Foreign Birth Registration

[Psteve4]

Hey everyone I’m new to this forum and wanted to post my dates to see if anyone is before or after me in the queue and where they are with the application?

Submitted online application: 05/04/22
Request for more documents: 15/02/23
Request for doctor referral for my Irish relative (she doesn’t have a valid passport): 04/10/23
Confirm of address for relatives ID send back and told I will be contacted by officer: 30/01/24
Confirmation of address for my documents: ?
Successful application: ?

I really hope I will obtain this in 2024..

Best of luck to everyone

[bell123321]

Hi all, sorry another question.

I have now paid and will be getting an accountant friend to be my witness of me signing the application and to sign for the photos, and photocopy of my passport. He works for a big UK company but does not have a stamp or business card, he is able to print on company letter head which the application form says is acceptable instead of a stamp.

If anyone has done this method what does he need to say on the company letter head? Sorry if this is a silly question I just want to ensure I get it all correct hopefully first time.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Witness should state qualification as a witness, that you are not related, how long you have known each other , the photographs are of the applicant and that he has witnessed you sign the application.
Make sure it has work address and phone #s. Include any other phone # available as well.
I helped a cousin and she used an accountant as well. He used the letter method since no stamp/card.
He also included a copy of his Degree in Accounting which was nice.
I also had the witness notarize the letter but I tell people to notarize everything they can.
jgclancy

Thank you for your help!

[flaggaz]

Update on my application for my 2 kids:

Online Application: Jun 12, 2022
Documents Received: Nov 14, 2022 (thank you US post office for the 5 month delay in shipping my documents!)
Request for additional documents (they didn't like my original witness): Sep 1, 2023
Address confirmation: Jan 31, 2024

Judging by other posts that means the application should be hopefully approved soon!

[coastal]

Does anyone know the typical time frame after submitting documents noting that one is an expectant parent. I have until August and it has only been a week since I sent it over. Want to know when I should start rattling the tree. Thanks.

[coastal]

I applied this summer and about a month later I found out I was pregnant and just finally got around to sending in a note from my doctor to the FBR urgent queries address. They confirmed my application will be sent along for processing. I guess my question is since it the baby will likely be born after I’m added to the FBR without it being expedited (due date not until May) will they even bother to expedite it? Just curious what others expectant timelines are for approval when the due date is so far off.

Have you had an update? I'm in the same boat one year removed from you and just want to know what to expect. Thanks

[meancat]

Firstly thank you all for the great help and
advice. Am applying due to a long passed away Irish paternal grandmother. Have gathered all certificates but I haven’t been in contact with my father for 20 years. How do I get round supplying his state issued ID ???

[jgclancy]

Firstly thank you all for the great help and
advice. Am applying due to a long passed away Irish paternal grandmother. Have gathered all certificates but I haven’t been in contact with my father for 20 years. How do I get round supplying his state issued ID ???

I believe you'll need to furnish a letter explaining your situation and have it notarized. Better would be a sworn affidavit using a lawyer. They are used to dealing with this situation where people are estranged from a parent or have no idea if they are even alive.

jgclancy

[meancat]

Firstly thank you all for the great help and
advice. Am applying due to a long passed away Irish paternal grandmother. Have gathered all certificates but I haven’t been in contact with my father for 20 years. How do I get round supplying his state issued ID ???

I believe you'll need to furnish a letter explaining your situation and have it notarized. Better would be a sworn affidavit using a lawyer. They are used to dealing with this situation where people are estranged from a parent or have no idea if they are even alive.

jgclancy

Hoped there was some sort of work around. Thanks for the reply

[deeeee]

I have finally been able to send off my updated South African birth certificate. Update on timeline:

Application Dates:
Application submitted: 14 - 09 - 2022
Documents received: 17 - 10 - 2022
Additional document request: 29 - 08 - 2023
Additional documents posted: 06 - 02 - 2024
Additional documents received: ?

Previous post continued - I almost forgot the important information...

Application Dates:
Application submitted: 14 - 09 - 2022
Documents received: 17 - 10 - 2022
Additional document request: 29 - 08 - 2023

Now I have a 20-30 week wait for the birth certificate from SA Home Affairs, although I am thinking longer as it took my wife over a year for hers, and then the estimated 5 months backlog timeline for FBR. So I will probably update next in 2024/2025

Cheers for now

[Ironlung]

Application submitted: 17/01/21
Documents received: 19/02/23 (pandemic, delay in gathering docs etc)
Additional docs request: 25/10/23 (due to me and witness signing with different dates)
Address check: 26/1/23
Congratulations email: 8/1/23

[Ironlung]

Application submitted: 17/01/21
Documents received: 19/02/23 (pandemic, delay in gathering docs etc)
Additional docs request: 25/10/23 (due to me and witness signing with different dates)
Address check: 26/1/23
Congratulations email: 8/2/23

(I put a wrong date in my previous post)

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Hey everyone I’m new to this forum and wanted to post my dates to see if anyone is before or after me in the queue and where they are with the application?

We have a massive crowdsourced spreadsheet full of data like this. See the link in my signature below. Feel free to add yourself.

Applications are running at about 8-9 months to address check and another few weeks to receive the cert. However, once there's a request for additional documents, that timeline goes out the window and it's anyone's guess.

[GoingBackBackToEire]

There's a bit of a debate on the IrishCitizenship subreddit, with some people (maybe just one person) claiming that marriage certificates are fully optional unless they're needed to demonstrate a name change.

This is counter to what the application says. It's very clear that all the documents are required, and you only don't have to send a marriage certificate if the person wasn't married.

Still, it seems that at least some applications are going through and getting approved without marriage certificates for paternal relatives.

I'm curious what your experience has been. If you didn't submit a marriage certificate for your paternal parent or grandparent, did your application go through without a hitch or did you get the dreaded "additional documents" email?
I wonder if this is an internal policy change that's not reflected in the application form, or if it is just a few that slipped by.

[jgclancy]

There's a bit of a debate on the IrishCitizenship subreddit, with some people (maybe just one person) claiming that marriage certificates are fully optional unless they're needed to demonstrate a name change.

This is counter to what the application says. It's very clear that all the documents are required, and you only don't have to send a marriage certificate if the person wasn't married.

Still, it seems that at least some applications are going through and getting approved without marriage certificates for paternal relatives.

I'm curious what your experience has been. If you didn't submit a marriage certificate for your paternal parent or grandparent, did your application go through without a hitch or did you get the dreaded "additional documents" email?
I wonder if this is an internal policy change that's not reflected in the application form, or if it is just a few that slipped by.

The application instructions clearly ask for them.Once again it is the problem that people have no idea how they decide things in that office and there is no transparency or clear instructions.
I've seen people get by without a marriage certificate while others get asked for divorce papers. Even though no name change occurred.
Since we have no way of knowing how they decide things it is better to include the marriage certificates since they MIGHT ask for them as additional documents which will set back your application processing for months.
If time is of no importance then it won't matter but if you wish it completed as fast as possible then include them or take the risk of delay.

They have many other things that are unclear. The different instructions for the photos is the most annoying. Instructions say witness signs, dates & stamps (or card etc) while on the application it states in Section E the witness signs, adds application # and stamps (or card etc). Which is it?
Psst--add it all --witness signs & dates & app # & stamp(or card etc).

For a government process that is fairly important the shortcomings in the process are unfortunate.
Granted, they are getting through the stacks but better instructions and more transparency are needed.

jgclancy

[huw-mungus]

This forum has been the source of much support, consolation (and sometimes anxiety seeing other people's timelines!) but today I finally post having received my Congratulations Email. I did a join application with both my brothers, our link was my grandfather from my mother's side, so was born in Ireland but for whom is estranged and we have no death certificate/don't know the place of death (he may still be alive but he'd be about 120...)

So, my timeline was as below.

Online applications submitted: 30/03/2021
Documents received: 17/08/2021 (delay in sending due to COVID)
Further document request: 5/01/2023 (they had lost my mother's birth certificate - sent another)
Further document request: 4/09/2023 (2 ID documents had expired over the processing time, so had to send new notarised copies)
Further document request: 6/11/2023 (proof of no death cert of grandfather)
Address confirmation email: 19/12/2023 (for 1/3 applications)
Address confirmation email: 19/12/2023 (for 2/3 applications)
Congratulations email: 22/01/2023 (for 1/3 applications - mine)
Congratulations email: 22/01/2023 (for 2/3 applications - TBC)

Thank you all! I will now hopefully move to the first time passport applicant's thread.

Out of curiosity, did you include a sworn affidavit of parental estrangement in place of a death certificate or a photocopy of your grandfather’s ID?

[rohansjedi]

Adding a timeline for everyone's reference as I helped my mother submit her FBR

Submitted: 1 January 2023
Approval e-mail sent: 16 October 2023

All in all about a 10 month processing time. No follow ups were necessary for address confirmation, etc. All handled via solicitor so not sure if that sped up the process or not.

Sarzone, I think on the 2023 timeline you list your application as naturalisation by descent? Forgive me, and please ignore this question if intrusive, is that an application by association (3 or 5 years residency plus great-grandfather documents) or something else?

Yes, I want to learn more about that too!
According to the Immigration website, it appears like it's only a reduced residency requirement for naturalization unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Yes...I've posted about 2 different applications. My mother's (FBR) and my own (naturalization by descent at great grandparent level) Both of my mother's grandparents were natural born Irish citizens, and by law, my grandmother (mother's mother) was Irish by birth, despite never having applied for citizenship herself, since she was born abroad to 2 natural born Irish citizens.

For mine - citzenship by descent - it is basically a workaround to the residency requirement in the application because of my Irish heritage, but it requires additional items that I believe the residency application does not. I have been working with a solicitor to help my case since it's at great-grandparent level instead of grandparent. But I have additional circumstances - I studied abroad at University College Dublin so I have previously lived in Ireland for some time (though I don't currently), and I have a very large community of friends there who have graciously provided references etc. for me. At this descent level, it's advised to add anything possible to the application that will show connections to Ireland, so I included pictures and passport stamps of my visits there (I travel to Ireland very frequently...1-2x a year), along with proof of my membership in Irish American societies, my participation in Irish history and Irish language courses, and of course my college transcripts to prove I went to UCD. I also had to provide the standard birth marriage and death certificates for everyone in my lineage dating back to and including my Irish great grandparents, minimum of 3 references from Irish citizens, and a personal statement of why I want to be an Irish citizen. My solicitor thinks I have a very strong case, but of course, it's still pending, so I hope the Irish government agrees!

Does that help? Happy to answer any more questions if it's helpful.

Hi sarzone - I would love to hear an update on your case if you have one? I'm working on an application via the same route. I saw your timeline post where you had made it to e-vetting, which seemed promising?

[jb425]

Received my congratulations email yesterday after nearly exactly 9 months. So happy to be Irish. Now onto the passport! Does anyone know if a bank statement and credit card statement will suffice for proof of address? I live with my dad so can’t provide utility bills.

Documents received: 22/05/23
Address check: 30/01/24
Congratulations: 9/2/24

[Ironlung]

Does anyone know if a bank statement and credit card statement will suffice for proof of address? I live with my dad so can’t provide utility bills.

Congratulations! And yes, they should be fine.

[EmilyEU]

Hi all, I'm on month 2 of request for additional documentation. I had to resubmit my entire application because they wanted to see my mothers I.d instead of fathers. I'm applying on my maternal grandfather. I'm completely irish on both sides. It's just my parents and myself + sibling were born in the UK. I've lived in Ireland since 2002. At what point can I communicate with team 3 to get an update? If that's worth it.
I've been in contact before with generic responses given...also I applied with my brother who didn't submit the required updated passport photos. I replied to the team 3 at fbr stating that they didn't need to proceed with his application, he was pausing it. I submitted all my side completely correct with appropriate witnessing and photos. Is there any chance my brothers lack of photos could slow things down? With thanks!

[IntravenousTea]

Hello everyone, been watching this forum for a few months and finally decided to make an account to say hi (and get myself on that snazzy looking spreadsheet I can see how handy it is for a gist on timespans. )

Application date: 09/07/2023
Documents accepted/received by post: 18/07/2023

Congrats to anyone getting their certificates!

[Nub40]

Hi I just got the relevant paperwork together.

"Grandfather's" Irish birth certificate, English death certificate, and English marriage certificate to my grandmother.

My mother's birth certificate and death certificate.

My birth certificate with my mother's maiden name

However, although my mother is given my grandfather's surname, there is no father listed on her birth certificate!

I suppose that is the end of my Irish journey?

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Hello everyone, been watching this forum for a few months and finally decided to make an account to say hi (and get myself on that snazzy looking spreadsheet I can see how handy it is for a gist on timespans. )

Welcome, and I have added you to the spreadsheet.

You all are welcome to add yourselves to the spreadsheet. See the link below in my signature.

[IntravenousTea]

Welcome, and I have added you to the spreadsheet.

You all are welcome to add yourselves to the spreadsheet. See the link below in my signature.

Hi & thanks!

Hi I just got the relevant paperwork together.

"Grandfather's" Irish birth certificate, English death certificate, and English marriage certificate to my grandmother.

My mother's birth certificate and death certificate.

My birth certificate with my mother's maiden name

However, although my mother is given my grandfather's surname, there is no father listed on her birth certificate!

I suppose that is the end of my Irish journey?

I hesitate to give advice beyond my realms of expertise, so hopefully some more learned advice will come to you.
But if I were in your position, I would put my application to the side for a moment and investigate further into your mother's birth certificate missing her father's entry with continued gusto. I know from looking at old census records just how many mistakes and/or omissions have happened over the centuries that really make a papertrail harder - or perhaps there is much more to the story! I would throw my efforts into discovering the truth and be armed with the knowledge for your future journey, perhaps via a geneology site or otherwise.

[jro86]

Online application: 14/8/22
I didn't send the documents until March 23.
Application received: 27/3/23
Address check: 14/11/23
Congratulations: 12/2/24

Now the wait for the cert then on to applying for a passport:)

[eastern1977]

Encouraging to see other people get outcomes.

21 June 2022 application lodged online

11 March 2023 further information requested

24 March 2023 further information posted.

Hopefully it wont be too much longer.