No Birth Certificate

[velton]

Has anyone been able to get a passport without a birth certificate? My wife who is Chinese and over 60 had a home birth at a time when there was no such thing as birth certificates. All her efforts to date to try and get a birth certificate have been unsuccessful. The various authorities she has approached have shown a lack of interest and just keep passing her on.

[littlerr]

China has never had a uniformed birth certificate until around 20 years ago. Anyone born before that would get a “notarial certificate” (公证书) from local notary firms when they need to apply for a long-stay visa. Your wife must have one before she could apply for an Irish visa. Even if she doesn’t have one now, she should simply be able to provide get a new copy using her citizen ID card and hukouben. Many notary firms in China even offer online services so she doesn’t even need to be physically in China.

[velton]

Thank you for your reply. My wife becomes an Irish citizen on Tuesday 2 December. At no time during the application process was she asked for a birth certificate. It seems strange that they ask for one for a passport.

[littlerr]

Thank you for your reply. My wife becomes an Irish citizen on Tuesday 2 December. At no time during the application process was she asked for a birth certificate. It seems strange that they ask for one for a passport.

That is simply not right. Birth certificate is one of the two documents that require to be certified and submitted during the naturalisation application process. Her birth certificate needs to be signed by a Chinese notary, and then a paper copy needs to be certified by an Irish solicitor/peace officer.

It is also a required document for her entry visa before she could come to Ireland for the first time.

The only exception would be that she came to Ireland as a refugee. That is the only reason where the government would have accepted a personal declaration / affidavit in the absence of a birth certificate. If that’s the case, the same affidavit can be used for passport applications as well.

[velton]

I hate to disagree with a respected guru but seeking Irish citizenship through naturalisation does not require a birth certificate as proof of identity. What is asked for is a passport or IRP or driving licence. There is no mention of a birth certificate. My wife's case is proof of that, she is not a refugee. To me it is very strange they ask for a birth certificate for a passport but not citizenship.

[littlerr]

Haha no worries I hate to admit it either but you are right - it seems ISD removed this requirement in the last few months. Back when we submitted our naturalisations as recent as this January, it is one of the mandatory documents. It is still listed as a mandatory document on Citizen Information but apparently it has been removed from ISD.

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It doesn’t change what I said earlier though. If she isn’t a refugee, there is no reason she couldn’t get a birth certificate from the local notary (not from any government authorities) where her Hukou was. It would be as simple as submitting her Chinese national ID card and Hukouben to the notary. Is there any reason she doesn’t have a Hukouben or National ID card? If not, she will have to get them first.

The Irish passport office will not accept an application without a birth certificate unless she is a refugee.

[wynelson]

I applied in Early Feb, I have to submit my birth cert.
Does she know anyone working in the village office where she was born? They can write a letter for her to prove she was born there first and see if the consulate will help. Or any lawyer in China can help.

For me to get my birth cert, I went back to the village in China I was born and asked them to write a proof and took it to notrary office in the county to give me a birth cert,
But I don't know how the online work.

I know a case that he didn't need a birth cert for applying citizenship back in around 2020. By the time he applied for a passport, he had to go back to Turkey to get a birth cert.