Foreign Births Registration Question

[Kirwan]

Hello there,

I have a question about the certificates needed to be registered on the Irish Foreign Births Register which I hope someone can clarify for me.

I plan on claiming citizenship by descent through my grandmother as she was born in Ireland but her son, my father was born in England. So from what I have read on the government website is that I will need to supply my own and my fathers sets of certificates, of which I have all the relevant documents needed.

But I would also need to supply my grandmothers birth and marriage certificates as well a certified copy of current identification, this is where I come across a problem. As I have managed to obtain my grandmothers birth certificate but I'm unable to get a hold of either her marriage certificate or a certified copy of current identification.

So my question is, would I still be able to apply successfully apply with the certificates I already have or is it a necessity that I obtain my grandmothers marriage certificate and a certified copy of current identification?
Or is it a case that have I just misunderstood which certificates I will need to present with my application?

Many Thanks.

[Matt2017]

Hi

My understanding from when I applied is that marriage certificates would be required as they're used to track name changes as you move down the family tree, have you enquired at the GRO? I used this to find some certificates that my family had lost through the years, ano as they're official copies they're accepted for FBR applications.

I think the current identification requirement is an interesting one, fortunately my grandmother still had a passport but I did wonder what you could do if someone in your family tree didn't have either a passport or driving licence. I'd suggest it may be best to contact the embassy direct to get their stance on this, I emailed them a few times before applying and they were always prompt and friendly with their responses.

Good luck

[Kirwan]

Thanks for the reply, I have already had a search done by the GRO for the marriage certificate with the information I had, this is also how I managed to get the birth certificate. But unfortunately they couldn't find any record of the marriage which most likely means I had the wrong information.

So I'm going to do what you suggest and contact the embassy and see what they see about it.

[ammonite]

I think the current identification requirement is an interesting one, fortunately my grandmother still had a passport but I did wonder what you could do if someone in your family tree didn't have either a passport or driving licence.

This was the case with my grandmother - the embassy suggested I use her bus pass instead, I got the impression they just wanted anything with a photo (even though they have nothing to compare it to!). I can't yet confirm it was definitely ok as my application is still in the queue.