There is a minor spelling mistake in my surname on my birth certificate but the passport and rest of the documents has correct spelling. Will that be an issue ?

The certificate is in English and my mother tongue. I have spoken to few peoples back in India to check if i can get new birth certificate will correct spelling and they told me its not possible since its issued only once and if i have to fix the surname spelling I will have to do go through name change process.

Anyone from forum had similar issue ?

Regards,
AB

If it's only a minor difference it's probably OK. There are a few discrepancies that crop up, like some surnames having an O' on some documents and not on others or names being recorded differently. I noticed a relative's name is Anne on one document but Annie on another and it was never mentioned during the process.

[cdfly]

Great news this morning! DFA heard back from the Dept of Justice that they had NO declaration of alienage on file for my Grandma!!! We should be hearing back soon from the document checker!
She's been telling everyone she renounced her Irish citizenship back in 1958 FOR YEARS, so I didn't think twice when I included that in our fbr application. (To anyone reading, your grandparents filing a dec of alienage prior to your parents birth is INDEED A DEAL-BREAKER.) Aunts and Uncles insisted that "they just made everyone give up their other citizenship in order to become American back then." FALSE.
We figured out that when she made her "Oath of Allegiance" (see below) to become a naturalized US citizen, she just took the verbiage at its face. NOT TRUE! Ireland requires a formal declaration in order to give up its citizenship. So if any of you have older relatives that are convinced they are no longer Irish due to an American oath, it might be worth looking into

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

[DanaMarie]

Hi Folks,

I will be applying for Irish citizenship soon. I have a query regarding Foreign birth certificate. There is a minor spelling mistake in my surname on my birth certificate but the passport and rest of the documents has correct spelling. Will that be an issue ?

The certificate is in English and my mother tongue. I have spoken to few peoples back in India to check if i can get new birth certificate will correct spelling and they told me its not possible since its issued only once and if i have to fix the surname spelling I will have to do go through name change process.

Anyone from forum had similar issue ?

Regards,
AB

Very common to have minor spelling errors on documents, particularly Irish ones. I had several. I think most of us in that situation have enclosed a cover letter explaining the discrepancy. In your case it would probably be helpful to explain as you did here that it would be a legal process to make the correction.

[cordatum]

Apologies if this has been asked a lot. Does anyone know approximately how long it takes to process the passport application once added to the FBR? I'll be posting it from the Netherlands to Ireland. I'm expecting (based on others' timelines) to get the email for address confirmation at the end of August. Hopefully not too much longer until I also have an Irish passport!

[IrishmanToBe]

Hi all. I'm (sort of) part of the April 2019 application club too.

Application sent: 29 March 2019
Email confirmation of receipt of application: 9 April 2019
Follow up queries sent to me: 9 March 2020
Additional requested information received in Ireland (according to Royal Mail recorded deliver): 27 March 2020

Basically they said they did not recognise the format of my Grandad's death certificate (despite it being original) and also needed his marriage certificate. They emailed me on the 9th of March to say they were processing the application and just needed that additional documentation, which I then sent to the specified address towards the end of March.

They never confirmed the receipt of the additional information, so I was wondering, in a normal situation when they need extra information, do they keep application top of the pile and complete it when the additional information is received, or do they effectively put it to the bottom of the pile?

[IrishmanToBe]

Just to follow on from the above, I actually emailed the foreign birth office at the same time as posting above. I wasn't actually expecting a response but I got one this morning. I'll post this up here so you can all see, but it looks like the office is up and running, albeit at low capacity.

Thanks for your email. The documents were received and filed with your application. Our office is now open and we have recently resumed limited processing of applications. Our operating hours and staff numbers are currently reduced for FBR and so we are focusing on finalizing applications which were near completion prior to the office closure. Your application falls under this category. You should expect to hear from us again within the next couple of weeks.

[thecastle2]

That is encouraging that we have official confirmation that the FBR is now operating in a limited capacity.

I'm still waiting, hoping I'm close as well!

Application submitted online: 30 April 2019
Email acknowledging receipt of documentation Balbriggan: 8 May 2019
Confirmation of address email:
Added to FBR:
Congrats email:
FBR certificate received:

[jove42]

Good news! I received my FBR certificate in the mail today. Here's my final timeline.

Date application submitted from US: 29-MAR-2019
Date application received in Balbriggan: 05-APR-2019
Date of address confirmation email: 05-MAR-2020
Date added onto Foreign Birth Register: 06-MAR-2020
Date of congratulations email: 20-JUL-2020
Date certificate received: 29-JUL-2020

So it took just under one year from the time I applied to the time I was registered on the FBR, but then COVID-19 delayed the process for over four months before I received my certificate. Had everything shut down just a day or two later, I might have received the certificate by mid-March.

[jgclancy]

Congrats to all who have been completed lately. Good to see things moving again.!!

jgclancy

[Jordann26]

Just to follow on from the above, I actually emailed the foreign birth office at the same time as posting above. I wasn't actually expecting a response but I got one this morning. I'll post this up here so you can all see, but it looks like the office is up and running, albeit at low capacity.

Thanks for your email. The documents were received and filed with your application. Our office is now open and we have recently resumed limited processing of applications. Our operating hours and staff numbers are currently reduced for FBR and so we are focusing on finalizing applications which were near completion prior to the office closure. Your application falls under this category. You should expect to hear from us again within the next couple of weeks.

What email did you reach out to? I've reached out and haven't heard back. Thanks!

[IrishmanToBe]

I emailed them back on the email address that they used to request the additional documentation from me, so I guess wouldn't be necessarily applicable in your case.

[Blacksheep_jo]

hi guys

Just wondered if anybody is still awaiting their FBR from February 2019?

I had my acknowledgement email on 4th February 2019 but still waiting and I've not heard anything else.

[fitzycyprus]

hi guys

Just wondered if anybody is still awaiting their FBR from February 2019?

I had my acknowledgement email on 4th February 2019 but still waiting and I've not heard anything else.

Hi everyone. I applied for FBR through the Irish Embassy in Cyprus in February 2019. Latest reply on July 30th 2020 from the Embassy:

"Thank you for your email.

Please note that given the current COVID-19 situation the processing of Foreign Birth Registrations is postponed until later in the summer as per the Department's notice https://www.dfa.ie/passports/.

In the meantime, your application is safe and will be processed in due course.

Best regards,

Embassy of Ireland, Nicosia, Cyprus."

[fitzycyprus]

Supposedly FBR application accepted in mid February 2019 (via Paris Embassy) following 6 months of provision of additional/corrected documents ....
Not a peep since, efforts to contact result in advice, still in process
Anyone else in similar situation, 18 month and counting and barely any advice?

I applied for FBR in February 2019 through Irish Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus. Still waiting, and saying the Rosary for success soon.

[jamiepompey]

I have a question. My wife is pregnant and I can see on the website that you are to write to an address they have published. I have written today and sent an extra copy I have of my wife's first trimester scan along with an estimated due date. Will this be enough (along with our marriage certificate) or is there anything specific I am supposed to send? Tried to jump the gun by sending the scan report, so hoping they will accept. I'm a July 2019 applicant btw.

[Blacksheep_jo]

Supposedly FBR application accepted in mid February 2019 (via Paris Embassy) following 6 months of provision of additional/corrected documents ....
Not a peep since, efforts to contact result in advice, still in process
Anyone else in similar situation, 18 month and counting and barely any advice?

I applied for FBR in February 2019 through Irish Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus. Still waiting, and saying the Rosary for success soon.

Good to know I am not on my own. But it is extremely frustrating. Hopefully one of us will hear something soon

[cdfly]

I have a question. My wife is pregnant and I can see on the website that you are to write to an address they have published. I have written today and sent an extra copy I have of my wife's first trimester scan along with an estimated due date. Will this be enough (along with our marriage certificate) or is there anything specific I am supposed to send? Tried to jump the gun by sending the scan report, so hoping they will accept. I'm a July 2019 applicant btw.

For my sister's proof of pregnancy, we just sent a letter that her obgyn had written to her work saying that she should only be doing light lifting and was due on X date. It was just printed off her health website, so not even on letterhead. They seem to have accepted that.
I would mail it to the PO Box, then send an inquiry via the DFR page and specify that you'd like to get in touch with someone regarding your application and the pregnancy. Include your full names and application #s.
I did this and a DFR officer emailed me the next day. He was able to do the initial check and then follow up with the actual application checker. Last week, my sister received an email saying she only had to email her new proof of address (granted she's due in about two weeks, so in a time crunch.) Still waiting on the "official congrats you're added" email, but they expedite quite fast when it comes to pregnancies.

[jamiepompey]

Ah thanks for this. I did send in an inquiry a couple of weeks ago on the website but I must have clicked the wrong form as I haven’t heard from them. My letter to them will arrive in a couple of days maybe I should pre warn them I guess. Will try and message them through the website again. Thanks for the advice.

[LA8887]

My FBR certificate arrived today so I whipped it straight back in the post along with the identity verification form I got a teacher friend to sign over the weekend and my birth certificates, proof of address etc, so hopefully that'll be back in a few weeks. My timeline so far:

FBR (via descent) application submitted online: 15 April 2019
Email acknowledging receipt in Balbriggan: 24 April 2019
Confirmation of address email: 22 July 2020 (I replied same day with photos of new address as these were sufficient but I had also pre-emptively posted some utility bills from my new address the week before)
Added to FBR: 23 July 2020
Congratulations email: 29 July 2020
FBR certificate received: 4 August 2020

Passport online application submitted: 22 July 2020
Supporting documents sent: 4 August 2020
Passport received:
Documents received:

[fvigaud]

Update -
Congrats email: 4 August 2020.
(I don't know date I was entered into FBR)

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

Fvigaud:
Application submitted online: 19 April 2019
App posted (Fedex from Washington, DC to Balbriggan): 22 April 2019
Email acknowledging receipt in Balbriggan: 26 April 2019
Confirmation of address email: 24 July 2020 (I replied nearly instantaneously)
Added to FBR:
Congrats email:
FBR certificate received:

I wonder if certificate printing is on track in these COVID days...

[Real Brexit Irishman]

Update!

Added to FBR August 4th 2020!!! Amazing! Certificate in the post!!! So happy. Guinness tonight to celebrate!

Timeline so far:

Email confirming online application: 13th April 2019.
Documents received email: 29th April 2019.
Confirmation of address email: 27th July 2020.
Added to FBR: August 4th 2020.

(The Real) Brexit Irishman.

Hoping those still waiting get good news soon!!

[cdfly]

When I filed a joint application with pregnant sister, wasn't sure if they would expedite both our applications or only hers... Well, got that answer today- DFA officer confirmed it will be another 12-15 months before I can call myself Irish

Expedited Pregnant Sister
FBR (via descent) application submitted online: 23 February 2020
Email acknowledging receipt in Balbriggan: ...Postal tracking confirmed arrival 14 July 2020
Confirmation of address email: 27 July 2020 - only had to email scanned address proof
Added to FBR: 27 July 2020

Myself
FBR (via descent) application submitted online: 17 February 2020
Email acknowledging receipt in Balbriggan: ...Postal tracking confirmed arrival 14 July 2020.. Since they opened our joint application up, I'm just gonna take that as confirmation
Confirmation of address email:
Added to FBR:

[ripforreallldo]

Finally got through to the web chat to ask about FBR and the status of already submitted applications:

“We don’t know. The ever changing state of the pandemic has made it impossible to give an exact date of when the office will reopen. All we can advise is to keep checking the website for updates”

I know Ireland has entered Phase 4 already so I’m not sure why this seems to be the only office in the country that’s closed I did read an article that said there are currently 27,000 of us in limbo. I will try to stop checking so obsessively and give positive vibes from here on out

[littlerr]

Finally got through to the web chat to ask about FBR and the status of already submitted applications:

“We don’t know. The ever changing state of the pandemic has made it impossible to give an exact date of when the office will reopen. All we can advise is to keep checking the website for updates”

I know Ireland has entered Phase 4 already so I’m not sure why this seems to be the only office in the country that’s closed I did read an article that said there are currently 27,000 of us in limbo. I will try to stop checking so obsessively and give positive vibes from here on out

No. Ireland has not entered Phase 4. It has been pushed back twice now due to a resurgence in cases, especially among young people. The new date for Phase 4 is 31 August.

Priority cases continue to be processed, although there is an increasingly large backlog.