Foreign Birth Registration?

[spiderplants]

I consider it a privilege that Ireland was willing to give me citizenship, simply because my grandparents were born there.

Completely agree.

[upliam]

I consider it a privilege that Ireland was willing to give me citizenship, simply because my grandparents were born there.

Completely agree.

100% agree. It is a privilege.

[spiderplants]

I can only imagine the 90% of the delays is caused by brexit. A group of people who want to leave the EU but still want citizenship.

No doubt much of the delay is caused by Brexit - and I can only apologise on behalf of my country about that. But do not lump us all into "A group of people who want to leave the EU".

[Michael123]

[quote=Michael123 post_id=<a href="tel:1742856">1742856</a> time=<a href="tel:1550180362">1550180362</a> user_id=201133]
I can only imagine the 90% of the delays is caused by brexit. A group of people who want to leave the EU but still want citizenship.

No doubt much of the delay is caused by Brexit - and I can only apologise on behalf of my country about that. But do not lump us all into "A group of people who want to leave the EU".
[/quote]

My apologies. If I were in the UK and didnt want to leave the EU, I would also file for the FBR.

Allow me to rephrase: the majority

I meant to only include those to want to leave the EU and also want citizenship. Again, sorry. But Im sure as another applicant, you can feel my frustration.

You do not need to apologize.

[spiderplants]

My apologies. If I were in the UK and didnt want to leave the EU, I would also file for the FBR.

Allow me to rephrase: the majority

I meant to only include those to want to leave the EU and also want citizenship. Again, sorry. But Im sure as another applicant, you can feel my frustration.

You do not need to apologize.

It's fine Michael. I certainly feel your frustration but we are also very, very lucky to have options. Hopefully, however long it takes will feel like nothing in the long run.

[Michael123]

Aside from the 50% incomplete application rate and the wait, the most annoying part is the timing.. I know they have always maintained “6 months” processing. But when I applied the “real” time was about 4 months and I was hoping for confirmation by Christmas. When 4 months came it seemed as 6 months would be the “new realistic” time. Now that I am 1 week before my 6th month, being informed that 10 months is the new time leave me with the feeling “almost got it... ohhhh so close... oh oh there it is... ohhhh just missed it” as Im a cat and my owner is yanking a string just out of my reach.

[Michael123]

In anticipation of a Jan/Feb confirmation, I applied for my US Passport ( Book and card).As a first time applicant, I had expected a little over the approximate waiting time of 4-8 weeks. The postal clerk who took my application shocked me by saying “it will be around 4 weeks”. I was even more shocked when the passport book came in the mail 2 weeks later, the next day my passport card arrived and the same day my birth certificate was returned, glad that I got another and didn’t wait for the DTA to return the one I had sent to Dublin as Im sure that applications in JUNE take longer!

[PasadenaTom]

Now that I am 1 week before my 6th month, being informed that 10 months is the new time ...

I guess I haven't been following this discussion closely of late. When did it become 10 months? The recent update to the DFA website says:

"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".

If that's true, it would seem the only people who might need to wait ten months would be those submitting incomplete documentation. I find it hard to believe that you aren't about to hear something.

[Michael123]

Yup

[rdslight]

I consider it a privilege that Ireland was willing to give me citizenship, simply because my grandparents were born there.

Completely agree.

100% agree. It is a privilege.

Ditto! Plus the money is a drop in the ocean compared to applying for citizenship of other countries....

[ricky7384]

Application received by London July 6th 2018.
Spoke with them today and told my application sent for final approval 22nd November 2018 average application now takes 10/11 months due to brexit.

[brawn401]

If that’s true, it would seem the only people who might need to wait ten months would be those submitting incomplete documentation.

Not quite Tom, I am pushing the 8 month barrier now, and my documentation was complete. No request for any supporting documents. I am in the “Final Approval” queue now since the beginning of November.

I sense some frustration in this thread at the moment. The way I see it, the DFA will get round to processing applications when they can. An office move, new staff training, coupled with the hugely increased amount of applications that they have received in 2018 are all inevitably going to result in an increased lead time for application approval for us all. As others have mentioned on the thread, it is a privilege to be obtaining citizenship and we should be grateful for the opportunity to even be able to do this. Yes it costs money, but the ultimate reward will be forthcoming eventually.

To Tom’s point about other citizenship lead times, a good friend of mine has applied for Italian citizenship, and he has currently been waiting for almost 3 years for an answer. Additionally he had to get all of his documentation translated into Italian - an even greater margin for error I’d say! We are all lucky that we are even in the fortuitous position of being able to apply for a second citizenship, and in the grand scheme of things we have a shorter waiting time than with other countries that offer citizenship through descent!

I do understand the frustration through, as I am at almost 8 months waiting time now, and as I mentioned I know that my documentation is in order as the agents at the DFA have told me so, but there really isn’t anything we can do about it. It will take as long as it takes.

Michael - thank you for acknowledging the error you made in your comment about Brexit. It is a complex issue and blanket statements about the whys, wherefore and individuals are largely unhelpful and irrelevant, as there are so many factors at play. There will of course be individuals who voted for Brexit who are now applying for EU citizenship through Irish / other routes, and there may be a multitude of reasons for their doing so but really who are we to judge when we really don’t know people’s individual situations? Everyone was fed a lot of misinformation and lies from both the leave and remain sides of the campaign in the period leading up to the 2016 referendum. Combine that with an extremely divided and polarised government in the UK and we are now left with the mess that Brexit currently is.

Personally, I was born a citizen of the EU, and will hopefully remain one. I speak French and German, I have lived and worked in several countries of the EU, and I love it dearly and am sad we will be leaving it behind. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity my grandmother left me with that has allowed me to apply for Irish citizenship, so I’ll just be happy for now that I have at least been able to go through this process, and then elated when that certificate arrives - whenever that may be. I’m just annoyed with myself really that I never explored doing this previously, as my Irish heritage is something I have always been proud of, and gaining citizenship is the ultimate nod to that. I know my grandmother would be delighted if she knew I was doing this now.

[khiggs67]

[quote=BrexitEscapee post_id=1657801 time=1531582052 user_id=198683]



Just so I understand, you registered your grandfather yourself? Is he deceased? Where was he born?When you applied, did you enter him as your grandfather? And what forms did you mail to go with that?
I'm curious because I believe my Grandfather registered himself years ago but I have nothing to prove it.He was born in US,his father was from Ireland. I'm wondering who I should add to my application, grand or great grandfather and if he wasn't registered, can I do it after the fact? My father was in the process when he died and i believe that wouldn't have helped me I was born way before he tried to apply. I'm hoping when I apply they'll find out for me if my grandfather was registered and if not ,maybe help me figure out my next step.

[PasadenaTom]

Just so I understand, you registered your grandfather yourself? Is he deceased? Where was he born?When you applied, did you enter him as your grandfather? And what forms did you mail to go with that?
I'm curious because I believe my Grandfather registered himself years ago but I have nothing to prove it.He was born in US,his father was from Ireland. I'm wondering who I should add to my application, grand or great grandfather and if he wasn't registered, can I do it after the fact? My father was in the process when he died and i believe that wouldn't have helped me I was born way before he tried to apply. I'm hoping when I apply they'll find out for me if my grandfather was registered and if not ,maybe help me figure out my next step.

BrexitEscapee's grandfather was born in Ireland. The grandfather's birth was not entered in the civil register at the time he was born. But since there was a baptismal record, BrexitEscapee was able to use that to get his grandfather's birth entered in the civil register. And that provided the documentation needed to go forward with FBR.

Your situation is different. Your grandfather was born in the U.S. He was automatically an Irish citizen because his father was born in Ireland. Children of Irish-born citizens do not register their births. Only grandchildren of Irish-born citizens do. Great-grandchildren only qualify if their parent was entered in the FBR before they were born. Since your father did not do that, I'm afraid you don't qualify.

[khiggs67]

Is there a way to search to find out if my father did? I have an envelope and a copy of the application,but not sure if he ever registered and mailed everything in.

[PasadenaTom]

Is there a way to search to find out if my father did? I have an envelope and a copy of the application,but not sure if he ever registered and mailed everything in.

I don't know of any way to search. Assuming he was registered, yours would be a more complicated situation, and I think you need to contact the DFA.

If your father is in the FBR, your application would need to include an official FBR certificate for him. You obviously don't have one. So somehow you'd need to obtain a new copy from DFA. For people who are in the FBR, they have a procedure for getting a replacement certificate. But your father can't do that for himself.

DFA may allow you to request one. But, I would assume they will need more documentation than what is outlined for someone getting a replacement for themselves. My guess is that if he was registered, and if they allow you to obtain a replacement certificate, you will likely need to provide a lot of the same documentation as you would for FBR; i.e., his birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as your own birth, marriage, and divorce certificates, plus a notarized copy of your drivers license or passport photo page.


Good luck.

[PasadenaTom]

In anticipation of a Jan/Feb confirmation, I applied for my US Passport ( Book and card).As a first time applicant, I had expected a little over the approximate waiting time of 4-8 weeks.

I found this statement interesting, because if you've never had a US passport, you've obviously never been to Ireland. I am now officially an Irish citizen, but have never been there... yet. I do plan to change that that this year, assuming nothing comes up to stop me!

[Sulla]

I would direct anyone who seeks to excuse the delays that many of us are experiencing to the last line of the FBR application. It clearly states that:

"Incomplete or incorrect applications will be returned"

Since the DFA appear not to be following this simple rule and are instead electing to call applicants that fail to provide specified documentation (thus contributing heavily to the delays) I feel that we have a right to feel displeased about matters.

At the time I applied, the DFA website was still indicating within 6 months for FBR completion. Moreover, at the embassy I was told in person that it would take approximately 4 months to complete. The volume of subsequent applications should have no impact on the time required to process those already received. Further, that Brexit would produce a surge in applications was hardly unforeseen. The DFA cannot argue that they were blindsided by Brexit in late 2018 / early 2019.

My application was straightforward. I had every civil record imaginable. I even went back to my great grandparents records and supplied all those as well, just to give them that little bit more certainty despite applying through my grandmother.

Regrettably, I have now exceeded the six month mark by 3 days. Michael is in a similar boat,though at least I did receive notice that I have been added to the FBR - whereas he has not. I will be candid and say this makes me quite irate.

Since the DFA have failed to deliver on time in the instance of a very clear, straightforward case and because there is firm evidence that this is in part caused by a lack of adherence to their own rules on incomplete applications, I feel I have every right to be aggrieved. Grounds for formal complaint to the ombudsman clearly exist. I am considering whether to go that route or seek civil remedy. They are mutually exclusive in Irish law.

[mattaus81]

I've just submitted my application to the FBR. I had it courier over from London to Dublin and they gave me an email response to acknowledge receipt of the application within 4-hours of the courier marking delivery.

I'm keeping a keen eye on what others are writing on this wall/blog - because I'm in a bizarre situation where I need it processed within 6 months... I'm an Aussie on UK visa which runs out in mid-July (ie: 5-months from now). My UK permanent residence and/or renewal of visa is £3000. Obviously, Irish citizenship makes that redundant, so it'll be PAINFUL to have to fork over £3000 to only then get an Irish certificate 2-months later - I'd be better running off to Europe or Aus for a few months. I've become so British now that the thought of leaving the UK at the peak of summer, and being in Aus in their winter, is equivalent of purgatory.

Of course, getting Irish citizenship is an amazing bonus. I simply didn't apply for it earlier because I didn't realise I had it (and the concept seemed preposterous, which it is a bit), so of course I'm grateful etc etc. But it doesn't alleviate the unfortunate fact that I need to fork over £1000's of pounds to stay in the UK for a very short period of time (no bridging visa available). It's kind of silly really, because I'm a high earner and pay my taxes, etc, so the UK is silly not to allow me to stay on some kind of temp visa. But there you go.

Anyway my hope is that I can get some kind of ESTIMATE on the processing time, because that will influence my decision majorly! If I need to do a long Euro holiday, then so be it! But if it's really going to be 10-12 months, then I need to think again.

It's a shame you can't TRACK the applications like you can passports (with the application number) - perhaps with the "New systems" coming into place they might have an online portal that allows you to do so.

I've also seen the messages here about "incomplete" applications. I absolutely went all out to make sure mine was "complete" 100%, so hopefully that means I can "jump the queue" of the incomplete ones

[Sulla]

Mattaus,

Banking on being entered into the FBR within a time-frame of 5 months is at this juncture quite optimistic. I assume that that would not even be sufficient for the purpose of remaining in the United Kingdom anyway. You would almost certainly need to physically receive the FBR certificate and then go through the passport issuance process as well. That could easily add another 2-3 months.

My experience of dealing with this process is one of drawn out disappointment. Thus far, it has taken the DFA in excess of 5 weeks (and counting) to print the FBR certificate and post it to me. I also had a well prepared application with a more than complete document set. Therefore, I advise you not to be too hopeful and plan accordingly.

I think most of us lament the dearth of any form of tracking system when it comes to FBR. Personally, I would also like to see a fast track route set up that accelerates matters in exchange for higher fees. I doubt either will emerge in the near term.

[mattaus81]

@Sulla

Thanks for the swift reply/input.

I totally agree. I think I'm out of options with this one. I just need to either get UK Permanent Residency (£3000) OR be prepared to leave the UK for 9-months (or more).

My only hope is that somehow their announcement of "streamlining" the FBR improve their efficiencies and/or provides a reliable estimate of completion.

So I'll be keeping an eye on this board and the FBR/DFA website to see how things progress/develop.

Best of luck to everyone!
Matt

[rcessi]

Hello Everyone,

I have been trying to get in contact to get an update with my application (its been almost six months so I'm more curious than worried). But the contact page of the FBR only lists webchat and Telephone.

I can use the telephone since I live abroad, but the webchat requires me to input an 11-digit Passport Application ID. I was given a skew starting with "FBR" following 11-digit skew. This does not work for some reason. I don't believe I was given any other skew and the window won't let me proceed otherwise.

Is there an email address I can send my questions too? I feel like that would be a lot easier.

[PasadenaTom]

Thus far, it has taken the DFA in excess of 5 weeks (and counting) to print the FBR certificate and post it to me.

I realize that the workload at DFA may be different now than when mine was processed (July/August 2018).
But back then, but the cover letter that accompanied my certificate was dates about two weeks after my FBR entry date. I received it by post about a week after that. So about three weeks. As I recall, you applied through the embassy in Beijing. I would expect that DFA will send your certificate back to the embassy, and they will forward it to you. That probably introduces some delay. At least a couple of months ago, others have noted that through London seemed to have waited longer that the Dublin-direct applicants. Your situation may be similar.

[Sulla]

Tom,

Thanks for your input. We also had a major holiday in China recently, which may have impacted things. However, I am more inclined to believe the delay is on the DFA side rather than the embassy side. I read a post about a new style of certificate that had caused printing delays. Moreover, in all my previous interactions with the embassy they have been extremely efficient. When I went there to submit my FBR application in person, the place was far closer to desolate than it was to bustling. Nobody seemed to be under any kind of pressure and the work atmosphere appeared chatty and relaxed. When I (over-optimistically) requested a passport application form a few weeks ago, via the online contact form, it was in my hands less than 24 hours later.

I do anticipate that the physical certificate will arrive soon. Hopefully this week. I may have to delay my Turkish trip if I don't receive the documents back soon. As an aside, Turkish citizenship will be granted within 2 months. They make the DFA seem rather slow.

[mayorob]

Hello Everyone,

I have been trying to get in contact to get an update with my application (its been almost six months so I'm more curious than worried). But the contact page of the FBR only lists webchat and Telephone.

I can use the telephone since I live abroad, but the webchat requires me to input an 11-digit Passport Application ID. I was given a skew starting with "FBR" following 11-digit skew. This does not work for some reason. I don't believe I was given any other skew and the window won't let me proceed otherwise.

Is there an email address I can send my questions too? I feel like that would be a lot easier.

I thought the same, but it's quite confusing. You don't need to put in an ID, the Webchat button is actually on the right hand side of that screen!