Foreign Birth Registration

[Rosmuc]

Lurking the past year in this very helpful site. I haven’t found any other source that gives you better insight into the FBR application! I am pending since February 10, 2020 and hopefully hear next month.
My question is whether there is a way of assisting my sister’s brand new FBR application (which is still not filed). At this point the strategy is to save in the cost of duplication of several documents and wait it out for my decision. Would a copy of my FBR or including the serial number quicken the process? Im thinking the benefit might only be realized once the envelope is ultimately opened?

[Sooze]

I think the delay really is just volumes of applicants Rosmuc, I don't think your info will make it any quicker but I would definitely help her with the application to make sure she fills out everything properly and gets all the necessary documents correct and signed.

[binky62]

It probably won't change anything. They will most likely process yours first and then send the docs back or retain them for future use. Applications are processed in strict date order. Some people on here have just purchased duplicate documents in case anything goes wrong. It's a shame you never sent them off together.

[aw356]

I want to apply to add myself to the FBR based on irish born grandparent.

The story is

• My maternal grandmother was born in Ireland
• Maternal grandmother moved to the UK as child
• Gave birth to my mother
• My mother was adopted shortly after birth by a UK family in the UK
• A year later grandmother gets married and presumably changes her name
• My mother gives birth to me 20 years later

I have contact with my mother and can get all documentation required from her. For the irish born grandmother it's tricky, I have the birth certificate and a marriage certificate. I can't provide ID or a death certificate. I can't currently even work out if she's alive, and if she was I don't have my mother's permission to make contact.

I called the FBR advice today and they said it can't proceed without grandmother's ID or death certificate. Any advice on how I can proceed? Going purely on age, she has probably died, but not certainly. I was hoping I could just provide a statement that no contact or tracing is possible, but it doesn't sound like they'll accept this. I can't see any death records that would match, although there is one with a birthday that's off by <1 year. Is it possible for birthdays to not match between birth/death records?

[misterbean]

Hello there, this is my first post and I'm kind of freaking out.
I sent in an application for registration of a foreign birth quite some time ago, and I'm really worried that something has gone wrong.
I should have checked in on things sooner, but maybe I resigned myself to the fact that the process takes a long time and shouldn't worry about it.
Here's the timeline:
In October or November of 2020 I got my documents ready, and applied online. In late December of 2020 I sent the documents to Balbriggan Ireland. The tracking slip for USPS shows that it was delivered on January 4th of 2021.
Before I shipped it I took a photo of each page of the application and a photo of each document that I sent and I still have them on my phone, but that is essentially the end of the timeline for me.
I don't remember ever getting an email stating that the documents were received. Things were so up in the air due to Covid that I figured that I had verified it was sent, and the slow gears would start to turn eventually.
Now I'm stuck in some kind of limbo where I don't know if it's even possible to check the status of my application, or what ever happened to my documents.
Can anyone help me out and point me in the direction of someone who can at least tell me what to do at this point?

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hello there, this is my first post and I'm kind of freaking out.
I sent in an application for registration of a foreign birth quite some time ago, and I'm really worried that something has gone wrong.
I should have checked in on things sooner, but maybe I resigned myself to the fact that the process takes a long time and shouldn't worry about it.
Here's the timeline:
In October or November of 2020 I got my documents ready, and applied online. In late December of 2020 I sent the documents to Balbriggan Ireland. The tracking slip for USPS shows that it was delivered on January 4th of 2021.
Before I shipped it I took a photo of each page of the application and a photo of each document that I sent and I still have them on my phone, but that is essentially the end of the timeline for me.
I don't remember ever getting an email stating that the documents were received. Things were so up in the air due to Covid that I figured that I had verified it was sent, and the slow gears would start to turn eventually.
Now I'm stuck in some kind of limbo where I don't know if it's even possible to check the status of my application, or what ever happened to my documents.
Can anyone help me out and point me in the direction of someone who can at least tell me what to do at this point?

A lot of people who sent their applications in during covid didn't get the email confirmation of delivery. If I recall correctly, they closed the FBR over Christmas 2020, it was supposed to be closed for 2 weeks and it basically wound up being closed for a year due to lockdowns.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do at the moment. There's no more live chat to check status of things. But IMHO, there's also no reason to think "something has gone wrong", they're processing Jan/Feb 2020 applications at the moment so you've probably got another year to go. You got tracking via UPS, so that should give you the confirmation that the package was indeed delivered.

I wouldn't worry too much. Hopefully at some point they'll open up live chat again or something equivalent so you can contact them and check. Unless someone else here has an alternative method to contact them.

[misterbean]

A lot of people who sent their applications in during covid didn't get the email confirmation of delivery. If I recall correctly, they closed the FBR over Christmas 2020, it was supposed to be closed for 2 weeks and it basically wound up being closed for a year due to lockdowns.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do at the moment. There's no more live chat to check status of things. But IMHO, there's also no reason to think "something has gone wrong", they're processing Jan/Feb 2020 applications at the moment so you've probably got another year to go. You got tracking via UPS, so that should give you the confirmation that the package was indeed delivered.

I wouldn't worry too much. Hopefully at some point they'll open up live chat again or something equivalent so you can contact them and check. Unless someone else here has an alternative method to contact them.

Thanks for the reply, it's reassuring. I'll keep an eye out for a return of live chat to check on the status.

[Dalton_Trumbo]

I want to apply to add myself to the FBR based on irish born grandparent.

The story is

• My maternal grandmother was born in Ireland
• Maternal grandmother moved to the UK as child
• Gave birth to my mother
• My mother was adopted shortly after birth by a UK family in the UK
• A year later grandmother gets married and presumably changes her name
• My mother gives birth to me 20 years later

I have contact with my mother and can get all documentation required from her. For the irish born grandmother it's tricky, I have the birth certificate and a marriage certificate. I can't provide ID or a death certificate. I can't currently even work out if she's alive, and if she was I don't have my mother's permission to make contact.

I called the FBR advice today and they said it can't proceed without grandmother's ID or death certificate. Any advice on how I can proceed? Going purely on age, she has probably died, but not certainly. I was hoping I could just provide a statement that no contact or tracing is possible, but it doesn't sound like they'll accept this. I can't see any death records that would match, although there is one with a birthday that's off by <1 year. Is it possible for birthdays to not match between birth/death records?

If you know here birthdate and her birth name and presumably more information, I think you should be able to find out if she's died. I would start with a registry office in the UK and have them direct you where to go. If she's died, the death would be registered somewhere. I know others have included letters testifying to estrangement from parents. Have to assume something similar would work here.

Also, what number did you call to ask a general question of the FBR? was it simply the number listed on the FBR page of DFA.ie?

[Dalton_Trumbo]

A lot of people who sent their applications in during covid didn't get the email confirmation of delivery. If I recall correctly, they closed the FBR over Christmas 2020, it was supposed to be closed for 2 weeks and it basically wound up being closed for a year due to lockdowns.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do at the moment. There's no more live chat to check status of things. But IMHO, there's also no reason to think "something has gone wrong", they're processing Jan/Feb 2020 applications at the moment so you've probably got another year to go. You got tracking via UPS, so that should give you the confirmation that the package was indeed delivered.

I wouldn't worry too much. Hopefully at some point they'll open up live chat again or something equivalent so you can contact them and check. Unless someone else here has an alternative method to contact them.

Thanks for the reply, it's reassuring. I'll keep an eye out for a return of live chat to check on the status.

It seems as if some on here are successful in calling the FBR. There is a number, however it's confusing as to whether it's for all inquiries or just urgent inquiries (pregnancy, stateless children etc). Maybe worth a try tho. You should have the application number from when you submitted the online application.

I say all this because, no one really knows when or if the live chat is coming back. Good luck!

[martingeorge]

Hi all, Just checked my 'e'mail and I have a message from Balbriggan asking for address confirmation today 25 May 2022. My docs arrived there on 3 Feb 2020, so the February lot are on the move now. Good luck to everyone, Martin George

[TInFE]

Congratulations Martin - us March people can't be far behind!

[aw356]

I want to apply to add myself to the FBR based on irish born grandparent.

The story is

• My maternal grandmother was born in Ireland
• Maternal grandmother moved to the UK as child
• Gave birth to my mother
• My mother was adopted shortly after birth by a UK family in the UK
• A year later grandmother gets married and presumably changes her name
• My mother gives birth to me 20 years later

I have contact with my mother and can get all documentation required from her. For the irish born grandmother it's tricky, I have the birth certificate and a marriage certificate. I can't provide ID or a death certificate. I can't currently even work out if she's alive, and if she was I don't have my mother's permission to make contact.

I called the FBR advice today and they said it can't proceed without grandmother's ID or death certificate. Any advice on how I can proceed? Going purely on age, she has probably died, but not certainly. I was hoping I could just provide a statement that no contact or tracing is possible, but it doesn't sound like they'll accept this. I can't see any death records that would match, although there is one with a birthday that's off by <1 year. Is it possible for birthdays to not match between birth/death records?

If you know here birthdate and her birth name and presumably more information, I think you should be able to find out if she's died. I would start with a registry office in the UK and have them direct you where to go. If she's died, the death would be registered somewhere. I know others have included letters testifying to estrangement from parents. Have to assume something similar would work here.

Also, what number did you call to ask a general question of the FBR? was it simply the number listed on the FBR page of DFA.ie?

Thanks for the reply. I do indeed have those details. I'll search harder to see if she's dead. I'm increasingly thinking she isn't, based on my own searches. If anyone has experience submitting an alternative e.g. letter confirming estrangement I'd be very grateful for a message saying what you did.

The number I called was the number on the FBR page of DFA.ie yes. The one that sort of implies it's for urgent queries, and after months of them not changing that I decided to just call anyway.

[Brummiehopepful]

I want to apply to add myself to the FBR based on irish born grandparent.

The story is

• My maternal grandmother was born in Ireland
• Maternal grandmother moved to the UK as child
• Gave birth to my mother
• My mother was adopted shortly after birth by a UK family in the UK
• A year later grandmother gets married and presumably changes her name
• My mother gives birth to me 20 years later

I have contact with my mother and can get all documentation required from her. For the irish born grandmother it's tricky, I have the birth certificate and a marriage certificate. I can't provide ID or a death certificate. I can't currently even work out if she's alive, and if she was I don't have my mother's permission to make contact.

I called the FBR advice today and they said it can't proceed without grandmother's ID or death certificate. Any advice on how I can proceed? Going purely on age, she has probably died, but not certainly. I was hoping I could just provide a statement that no contact or tracing is possible, but it doesn't sound like they'll accept this. I can't see any death records that would match, although there is one with a birthday that's off by <1 year. Is it possible for birthdays to not match between birth/death records?

Hi. I'm almost in the same situation wrt my maternal grandfather. I've just hired a professional people locator to try and track down his last location and his death certificate. They seemed quietly confident and had great reviews on the web, but we shall see.

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hi all, Just checked my 'e'mail and I have a message from Balbriggan asking for address confirmation today 25 May 2022. My docs arrived there on 3 Feb 2020, so the February lot are on the move now. Good luck to everyone, Martin George

Congrats! Another Feb applicant! I'm Feb 14, so hopefully in the next few weeks I get something.

[farbat]

My great grandmother was Irish. I'm not sure if my parent is on the FBR and my parent is deceased, so there's no way for me to ask. Is there some way to query the FBR to to determine if my parent is on it?

I sent an email to the consulate but got linked to the FBR site so I'm not sure where to go from here.

[aw356]

I want to apply to add myself to the FBR based on irish born grandparent.

The story is

• My maternal grandmother was born in Ireland
• Maternal grandmother moved to the UK as child
• Gave birth to my mother
• My mother was adopted shortly after birth by a UK family in the UK
• A year later grandmother gets married and presumably changes her name
• My mother gives birth to me 20 years later

I have contact with my mother and can get all documentation required from her. For the irish born grandmother it's tricky, I have the birth certificate and a marriage certificate. I can't provide ID or a death certificate. I can't currently even work out if she's alive, and if she was I don't have my mother's permission to make contact.

I called the FBR advice today and they said it can't proceed without grandmother's ID or death certificate. Any advice on how I can proceed? Going purely on age, she has probably died, but not certainly. I was hoping I could just provide a statement that no contact or tracing is possible, but it doesn't sound like they'll accept this. I can't see any death records that would match, although there is one with a birthday that's off by <1 year. Is it possible for birthdays to not match between birth/death records?

Hi. I'm almost in the same situation wrt my maternal grandfather. I've just hired a professional people locator to try and track down his last location and his death certificate. They seemed quietly confident and had great reviews on the web, but we shall see.

Thanks for sharing. Would you mind pointing me to who you've hired, if you recommend them? I might try and do the same.

[movingtofinland]

I've been following this forum for probably a year on behalf of my partner who had applied for FBR based on his grandmother having been born in Ireland. We live in the UK, but I am originally from Finland, and for a couple of years we've been talking about moving there. Part of the plan was for him to study in Finland, but unfortunately there are tuition fees of €13,000 a year for students outside of the EU, whereas for EU citizens, studying is free. Thanks to Brexit, this meant him getting Irish citizenship was an essential part of our plans. He had always wanted to get Irish citizenship anyway, as he was very close to his grandmother, but the cost had previously felt quite high for something that had been just a symbolic thing.

Now, he applied in early 2020, with the idea then being we would move to Finland in August 2021, so it felt like there was a good, safe amount of time for him to get the citizenship and apply for a passport. Then, insert the pandemic... Because of the delays with FBR, we had to postpone our move. These last months have been nerve racking, with us pondering whether we dare to trust he will get the citizenship in time this year for him to start studies in Finland in August. We decided to gamble it and have been making plans for the move, with flight tickets already booked, me constantly checking this forum for updates.

And now today: the email!!! Please see here our timeline.

Application submitted online: 17 January 2020
Documents received: 7 February 2020
Confirmation of address email: 26 May 2022

I will update the spreadsheet for others to keep track of the progress with the applications. I want to thank everyone at this forum who has posted their timelines previously, they have been such a comfort during this journey. Good luck to everyone still waiting, you will get there eventually.

[Dalton_Trumbo]

My great grandmother was Irish. I'm not sure if my parent is on the FBR and my parent is deceased, so there's no way for me to ask. Is there some way to query the FBR to to determine if my parent is on it?

I sent an email to the consulate but got linked to the FBR site so I'm not sure where to go from here.

You could start with your nearest Irish Embassy and ask them how you would confirm this. You could also call the number on the FBR page if the Embassy won't help. Good luck!

[martingeorge]

Hi again all, Just a short update. Looking at the time frame, I realised that I was actually on my laptop when the 'e' mail pinged to me asking for my confirmation of address yesterday, so I literally just sent that back by return 'e' mail. The person who 'e' mailed me about my address was obviously still on his own computer when that arrived literally a few minutes later. Looks like he completed my process straight away because this afternoon I had another 'e' mail from him confirming that I had now been added to the FBR register today 26 May 2022, and that my FBR certificate was in progress and that my documents would be dispatched back to me shortly. So I am now an Irish Citizen. Now getting ready to get my passport sorted....Good luck to everyone else, Martin George

[Themag62]

Congratulations! I'm taking this a good omen, as my daughter is in a similar situation. We are waiting for FBR to have her citizenship for studies in the Netherlands. We need the passport by August 16 to pay EU tuition, and it's nerve racking. The documents were received 2/17/20, just 10 days after you. I hope your passport is processed speedily. It would be great if you could post that timeline here too, so we have an idea of what we are facing with that.

I've been following this forum for probably a year on behalf of my partner who had applied for FBR based on his grandmother having been born in Ireland. We live in the UK, but I am originally from Finland, and for a couple of years we've been talking about moving there. Part of the plan was for him to study in Finland, but unfortunately there are tuition fees of €13,000 a year for students outside of the EU, whereas for EU citizens, studying is free. Thanks to Brexit, this meant him getting Irish citizenship was an essential part of our plans. He had always wanted to get Irish citizenship anyway, as he was very close to his grandmother, but the cost had previously felt quite high for something that had been just a symbolic thing.

Now, he applied in early 2020, with the idea then being we would move to Finland in August 2021, so it felt like there was a good, safe amount of time for him to get the citizenship and apply for a passport. Then, insert the pandemic... Because of the delays with FBR, we had to postpone our move. These last months have been nerve racking, with us pondering whether we dare to trust he will get the citizenship in time this year for him to start studies in Finland in August. We decided to gamble it and have been making plans for the move, with flight tickets already booked, me constantly checking this forum for updates.

And now today: the email!!! Please see here our timeline.

Application submitted online: 17 January 2020
Documents received: 7 February 2020
Confirmation of address email: 26 May 2022

I will update the spreadsheet for others to keep track of the progress with the applications. I want to thank everyone at this forum who has posted their timelines previously, they have been such a comfort during this journey. Good luck to everyone still waiting, you will get there eventually.

[HPFA]

Hello there, this is my first post and I'm kind of freaking out.
I sent in an application for registration of a foreign birth quite some time ago, and I'm really worried that something has gone wrong.
I should have checked in on things sooner, but maybe I resigned myself to the fact that the process takes a long time and shouldn't worry about it.
Here's the timeline:
In October or November of 2020 I got my documents ready, and applied online. In late December of 2020 I sent the documents to Balbriggan Ireland. The tracking slip for USPS shows that it was delivered on January 4th of 2021.
Before I shipped it I took a photo of each page of the application and a photo of each document that I sent and I still have them on my phone, but that is essentially the end of the timeline for me.
I don't remember ever getting an email stating that the documents were received. Things were so up in the air due to Covid that I figured that I had verified it was sent, and the slow gears would start to turn eventually.
Now I'm stuck in some kind of limbo where I don't know if it's even possible to check the status of my application, or what ever happened to my documents.
Can anyone help me out and point me in the direction of someone who can at least tell me what to do at this point?

I sent off my documents at exactly the same time as you and haven't heard anything either. I have the proof of delivery.

If you think that's two people just out of the minority of applicants who are on this forum it implies there must be an awful lot of people in the same boat. I just tell myself that they'd hardly have put all those documents in the bin!

[duffy1867]

My great grandmother was Irish. I'm not sure if my parent is on the FBR and my parent is deceased, so there's no way for me to ask. Is there some way to query the FBR to to determine if my parent is on it?

I sent an email to the consulate but got linked to the FBR site so I'm not sure where to go from here.

As I understand it - even if your parent did claim FBR you would need to submit their FBR Certificate as part of your application - as you would be applying not through a grand-parent, but a parent who obtained citizenship through FBR

Adult applicant whose parent is an Irish citizen through entry on the Foreign Births Register

Documents relating to the applicant (unless stated, originals must be submitted):

Completed, signed and witnessed application form (see list of witnesses at 1 above)
Original civil birth certificate (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of current state-issued ID document (i.e. passport, drivers licence, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by application form witness
2 separate original proofs of address
4 colour photographs (2 of which to be witnessed) – do not attach these to the application form
Documents relating to the Irish citizen parent (unless stated, originals must be submitted):

Original civil birth certificate of Irish citizen parent (showing parental details)
Original civil marriage certificate of Irish citizen parent (if applicable) OR other change of name document (if applicable)
Photocopy of current state-issued ID document (i.e. passport, drivers licence, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the list of witnesses OR original civil death certificate (if applicable)
Original Foreign Birth Registration Certificate

[meself2]

Congratulations! I'm taking this a good omen, as my daughter is in a similar situation. We are waiting for FBR to have her citizenship for studies in the Netherlands. We need the passport by August 16 to pay EU tuition, and it's nerve racking. The documents were received 2/17/20, just 10 days after you. I hope your passport is processed speedily. It would be great if you could post that timeline here too, so we have an idea of what we are facing with that.

I've been following this forum for probably a year on behalf of my partner who had applied for FBR based on his grandmother having been born in Ireland. We live in the UK, but I am originally from Finland, and for a couple of years we've been talking about moving there. Part of the plan was for him to study in Finland, but unfortunately there are tuition fees of €13,000 a year for students outside of the EU, whereas for EU citizens, studying is free. Thanks to Brexit, this meant him getting Irish citizenship was an essential part of our plans. He had always wanted to get Irish citizenship anyway, as he was very close to his grandmother, but the cost had previously felt quite high for something that had been just a symbolic thing.

Now, he applied in early 2020, with the idea then being we would move to Finland in August 2021, so it felt like there was a good, safe amount of time for him to get the citizenship and apply for a passport. Then, insert the pandemic... Because of the delays with FBR, we had to postpone our move. These last months have been nerve racking, with us pondering whether we dare to trust he will get the citizenship in time this year for him to start studies in Finland in August. We decided to gamble it and have been making plans for the move, with flight tickets already booked, me constantly checking this forum for updates.

And now today: the email!!! Please see here our timeline.

Application submitted online: 17 January 2020
Documents received: 7 February 2020
Confirmation of address email: 26 May 2022

I will update the spreadsheet for others to keep track of the progress with the applications. I want to thank everyone at this forum who has posted their timelines previously, they have been such a comfort during this journey. Good luck to everyone still waiting, you will get there eventually.

Here is a passport thread, although it's both FBR and naturalized citizens. Might be worth to look at.
Also, keep in mind there'll be a citizenship ceremony in June -> thousands of new Irish nationals will want their passports.

[SrMcNix]

Finally! After 27 months and 19 days I got my address confirmation email!

Application Date: Jan 8, 2020
Documents Received: Feb 7, 2020
Address Confirmation: May 26,2022
Congratulations Email: Pending
FBR Certification received: Pending

Lurking here for a few years now. Thought I would put in my timeline now that things look like they are moving again. I hope to hear something soon!

Application Date: Jan 8, 2020
Documents Received: Feb 7, 2020
Address Confirmation: Pending
Congratulations Email: Pending
FBR Certification received: Pending

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Finally! After 27 months and 19 days I got my address confirmation email!

Application Date: Jan 8, 2020
Documents Received: Feb 7, 2020
Address Confirmation: May 26,2022
Congratulations Email: Pending
FBR Certification received: Pending

Lurking here for a few years now. Thought I would put in my timeline now that things look like they are moving again. I hope to hear something soon!

Application Date: Jan 8, 2020
Documents Received: Feb 7, 2020
Address Confirmation: Pending
Congratulations Email: Pending
FBR Certification received: Pending

Congrats! Seems like they are moving again. I'm at 27 months and 12 days (Feb 14). Can't be long now! fingers crossed.