Foreign Birth Registration

[Apple10]

Thanks so much CR!

[EmilyEU]

Here is a little it of good news I received yesterday from FBR Office.

"Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen in 2022."

"During 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs implemented a number of measures to address the volume of FBR applications on hand, with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these applications. These measures, which include increased staffing directed towards the processing of FBR applications, have had a positive impact on the waiting time for applicants. The current waiting time for FBR applications is 11 months from receipt of supporting documents, down from over 2 years in mid 2022."

Kildare street is not a state service...its the polictical reporting site....I would only take confirmation of an update like that unless it was said by the FBR...but as I have said before its up to the gods when some applications will be processed .....and others not


That's great that the FBR service confirmed that in writing. Really positive as we generally don't release any information from state services in Ireland unless its 100% accurate. Roll on November 2023 for me!

Ministers have been mentioning this timeline in the Dáil since the middle of January. KildareStreet is a useful resource for keeping up with the timeline as they tend to say it there before anywhere else!

[TerrorBirdBlues]

Hi All,

New to the forum as I have a question about the FBR. I'm applying for Irish Citizenship through my Irish Grandfather and was wondering: do I have to include his marriage certificate? The FBR Application Form states that it wants a marriage certificate if the person in question was married yet the online application portal only states "if applicable". This then goes on to say to say you can alternatively provide a proof of name change.
So in this context do they only want the marriage certificate as evidence for the name changes?

My surname has remained unchanged through my Grandfather, Father and myself. As such I would suggest that such evidence would be pointless to provide seeing as it is present on all the Birth and Death certificates. Additionally my Grandmother, who he was married to, is named on my Father's birth certificate along with her Maiden name so there is atleast some evidence there even without the marriage certificate.

Bit of a kick in the teeth as I was all ready to go and post everything which has been 100% completed until I saw that bit on the FBR form and panicked realising I thought the marriage certificate was optional. Not helpful that the wording online is different.

[Matt_UK]

Documents received; 14th April 2022.

Email requesting further document and address check; 16th February 2023.

[Valo]

Checking my email everyday at this point for my congrats email.

9th of Jan was my address check. So been just over a month now.

[JackESC]

Hi All,

New to the forum as I have a question about the FBR. I'm applying for Irish Citizenship through my Irish Grandfather and was wondering: do I have to include his marriage certificate? The FBR Application Form states that it wants a marriage certificate if the person in question was married yet the online application portal only states "if applicable". This then goes on to say to say you can alternatively provide a proof of name change.
So in this context do they only want the marriage certificate as evidence for the name changes?

My surname has remained unchanged through my Grandfather, Father and myself. As such I would suggest that such evidence would be pointless to provide seeing as it is present on all the Birth and Death certificates. Additionally my Grandmother, who he was married to, is named on my Father's birth certificate along with her Maiden name so there is atleast some evidence there even without the marriage certificate.

Bit of a kick in the teeth as I was all ready to go and post everything which has been 100% completed until I saw that bit on the FBR form and panicked realising I thought the marriage certificate was optional. Not helpful that the wording online is different.

From what I understand it is not needed if there was no namechange however I did send my Dad's marriage certificate. The reason for this is because we already had it and he did not mind me sending it.. I would recommend sending it if you can get hold of it easily as it is just another way to proof the link between you and your Irish grandparent. Good luck!!

[Poppy_19]

Checking my email everyday at this point for my congrats email.

9th of Jan was my address check. So been just over a month now.

I'm exactly the same. My address check was 22nd of December. So its been about 8 weeks for me. Apparently it's between 8 and 12 weeks at the moment according to another group I follow. But I can't help but worry

[TerrorBirdBlues]

From what I understand it is not needed if there was no namechange however I did send my Dad's marriage certificate. The reason for this is because we already had it and he did not mind me sending it.. I would recommend sending it if you can get hold of it easily as it is just another way to proof the link between you and your Irish grandparent. Good luck!!

I might just risk it and send it off without the marriage certificate. To cut a long story short my Father is estranged from my family after divorcing my Mother and it was hard enough to get a hold of a notarised copy of his passport. Don't particularly want to go down the route of hassling him to find out my Grandparent's marriage particulars to get the certificate.
Everything else is there in good form so I imagine it depends on how strict the agent who handles my case fancies being on the day.

I'll make sure to update the thread with my progress just so others who are in a similar situation may see if it ended up okay in the end.

Thanks for the reply

[JackESC]

From what I understand it is not needed if there was no namechange however I did send my Dad's marriage certificate. The reason for this is because we already had it and he did not mind me sending it.. I would recommend sending it if you can get hold of it easily as it is just another way to proof the link between you and your Irish grandparent. Good luck!!

I might just risk it and send it off without the marriage certificate. To cut a long story short my Father is estranged from my family after divorcing my Mother and it was hard enough to get a hold of a notarised copy of his passport. Don't particularly want to go down the route of hassling him to find out my Grandparent's marriage particulars to get the certificate.
Everything else is there in good form so I imagine it depends on how strict the agent who handles my case fancies being on the day.

I'll make sure to update the thread with my progress just so others who are in a similar situation may see if it ended up okay in the end.

Thanks for the reply

Aaah, yes I see! It can be a tricky situation sometimes, can't it? My dad is one of 7 and no one had the relevant documents (or info) for my Irish grandma hahaha so I applied for everything online and luckily it all came back! I'm sure you'll be fine, good luck

[lukedt1]

Checking my email everyday at this point for my congrats email.

9th of Jan was my address check. So been just over a month now.

I'm exactly the same. My address check was 22nd of December. So its been about 8 weeks for me. Apparently it's between 8 and 12 weeks at the moment according to another group I follow. But I can't help but worry

I am in the same position, I got an address confirmation on 11/01/23 but didn't hear anything else. So have been nervous/worried. I spoke to someone at the FBR and they said it can take 1-1.5 months usually. That it might be routinely and randomly stopped and checked. But then I spoke to another person who checked and said the application had been approved on 11/01/23 but because of more staff and more applications being approved there is a delay in printing. They will only email confirmation once the certificate has been printed and posted.

Hope this helps you both!

[JohnL]

Address confirmation email received this morning! I'm amazed - things have really sped up. I am now cautiously optimistic.

Congratulations to everyone moving forward and thanks to those posting here with details and info - I have scoured and read these updates every day since I applied. Grateful to this forum and its members.

Application Based On: Irish born Grandparent
Applied Online Date: 20/06/21
Application received Date: 29/03/22 (Docs weren't mailed to DFA until 20/03/22)
Acknowledgement Date: 08/04/22
Address Confirmation email: 16/02/23
Second Letter: Pending
Approval: Pending
Date of Ceremony: Pending

[Mr_Knight]

Hi All,

New to the forum as I have a question about the FBR. I'm applying for Irish Citizenship through my Irish Grandfather and was wondering: do I have to include his marriage certificate? The FBR Application Form states that it wants a marriage certificate if the person in question was married yet the online application portal only states "if applicable". This then goes on to say to say you can alternatively provide a proof of name change.
So in this context do they only want the marriage certificate as evidence for the name changes?

My surname has remained unchanged through my Grandfather, Father and myself. As such I would suggest that such evidence would be pointless to provide seeing as it is present on all the Birth and Death certificates. Additionally my Grandmother, who he was married to, is named on my Father's birth certificate along with her Maiden name so there is atleast some evidence there even without the marriage certificate.

Bit of a kick in the teeth as I was all ready to go and post everything which has been 100% completed until I saw that bit on the FBR form and panicked realising I thought the marriage certificate was optional. Not helpful that the wording online is different.

If you are able to provide marriage certificates just send them anyway. It helps prove a link between generations. Shows people's ages at time of marriage and matches birth certificates. Also shows father of married couples too. It is a good document to include regardless of name changes.

[ceylan1987]

Reply - I ordered all marriage certificates/death certificates for my irish grandparent online and over the phone if you know DOB's date of marraige full names etc you should have no issue in ordering the documents you need to send in. These will be official copies.

[EmilyEU]

From what I understand it is not needed if there was no namechange however I did send my Dad's marriage certificate. The reason for this is because we already had it and he did not mind me sending it.. I would recommend sending it if you can get hold of it easily as it is just another way to proof the link between you and your Irish grandparent. Good luck!!

I might just risk it and send it off without the marriage certificate. To cut a long story short my Father is estranged from my family after divorcing my Mother and it was hard enough to get a hold of a notarised copy of his passport. Don't particularly want to go down the route of hassling him to find out my Grandparent's marriage particulars to get the certificate.
Everything else is there in good form so I imagine it depends on how strict the agent who handles my case fancies being on the day.

I'll make sure to update the thread with my progress just so others who are in a similar situation may see if it ended up okay in the end.

Thanks for the reply

I strongly recommend to submit all marraiage and divorce certs from your parents and or grandparents...if you can get them from the registry office in UK/Wales or ireland hse.ie/certficates.......they will call to look for them and this could delay your application!

[JohnL]

Address confirmation email received this morning! I'm amazed - things have really sped up. I am now cautiously optimistic.

Congratulations to everyone moving forward and thanks to those posting here with details and info - I have scoured and read these updates every day since I applied. Grateful to this forum and its members.

Application Based On: Irish born Grandparent
Applied Online Date: 20/06/21
Application received Date: 29/03/22 (Docs weren't mailed to DFA until 20/03/22)
Acknowledgement Date: 08/04/22
Address Confirmation email: 16/02/23
Second Letter: Pending
Approval: Pending

I am gobsmacked! Right about an hour after I got my address check email this morning and answered back to confirm there was no change, I got an email back saying that my application has been approved and that my documents and certificate will be sent by registered post. Following that was a tracking number and confirmation that this is currently taking a number of weeks.

Grateful to my ancestors and relatives for the blessing of my culture and heritage. I can't believe I'm actually writing this post! Shed a few tears today.

Application Based On: Irish born Grandparent
Applied Online Date: 20/06/21
Application received Date: 29/03/22 (Docs weren't mailed to DFA until 20/03/22)
Acknowledgement Date: 08/04/22
Address Confirmation email: 16/02/23
Approval: 16/02/23
Docs and FBR cert received: pending

[AussieBiscuithead]

Hello everyone,

Long time reader of this thread, discovered it after doing google research about applying for Irish Citizenship via grandparents.

My Story so far:
I was born in Australia to parents who were born in Britain, which meant I had dual citizenship at birth. This made it very handy when I relocated to London 10 years ago. Not having to worry about visas and sponsorship.

After Brexit and started dating an Italian, I decided to apply for Irish Citizenship via decent. My mum easily got her Irish passport since she is already a citizen, in fact she has three citizenships. After queueing for 1 and a half hours at board control at Barcelona airport and watching my Italian GF go through in 1 minute, and she had to wait with the luggage, re-enforced why i applied.

I applied and got my documents together, during covid, finally got all the documents (I thought) together and send them early Feb 2022, I received my documents received confirmation 5th of April last year.

I was thinking it would take 2 years after reading the website and, calling asking how long it would take (even though you're not meant too). I then googled and come across this thread and watched as person after person submitted their timelines and seen the pattern of milestones.

Since I had received the conformation letter in early April 2022, I wasn't expecting an email from FRB until March.

Too my surprise, Wednesday about midday London time, I received an email from someone at the FRB. I would admit, my heart rate jumped and my apple watch informed me my BPM had gone above 120.

I opened the email, started reading, i quickly realised i had missed some documentation, kept reading, notice 28 day to return the document or the application get delayed.

Four key documents, one was easy, and yet somehow i over looked it, recent bill or council letter with my name and address. Next three were a slight problem, since i didn't have all the answers and i knew some of the documentation would be in australia with other family at my mum's level. I quickly message my parents telling them i needed the following, Certified copy of Govt issued photo ID, CIVIL marriage certificate, and grandpa's death certificate.

Certified copy of Govt issued photo ID would be easy, i'm going back to australia for the first time in 5 years.

Other two documents i was unsure about, Civil marriage certificate and death certificate.

Death Certificate was with my auntie who was about to go on a two week trip, and will send it over when she it back, my mum managed to get her while on the way to the airport.

Civil Marriage certificate, going to have to order from the South Australian Govt, who know how long that will take and if there is an express ordering process that costs more than the normal process.

Woke up this morning with message from my mum, she has ordered express processing, 1 business day. She will have all the documents next week, I land in Aus Thursday.

I also emailed the lady at the FRB, saying i won't have the documents within the 28 day limit and how long will my application take. I got a response this morning saying i can ignore the 28th deadline and they understand things take time. When they receive the documents, it will enter the queue for verification and stipulated that "will take a while".

Timeline:
Application Submitted: 21/02/2022
Application for Foreign Birth Received Email: 05/04/2022
Request for additional documentation: 15/02/2023

Best,
AussieBiscuithead

[petergarner]

I got the email this morning but I'm not clear on the wording. "your application for Irish citizenship through entry on the Foreign Births Register has been successful" Does this mean I am now an Irish citizen? Or is there another step? Also for the passport, is this basically automatic or are there other hurdles to jump to get this? thanks!

[Mr_Knight]

I got the email this morning but I'm not clear on the wording. "your application for Irish citizenship through entry on the Foreign Births Register has been successful" Does this mean I am now an Irish citizen? Or is there another step? Also for the passport, is this basically automatic or are there other hurdles to jump to get this? thanks!

Yes, you are a fellow citizen of Ireland. Congratulations. When you receive your documents back it there is a letter that tells you what to do.

[petergarner]

thank you Mr Knight

[SPD78]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/22 application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

[EmilyEU]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/22 application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

Could you please check your dates as in the years? as it looks like your application was submitted around the time mine was and also you have a below average timeline with only 9-10 months wait. Thanks.

[binky62]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/22 application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

The 19/4/22, that came up fast! This is also the exact same day that my documents were confirmed as received. Will be interested to see if I get anything through this week from them.

[SPD78]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/22 application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

Could you please check your dates as in the years? as it looks like your application was submitted around the time mine was and also you have a below average timeline with only 9-10 months wait. Thanks.

Those dates are correct and just under 10 months wait for accepting my documents to address confirmation

[SPD78]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/22 application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

The 19/4/22, that came up fast! This is also the exact same day that my documents were confirmed as received. Will be interested to see if I get anything through this week from them.

Good luck. Hopefully you do.

[morgendorffer]

Gah. I'm starting to get anxious seeing address confirmations for applications received after mine.
Mine was received 21/03/2022... hopefully I won't have too much longer to wait.