Foreign Birth Registration

[mwalsh5757]

Kiss me I'm Irish!

Online Application: April 4, 2020
Docs Received: July 3, 2020
Address Confirmation: October 10, 2022
Congratulations: October 13, 2022

Will check back in one last time to let you know why I get my docs and certificate back.

Good luck everyone still waiting!

[bramarcan]

Hi everyone. I've just checked the FBR google sheet, and there seems to be a load of applications missing between row 239 and 292, including mine. Does anyone know how to find these/unhide them if they're hidden?

[mwalsh5757]

Hi everyone. I've just checked the FBR google sheet, and there seems to be a load of applications missing between row 239 and 292, including mine. Does anyone know how to find these/unhide them if they're hidden?

Argh! We've been deleted! You just reminded me to go update my own record and it's gone.

Edit: I fixed it - somebody had applied a filter. I removed it.

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker as this forum has kept my hopes alive. Need to vent though! Applied and sent documents in June 2020 (never got confirmation of documents arrived, but I tracked them via mail). I see all these July-October approvals so I finally called the urgent number. After 28 months I feel I deserve some communication, I mean they did take my money. Guy answered phone was no help, gave me an email- no reply. Just frustrated. I have my citizenship and passport, this application was for my son who was born while I was an Irish citizen. I was OCD with my documents.

28 months is not out of the ordinary.
Lots of us have waited longer than that.

They're very busy over there. Please don't bother them because you feel you deserve special treatment.
Yes, you paid the fee. Good for you. Guess what? We all paid the fee too.

[bramarcan]

Hi everyone. I've just checked the FBR google sheet, and there seems to be a load of applications missing between row 239 and 292, including mine. Does anyone know how to find these/unhide them if they're hidden?

Argh! We've been deleted! You just reminded me to go update my own record and it's gone.

Edit: I fixed it - somebody had applied a filter. I removed it.

Thank you!

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hi Everyone,

Long time lurker as this forum has kept my hopes alive. Need to vent though! Applied and sent documents in June 2020 (never got confirmation of documents arrived, but I tracked them via mail). I see all these July-October approvals so I finally called the urgent number. After 28 months I feel I deserve some communication, I mean they did take my money. Guy answered phone was no help, gave me an email- no reply. Just frustrated. I have my citizenship and passport, this application was for my son who was born while I was an Irish citizen. I was OCD with my documents.

28 months is not out of the ordinary.
Lots of us have waited longer than that.

They're very busy over there. Please don't bother them because you feel you deserve special treatment.
Yes, you paid the fee. Good for you. Guess what? We all paid the fee too.

You're right, 28 months seems to be the standard amount recently. I'm sure this person will hear sooner rather than later.

However, I think your reply is a bit harsh. The FBR's own estimate on their website still reads approximately 2 years. Given that the actual time seems to be at least 6 months longer than what they say, I'd say people are entitled to be frustrated and to get impatient. I know I felt that at various points, I'm guessing you did too.

I don't see anything wrong with calling or contacting them if they're 6 months past their own communicated estimates. In any other situation that would completely understandable, and I think it is here as well.

[JoannaKJ]

Hi all,

I am nearly uncorking the champagne:

Application date: 7 June 2020
Document received date: 23 July 2020
Address confirmation email: 14 October 2022
Congratulations email:
Certificate received:

Definitely moving fast!

[JoannaKJ]

I

Hello everyone,

I have been following this timeline since 2020. My wife and her brother have applied to be FBR'd in June 2020. Documents were received sometime in July 2020. They have received a clarification email yesterday (12 Oct 2022) to evidence the catholic confirmation names of their Irish mother (born outside Ireland) and grandmother(born in Ireland).

Both their mother and grandmother have confirmation names written in some documents. For example, my wife's birth certificate has her mother's confirmation name added and her grandmother's death certificate has hers added. however, these names are not shown on their birth certificates or passport.

Plan: Letter from their mother addressing how these names came about.
Has anyone encountered this issue? If yes, how did they overcome it?

Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

I have come across similar situations on this forum and the usual response seems to be to do what you are doing but get your letter notarized.

[onlyzuul]

I’ve lurked for nearly 2 years now, but with things flying by quickly right now I figured I’d put my dates down, and update again when I hear from them.

Application date: 10 October 2020
Document received date: 15 October 2020
Address confirmation email:
Congratulations email:
Certificate received:

[Bun_123]

Nothing yet but hopefully soon...

Application date: 27th June 2020
Document acceptance date (no email at time but confirmed over web chat sometime last year): 21st July 2020
Address check:
Congrats email:

[MKCG]

Cert arrived this week.


Applied online 4/3/20
Docs received 25/3/20
Address email 29/9/22
Congrats email 30/9/22
Cert arrived 12/10/22

Onto passport application now

Thanks to all & good luck everyone still waiting for their certs In this sub forum.

[Mr_Loyal]

I

Hello everyone,

I have been following this timeline since 2020. My wife and her brother have applied to be FBR'd in June 2020. Documents were received sometime in July 2020. They have received a clarification email yesterday (12 Oct 2022) to evidence the catholic confirmation names of their Irish mother (born outside Ireland) and grandmother(born in Ireland).

Both their mother and grandmother have confirmation names written in some documents. For example, my wife's birth certificate has her mother's confirmation name added and her grandmother's death certificate has hers added. however, these names are not shown on their birth certificates or passport.

Plan: Letter from their mother addressing how these names came about.
Has anyone encountered this issue? If yes, how did they overcome it?

Anything would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

I have come across similar situations on this forum and the usual response seems to be to do what you are doing but get your letter notarized.

Thank you for the confirmation.

[ksod14]

Hello All,
I am embarking on my application process for Irish Citizenship...
I am reading today that people who applied in 2020 are just receiving their FBR certs today... Congrats to all!!

I am wondering if there has been any updates on how quickly FBR are being processed now. I am getting ready to send off my docs within the next week or two. Do we think the processing time might still be 2 years, or does the process seem to be picking up?

Thanks in advance for any responses, advice, etc...

Best,
KSOD14

[eireaus]

Hi all,

For those who applied via an Irish parent or grandparent who died in Australia: what did you send if you didn't have the original death certificate (i.e. the one the funeral home gives at the time a loved one dies)? Has anyone sent a certified copy from the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages? According to the Vic BDM website the certified copy can be used for official purposes, and the certificate itself has a statement on it that says "I hereby certify that this is a true copy of particulars recorded in a Register in the state of Victoria, in the Commonwealth of Australia". The document itself looks like a photocopy, not a shiny, colourful, holographic-y certificate like I was expecting. But it is a full death certificate with all of the details, not an extract. For the cost of it (~AUD$50) you'd want it to hold some sway.

My application is in the FBR's hands at the moment and they just need the death certificate from me to continue processing (totally my bad...in the blur that was submitting-an-application-in-2020 I must've sent a copy of the extract, not the full death certificate. Rookie mistake!) I'm currently waiting to hear back from my FBR processor whether the document I now have is what she needs.

I scoured this forum looking for anyone who has had this issue; hoping someone sees this and can respond. If anyone can put my mind at ease about the officialness (not sure if that's a word) of the certified copy, that would be wonderful.

Ta!

[Mr_Knight]

Hi all,

For those who applied via an Irish parent or grandparent who died in Australia: what did you send if you didn't have the original death certificate (i.e. the one the funeral home gives at the time a loved one dies)? Has anyone sent a certified copy from the Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages? According to the Vic BDM website the certified copy can be used for official purposes, and the certificate itself has a statement on it that says "I hereby certify that this is a true copy of particulars recorded in a Register in the state of Victoria, in the Commonwealth of Australia". The document itself looks like a photocopy, not a shiny, colourful, holographic-y certificate like I was expecting. But it is a full death certificate with all of the details, not an extract. For the cost of it (~AUD$50) you'd want it to hold some sway.

My application is in the FBR's hands at the moment and they just need the death certificate from me to continue processing (totally my bad...in the blur that was submitting-an-application-in-2020 I must've sent a copy of the extract, not the full death certificate. Rookie mistake!) I'm currently waiting to hear back from my FBR processor whether the document I now have is what she needs.

I scoured this forum looking for anyone who has had this issue; hoping someone sees this and can respond. If anyone can put my mind at ease about the officialness (not sure if that's a word) of the certified copy, that would be wonderful.

Ta!

All birth, marriage & death certificates that I got here in England carry that line at the bottom of the page "certified to be a true copy of" bla bla. If you got the certificate from a government body it is considered an official document of the original.

[BrexitEscapee]

I scoured this forum looking for anyone who has had this issue; hoping someone sees this and can respond. If anyone can put my mind at ease about the officialness (not sure if that's a word) of the certified copy, that would be wonderful.

The answer is as Mr Knight says above, but this regularly comes up as something which people aren't sure about, so here's an explanation I gave someone a few weeks ago, which might clarify the various terms used:

"The term "certified copy" means a certified copy of an entry in the births, deaths or marriage register. 'Certified copies' are just the bits of paper the authorities give you when you order a birth, death or marriage certificate - i.e they are official copies of whatever's written in the big book. There is only one register entry, but there can be as many 'certified copies' of that entry as you're prepared to pay for. So just contact the general records office and pay for a birth, death or marriage certificate, and that's your certified copy - no need to get anyone to sign it.

You will need to get signatures for other parts of your application, e.g. some documents need to be 'notarised' and others need to be witnessed by a doctor, policeman etc etc. But that's something else - nothing to do with your birth/death/marriage certificates."

[revendication]

Hello there everyone, first time poster!

I applied to join the foreign births register in January 2020 and heard back about my application this week.

To cut a long story short, I'm a UK resident/passport holder trying to claim Irish citizenship through my grandmother who was born in the Republic. I haven't seen my father since he was three (I'm now in my mid-30s), have no contact with him and have no idea where he lives (although I believe he's still alive); I can't therefore provide a copy of his passport or driving licence for obvious reasons but more importantly, he's not named on my birth certificate (only my mother is).

On the lack of a passport/driving licence copy, I sent with my application a notarised letter confirming that I couldn't provide one because he's estranged - as this had been sufficient with other people's applications according to forums similar to this one - but it was rejected in the rather generic reply I got.

The birth certificate is possibly a bigger issue - am I right in thinking that I can't have my father's name added to my certificate without a) either his signature or b) some court order I've never had any need for before? is there another way?

Any help would be massively appreciated - thanks in advance.

[corky100]

Hi, revendication - Not having the fathers name on the birth certificate is a massive issue......Suprised you applied with that tbh!

Only way round this that I can think of, look at section 12 here -

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... GRO185.pdf

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Hello All,
I am embarking on my application process for Irish Citizenship...
I am reading today that people who applied in 2020 are just receiving their FBR certs today... Congrats to all!!

I am wondering if there has been any updates on how quickly FBR are being processed now. I am getting ready to send off my docs within the next week or two. Do we think the processing time might still be 2 years, or does the process seem to be picking up?

Thanks in advance for any responses, advice, etc...

Best,
KSOD14

I'd be reasonably confident you would get your FBR cert in <2 years.

A few months ago, I'd have told you 2.5-3 years, but it appears that the backlog is not as big as was feared. They've gotten through the Brexit bump and they are moving through the pandemic shutdown months with great speed.

My bold prediction is they'll eventually get back to 12-18 months turnaround time.

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hello there everyone, first time poster!

I applied to join the foreign births register in January 2020 and heard back about my application this week.

To cut a long story short, I'm a UK resident/passport holder trying to claim Irish citizenship through my grandmother who was born in the Republic. I haven't seen my father since he was three (I'm now in my mid-30s), have no contact with him and have no idea where he lives (although I believe he's still alive); I can't therefore provide a copy of his passport or driving licence for obvious reasons but more importantly, he's not named on my birth certificate (only my mother is).

On the lack of a passport/driving licence copy, I sent with my application a notarised letter confirming that I couldn't provide one because he's estranged - as this had been sufficient with other people's applications according to forums similar to this one - but it was rejected in the rather generic reply I got.

The birth certificate is possibly a bigger issue - am I right in thinking that I can't have my father's name added to my certificate without a) either his signature or b) some court order I've never had any need for before? is there another way?

Any help would be massively appreciated - thanks in advance.

I don't recommend this often, but I'd suggest you talk to an immigration attorney to help you out if you can.

[HPFA]

A week ago I pop in and they jumped from March to May. Now they are on October?

They aren't half zooming through are they. Makes me, a January 2022 applicant quite optimistic for hearing back potentially next year.

Last time I checked a few weeks ago they'd only just got through February. Can't believe we're seeing October.

The application for my daughter is December 20 so I'll have to start checking my junk folder to make sure any correspondence doesn't slip through

.

[Valo]

Hello there everyone, first time poster!

I applied to join the foreign births register in January 2020 and heard back about my application this week.

To cut a long story short, I'm a UK resident/passport holder trying to claim Irish citizenship through my grandmother who was born in the Republic. I haven't seen my father since he was three (I'm now in my mid-30s), have no contact with him and have no idea where he lives (although I believe he's still alive); I can't therefore provide a copy of his passport or driving licence for obvious reasons but more importantly, he's not named on my birth certificate (only my mother is).

On the lack of a passport/driving licence copy, I sent with my application a notarised letter confirming that I couldn't provide one because he's estranged - as this had been sufficient with other people's applications according to forums similar to this one - but it was rejected in the rather generic reply I got.

The birth certificate is possibly a bigger issue - am I right in thinking that I can't have my father's name added to my certificate without a) either his signature or b) some court order I've never had any need for before? is there another way?

Any help would be massively appreciated - thanks in advance.

I have the exact same problem with regards to the state ID document of my mother. Estrangement, haven't seen her since I was 12. I sent mine off back in January 2022 with an affidavit and a written cover letter explaining the situation, although I don't have the same problem as you with regards to the parents name not being on the birth certificate.

Quite disheartening to hear this tbh, since I am in the same situation with regards to the ID part. I still have a long time to go until I hear back, so hearing about someone not getting on whilst missing the state ID part is discouraging. Maybe the reason they rejected you was due to the lack of a parent name on the birth certificate? People have succeeded as of recent, I saw a post from a few months back of someone who got on whilst missing parent ID... so it isn't impossible...

[GoingBackBackToEire]

A week ago I pop in and they jumped from March to May. Now they are on October?

They aren't half zooming through are they. Makes me, a January 2022 applicant quite optimistic for hearing back potentially next year.

Last time I checked a few weeks ago they'd only just got through February. Can't believe we're seeing October.

Eh, I doubt they're really up to October 2020 yet. That would be surprising, because we haven't seen any from August or September 2020.

This October talk started with a post from joemac41 (quoted below), it's probably more accurate to call it July 2020.

So good news. My better half got her confirmation today:

Appied 26 Feb 2020
Documents Sent and Recieved: Sometime in July 2020 and put in system 7 Oct 2020
Confirmation of Address: 12 Oct 2020 2022

Our long national nightmare is over.

My interpretation is the docs arrived in July while the office was closed.
I don't know what to make of the "put in system 7 Oct 2020" Perhaps it's a misunderstanding of the date format and it's really 10-7-2020. In Ireland, 10/7 means July 10th, not October 7th. (Assuming joemac41 is in the US where we do everything bass-ackwards.)

[Dalton_Trumbo]

A week ago I pop in and they jumped from March to May. Now they are on October?

They aren't half zooming through are they. Makes me, a January 2022 applicant quite optimistic for hearing back potentially next year.

Last time I checked a few weeks ago they'd only just got through February. Can't believe we're seeing October.

The application for my daughter is December 20 so I'll have to start checking my junk folder to make sure any correspondence doesn't slip through

.

They told on poster who called that they expected to be through the 2020 by the end of the year. That may be optimistic, but due to the lockdown seems to make sense that they received a fraction of normal number of applications in the remainder of 2020 (although they did open for a few months in the last part of the year so there may be a brief uptick from that.) It's possible they may have also have finally gotten the pre Brexit surge under control.

Either way seems very likely that future applicants may have closer the 12 - 18 months timeframe as opposed to those of us with the 2 1/2 year time frame. Good luck!

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Well, 32 months later and I'm done. Passport received today!

Hang in there folks, you'll get there.