Foreign Birth Registration?

[clongwill]

I recently submitted my Foreign Birth Registration application, from the USA, to Balbriggan. The Irish government’s website regarding the application process notes that if you’re an expectant parent, you should note that with your application. I am an expectant parent and so noted such with my application.

Any idea about whether expectant parent applications are prioritied or otherwise typically processed faster than 6 months? Because I’m claiming Irish citizenship through my grandparent, the only way for my child to be eligible for Irish citizenship is if I’m a citizen by the time the child is born. The baby’s due date is in May, so I’m wondering if there’s any hope for my application to be complete by then.

Any experiences from others who noted expectancy parent status on their application would be appreciated.

Thanks a million.

I posted on this last week, as I too am pregnant, and after checking the status of my just over 5 month old application whilst also mentioning my pregnancy (more as I was worried about having my documents for the birth - I've lived here all my life and my husband is born and bred Irish so no worries with the babies citizenship!), the guy I spoke to over email asked me for a doctors letter with a confirmation of due date and he would expedite.

Definitely send that on as well with the reference number of your application.

Congrats and good luck with your pregnancy (and application)!

[james_mcfc]

Hello all,

Chap from the postman to sign for a special delivery from Dublin!

Date on my certificate was 17-12-18 and jsut received in post today 2-2-19. This takes me just under the six months and I had a few issues in between with veryfiying documents.

Had asked for a passport application form during my FBR process and I also got one in the envelope with my certificate and supporting documents.

I’m going to go into Glasgow this week and get my passport completed. I had read previous regarding the photos being a different size required for an Irish passport could someone please advise?

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask and hopefully I can help.

Thanks.

Hi,

If you're going to Glasgow, I would recommend going to SnappySnaps in Byres Road, close to Hillhead Subway station who can provide the correct size photos for your passport. You can have your photos done in black and white or colour. I think it was £8.99 for the required 4 photos/

I would also recommend using the Passport Express service at the West Nile Street, Glasgow post office which is one of only two post office in the UK (the other is is Liverpool) which provides this service.

They will check your application to make sure everything is correct before sending it off.
The cost of the service is £11 over and above the £70 fee. This includes sending the passport back to you along with all the documents you submitted with your application. Your application and documents are sent directly to Cork for processing and not London as previously. I was advised by the PO clerk in Glasgow that this process would take 3 weeks- I asked if this lead time included first applications and was told yes, it did.
I submitted my application on the 21 Jan - and at the moment, the web passport tracking app (https://passporttracking.dfa.ie/) says that my passport should be issued on the 15th Feb. Fingers crossed.

Regards,
Zippy12

Hi, how long did it take for your application to appear on the tracker? Sent my passport application off using the express service at the Liverpool post office yesterday and wondering how long I’ll be waiting to see it!

[zippy12]

Hi, how long did it take for your application to appear on the tracker? Sent my passport application off using the express service at the Liverpool post office yesterday and wondering how long I’ll be waiting to see it!

Hi James,

I submitted my application at the post office on Monday 21 Jan, and it didn't appear on the tracker until Friday 25th Jan. Then, when I put in the tracking number, I was asked a few questions about the type of application it was before it returned the status as "received" and also said "The estimated* issue date for your Passport is: 15/02/2019. When I checked on 31 Jan, the status was still "received".

However on Tuesday of this week (5th Feb) when I checked the status, it had changed to "Your application is being processed" The estimated issue date is still 15/02/2019. Hopefully it's still on track for that date. So, based on my experience, by Tues or Wed next week, you should be able to see your application on the tracking system.
Good luck with your application!
Regards,
zippy12

[james_mcfc]

Hi, how long did it take for your application to appear on the tracker? Sent my passport application off using the express service at the Liverpool post office yesterday and wondering how long I’ll be waiting to see it!

Hi James,

I submitted my application at the post office on Monday 21 Jan, and it didn't appear on the tracker until Friday 25th Jan. Then, when I put in the tracking number, I was asked a few questions about the type of application it was before it returned the status as "received" and also said "The estimated* issue date for your Passport is: 15/02/2019. When I checked on 31 Jan, the status was still "received".

However on Tuesday of this week (5th Feb) when I checked the status, it had changed to "Your application is being processed" The estimated issue date is still 15/02/2019. Hopefully it's still on track for that date. So, based on my experience, by Tues or Wed next week, you should be able to see your application on the tracking system.
Good luck with your application!
Regards,
zippy12

Thanks very much for the info, I’ll keep an eye on it!

[theonlyh]

Hi,

I have been reading this post for several months now and thought it was my turn to reply.

I live in the UK so sent my documents to London on Saturday 6 October 2018. I was getting impatient few weeks ago, so I emailed for an update and got this reply....

‘Your application was received on the 08/10/18 and sent to Dublin for processing on the 06/12/18. The current processing time is 6 months.’

Does that mean 6 months from December or 6 months from when I sent it? Is there anyone else who sent theirs the same time as me to london- how is your application going?

Thanks

[spiderplants]

Hi,

I have been reading this post for several months now and thought it was my turn to reply.

I live in the UK so sent my documents to London on Saturday 6 October 2018. I was getting impatient few weeks ago, so I emailed for an update and got this reply....

‘Your application was received on the 08/10/18 and sent to Dublin for processing on the 06/12/18. The current processing time is 6 months.’

Does that mean 6 months from December or 6 months from when I sent it? Is there anyone else who sent theirs the same time as me to london- how is your application going?

Thanks

Hi

Mine was sent to London and I received my acknowledgement of receipt in mid-Sept. I've heard nothing since I didn't plan to email until closer to the 6 month mark as they do warn about the time. And, following this thread, many did seem to be posting that they'd received their certificates pretty muc bang on that time limit. I think you've received a standard reply although them being sent to Dublin is encouraging, I think.

I'd be interested to know if there are any stats on speed of progress and contacting the Embassy. It is very frustrating but I'm trying to remain patient. All will be fine in the long run.

[nic123]

I called the Dublin office Wednesday to get an update on my application (June 25th 2018).

The guy was very helpful, surprised I was still waiting. Checked and said 90% sure it's all ok. Gone for approval but with the move & how many applications there's big delays. Said if I hadn't heard within 2 weeks to call back. Also said I would get an email first before certificate printed & documents returned to me.
He also said if I was applying now it's a 12 month process due to the amount of applications.

So instead of waiting for the postman I'm checking my email regularly!!

[Michael123]

I called the Dublin office Wednesday to get an update on my application (June 25th 2018).

The guy was very helpful, surprised I was still waiting. Checked and said 90% sure it's all ok. Gone for approval but with the move & how many applications there's big delays. Said if I hadn't heard within 2 weeks to call back. Also said I would get an email first before certificate printed & documents returned to me.
He also said if I was applying now it's a 12 month process due to the amount of applications.

So instead of waiting for the postman I'm checking my email regularly!!

Conflicting information about the email. Did the man you spoke with have a french accent?

Thanks

[nic123]

Conflicting information about the email. Did the man you spoke with have a french accent?

Thanks
[/quote]

Hi Michael...no this guy was Irish. Explained the new system and how they have taken on lots more staff too. They print the certificates themselves.
Yes, he definitely said they send a "Congratulations" email when approved.

Just more waiting now.

[spelga51]

In the meanwhile, I've got physical copies of the Irish passport form ready to be completed when I finally get my FBR certificate. I'm planning ahead. Glasgow has a fast-processing office so hopefully it won't take too long to get my Irish passport. It's just a waiting game now.

Spelga51, how long did your passport application form take to arrive from when you requested it online?

Hi Stephen, sorry for late reply. I emailed DFA website and nothing happened, so I called the Edinburgh Embassy. They sent me two paper copies by second-class post - it took about a week to arrive.

Can't believe they're saying 12 months (!) now to process...

[Court2]

From most posts here of those who have completed the process, it is hit and miss who gets a 'Congrats' email and who doesn't.

I saw today on Instagram under tag 'Irishcitizen' that someone who applied just days before me in September 2018 has a few days ago received their certificate. They did not receive an email and I am still waiting for either to appear.

Bit of a lottery this whole process!

[Michael123]

From most posts here of those who have completed the process, it is hit and miss who gets a 'Congrats' email and who doesn't.

I saw today on Instagram under tag 'Irishcitizen' that someone who applied just days before me in September 2018 has a few days ago received their certificate. They did not receive an email and I am still waiting for either to appear.

Bit of a lottery this whole process!

Myself, my cousin and Liam all applied in Aug!! WTF?!?

[Sulla]

Michael 123,

It's getting frustrating for me too. Feb 10th will mark one month since I received the citizenship email and I still have not received the FBR certificate or any other communication. I am hoping it arrives swiftly next week once people come back to work following Chinese New Year.
I am actually just about to start the Turkish citizenship acquisition process as part of their CBI scheme. I need some of the documents that the DFA currently have to do that. For the UK certificates, I can easily order duplicates, but for the Chinese certificate I have (marriage) I have to wait for the original to return. Quite annoying.

I hope everyone receives some good news soon.

[shanerjb18s]

I recently submitted my Foreign Birth Registration application, from the USA, to Balbriggan. The Irish government’s website regarding the application process notes that if you’re an expectant parent, you should note that with your application. I am an expectant parent and so noted such with my application.

Any idea about whether expectant parent applications are prioritied or otherwise typically processed faster than 6 months? Because I’m claiming Irish citizenship through my grandparent, the only way for my child to be eligible for Irish citizenship is if I’m a citizen by the time the child is born. The baby’s due date is in May, so I’m wondering if there’s any hope for my application to be complete by then.

Any experiences from others who noted expectancy parent status on their application would be appreciated.

Thanks a million.

I posted on this last week, as I too am pregnant, and after checking the status of my just over 5 month old application whilst also mentioning my pregnancy (more as I was worried about having my documents for the birth - I've lived here all my life and my husband is born and bred Irish so no worries with the babies citizenship!), the guy I spoke to over email asked me for a doctors letter with a confirmation of due date and he would expedite.

Definitely send that on as well with the reference number of your application.

Congrats and good luck with your pregnancy (and application)!

Thanks a million for the helpful responses, Clongwill, Michael123, and Upliam, very much appreciated.

So, I called the FBR office. to ask what, if any, special steps I should take given expectant parent status. I was taken a bit off guard when someone answered the phone on Iiterally the second ring — not used to that type of quick response! The guy who answered was very helpful. He looked up my application and said that it’s already been sent to management for final approval. He said that given the baby’s due date (about 3 months from now) there was no need for further steps, as things should be complete well before then. Not sure whether I got super lucky or if the new system is processing things must faster, but I was very surprised — and happy — to hear that the steps leading up to management review took about a week. Wanted to share with others in case helpful with respect to the new system. Of course, we’ll see how long the management approval takes.

Best of luck to everyone.

[Michael123]

Michael 123,

It's getting frustrating for me too. Feb 10th will mark one month since I received the citizenship email and I still have not received the FBR certificate or any other communication. I am hoping it arrives swiftly next week once people come back to work following Chinese New Year.
I am actually just about to start the Turkish citizenship acquisition process as part of their CBI scheme. I need some of the documents that the DFA currently have to do that. For the UK certificates, I can easily order duplicates, but for the Chinese certificate I have (marriage) I have to wait for the original to return. Quite annoying.

I hope everyone receives some good news soon.

Some people collect stamps, others collect coins even military memorabilia.... you are collecting passports! Lol.

[Sulla]

Micheal 123,

I am not quite a collector of passports. Currently, I only hold two (UK and St. Kitts & Nevis), but I should be able to add another two in 2019 (Irish and Turkish) provided the DFA return my documentation and FBR certificate sometime soon! If Brexit turns sour enough to instigate a fracturing of the UK and Scotland obtains independence, I would be happy to add that passport too. However, I do not consider that a likely eventuality. Nor would it be desirable (in my view) for the future of Scotland.

I operate on the assumption that you can never have too many passports. The only passports I would not seek (if I had the opportunity) would be those that do not recognize dual nationality or those that impose onerous extraterritorial tax obligations on citizens. I would dearly love to obtain Thai or Indian citizenship - for purposes of investment ease - but those states exclude dual nationality. The US passport, while good for travel is handicapped by FACTA compliance requirements and the overseas citizenship tax burden imposed. CRS is quite bad enough. I don't want to have to deal with FACTA. Most of my US citizen friends and colleagues have either renounced or are trying their best to accomplish this. The IRS is a real thorn in their side for most of them.

May our long wait soon come to a happy end.

[Michael123]

Sulla:
I was joking about the collection. If Scotland ever did become independent and allowed for citizenship by decent, I would also apply. Currently, I have only one passport which AI just recieved a few weeks ago (USA).

It is now Monday, a new week and hoping to hear soon. Next week will be my 6th month since my application was recieved. Hopefully, the FBR office staff has finshed unpacking and processing applications again.

On a comical note: no need to add the 123 after Michael.

[emlyn]

Hello again all, my timeline so far:

• Monday 14/1/2019: Application in transit, via Royal Mail Special Delivery.
• Tuesday 15/1/2019: The tracked mail arrived at Irish Embassy in London, signed for at reception.
• Monday 21/1/2019: I sent an email to London DFA seeking confirmation of receipt of my FBR application.
• Friday 25/1/2019: No response received to email, so used the webchat via the DFA website to follow-up (the FBR webpage directed me to). Although the lady I chatted with was very helpful, she said that it was just for passport queries.
• Monday 11/2/2019: Email reply to my query of 21/1/2019, confirming that my FBR application has been received and that it will be processed in Dublin. The email also stated that: "All Foreign Birth Registration applications are now processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. In order to provide a more efficient and responsive service to our customers, we have transferred our customer service platform to Live Chat..."

So the webchat contact option was obviously in the works but it appears I tried to use it too early

Also noticed today that the Citizenship page of the DFA website has the following statement regarding Foreign Birth Registration:

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, can be a detailed and complex process often involving official documentation related to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Along with an increase in the number of applications received, an increase of incomplete applications has also been seen. Approximately 50% of applications received are not complete. Applications requiring clarification or further documents take longer to process. In addition, these incomplete applications delay the processing of the complete applications.

Applications generally take 5-6 months to process from the time all the required documentation has been submitted to the Foreign Births Registration team. In 2018, 88% of applications for Foreign Birth Registration were processed within six months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has responded to increased demand by creating a new, dedicated Foreign Birth Registration team, by reviewing and streamlining our processes, introducing improvements for efficiency and security. The new processes being introduced will create efficiencies to allow us to manage the increased volume of applications. These improvements will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently established a centralised Customer Service Hub to manage all queries related to foreign birth registration/ citizenship by descent, and passport applications. To improve our service to our customers, and to ensure that we are compliant with GDPR and Data Protection legislation, communication with our customers is now received via our LiveChat service and by phone instead of by email.

Our Embassy in London and Consulate General in Edinburgh no longer process Foreign Birth Registration, as these have been centralised to the Foreign Birth Registration team in Dublin. Queries regarding applications for Foreign Birth Registration should be directed to our Customer Service Hub, where they will be handled by telephone or LiveChat.

7 February 2019

[Michael123]

Hello again all, my timeline so far:

• Monday 14/1/2019: Application in transit, via Royal Mail Special Delivery.
• Tuesday 15/1/2019: The tracked mail arrived at Irish Embassy in London, signed for at reception.
• Monday 21/1/2019: I sent an email to London DFA seeking confirmation of receipt of my FBR application.
• Friday 25/1/2019: No response received to email, so used the webchat via the DFA website to follow-up (the FBR webpage directed me to). Although the lady I chatted with was very helpful, she said that it was just for passport queries.
• Monday 11/2/2019: Email reply to my query of 21/1/2019, confirming that my FBR application has been received and that it will be processed in Dublin. The email also stated that: "All Foreign Birth Registration applications are now processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. In order to provide a more efficient and responsive service to our customers, we have transferred our customer service platform to Live Chat..."

So the webchat contact option was obviously in the works but it appears I tried to use it too early

Also noticed today that the Citizenship page of the DFA website has the following statement regarding Foreign Birth Registration:

Foreign Birth Registration, by its nature, can be a detailed and complex process often involving official documentation related to three generations and issued by several jurisdictions. Along with an increase in the number of applications received, an increase of incomplete applications has also been seen. Approximately 50% of applications received are not complete. Applications requiring clarification or further documents take longer to process. In addition, these incomplete applications delay the processing of the complete applications.

Applications generally take 5-6 months to process from the time all the required documentation has been submitted to the Foreign Births Registration team. In 2018, 88% of applications for Foreign Birth Registration were processed within six months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has responded to increased demand by creating a new, dedicated Foreign Birth Registration team, by reviewing and streamlining our processes, introducing improvements for efficiency and security. The new processes being introduced will create efficiencies to allow us to manage the increased volume of applications. These improvements will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently established a centralised Customer Service Hub to manage all queries related to foreign birth registration/ citizenship by descent, and passport applications. To improve our service to our customers, and to ensure that we are compliant with GDPR and Data Protection legislation, communication with our customers is now received via our LiveChat service and by phone instead of by email.

Our Embassy in London and Consulate General in Edinburgh no longer process Foreign Birth Registration, as these have been centralised to the Foreign Birth Registration team in Dublin. Queries regarding applications for Foreign Birth Registration should be directed to our Customer Service Hub, where they will be handled by telephone or LiveChat.

7 February 2019

That is not entirely accurate, the FBR office is no longer in Dublin, they have relocated. I hope the send your application to the correct address.

[sean015]

Passport Update:

As of today, I am now in the tracking system and it says:

"The estimated* issue date for your Passport is: 20/03/2019."

So it seems that the 8 weeks they told me as to when I should receive it may be pretty accurate.

[Michael123]

Hey Sean, thanks for updating. It seems as though you and Spav just made the cut off before the FBR office moved. Your application was 8/2 and you were processed before Christmas, I am 8/21 and still waiting in Feb!!

Hope all is well!!

[brawn401]

I’ve given up entirely now on receiving anything anytime soon.

I called last week and the chap on the phone was very pleasant and informative but did mention that they have been inundated with applications. That said, he was surprised I was still waiting after having applied in July 2018. As I mentioned previously my application is now waiting approval - the final stage, and it was sent for approval at the beginning of November - a good 3 months ago now.

One clarification on the confirmation email. Apparently these do get sent when the application is approved and sent for printing - there is a button they press on screen when it has been approved to send the automated email, so people should be receiving them.

He also mentioned the DFA has just released new designs for the certificate, and that there is potentially a backlog of approved applications that are waiting to be printed in the new format.

I’m emigrating in a few months so I hope I’ll get the certificate before then, as by that time it will have been almost a year.

Good luck to everyone waiting. I’m going to forget I applied for now and hopefully get a surprise email at some point soon!

[mikef]

Pleased to report that I have now received my FBR certificate!

So my final timeline is:

17/07/2018 Application submitted online (No. ***424)
25/07/2018 Documents received by London Embassy
16/11/2018 Response received to my email to the FBR team stating application had been put forward for approval
27/11/2018 Application approved and entered into FBR
22/01/2019 FBR certificate received with returned supporting documents.

So I’m just a couple of days short of the 6 month turnaround time based on the date the Embassy received my documents.

Now onto the passport application for me; as someone else suggested earlier in the thread I requested the form ahead of time from the Embassy. Good idea!

Good luck to those of you still waiting.

Thanks for this James -- very useful, as I believe your post is the closest match to my currently-open application, which only has the following to report:

25/07/2018 Application submitted online
01/08/2018 Documents received by London Embassy

So I am at the 6 month mark, pretty much. I've not had any further contact since then, so just rang up the FBR team, and slightly frustratingly my application doesn't seem to have really progressed at all yet. It's very interesting considering my application was confirmed to be received a week after the one above. So it would seem to indicate that the process is pretty much completely random in terms of processing order.

Oh well, let the waiting continue!

Just wondered if oction had any more news - my details are below and it would also appear that at 6.5 months my application hasn't even been checked yet. Are other people still waiting after this long ?

24/07/2018 Application submitted online
31/07/2018 Documents received by London Embassy

Mike

[mayorob]

Hi all, hope you're well. Apologies in advance for this as I know you will have heard this before, but unfortunately I'm fully stressing out getting all of this documentation and I would rather not read through 62 pages of this thread .

I'm applying via an Irish born grandparent (parent hasn't yet done the process of registering birth).

How strict are they regarding certificates? I unfortunately don't have any genuine 'originals', i.e. from decades ago. The death certificate of my grandparent is a 'certified copy', and the certificates I have arriving in the post regarding my parent are from gro.gov.uk, which I assume won't be an 'original'.

Do they get picky about this? Ultimately it is an official document, ordered directly from the Government, which proves my Irish status. If this doesn't count as 'official', and if you're unable to get the genuine original, then what would count as an 'original'? I'm a little confused.

Any help would be massively appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

[mikef]

Hi all, hope you're well. Apologies in advance for this as I know you will have heard this before, but unfortunately I'm fully stressing out getting all of this documentation and I would rather not read through 62 pages of this thread .

I'm applying via an Irish born grandparent (parent hasn't yet done the process of registering birth).

How strict are they regarding certificates? I unfortunately don't have any genuine 'originals', i.e. from decades ago. The death certificate of my grandparent is a 'certified copy', and the certificates I have arriving in the post regarding my parent are from gro.gov.uk, which I assume won't be an 'original'.

Do they get picky about this? Ultimately it is an official document, ordered directly from the Government, which proves my Irish status. If this doesn't count as 'official', and if you're unable to get the genuine original, then what would count as an 'original'? I'm a little confused.

Any help would be massively appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Official copies you order from GRO are fine as the originals may have been lost etc. Personally I would order an official copy of the death certificate for your grandfather, as I suspect they may reject the certified copy.