Foreign Birth Registration

[Mr_Knight]

I've just received my confirmation of being accepted onto the FBR and have now applied for my passport. On the required documents list, for those applying through basis of FBR citizenship it states "Original passport from country of birth (if you have one)". Does anyone know certain if a certified copy is fine or if you need to post off your actual physical passport?

[Paddy399]

I’m tired of being a long time lurker and am starting to worry. I’m seeing more and more people get approved while I sit here in radio silence. My dates are as follows.

Online application sent 13/10/20
Confirmation of documents 18/12/20 (coincidentally my birthday)
Address confirmation email 16/11/22

And silence ever since…

My hope is that it will be soon and my delay was caused by me submitting my application with three of my siblings and all of us used the same paperwork. We all have the same dates as above and no one has heard anything since.

My application was held up due to there being a fault in the dfa system which prevented agents from receiving some address confirmations. In my case they received mine but not my brother’s and because they were linked applications neither could progress without the other. Perhaps you might need to check with your siblings whether they have dealt with things on their end properly. Alternatively there is a massive backlog for printing apparently and you don’t get a congrats email until your certificate is printed.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have since resent my address confirmation and advised my siblings to do the same.

[JT97]

I've just received my confirmation of being accepted onto the FBR and have now applied for my passport. On the required documents list, for those applying through basis of FBR citizenship it states "Original passport from country of birth (if you have one)". Does anyone know certain if a certified copy is fine or if you need to post off your actual physical passport?

Whilst it’s true that the checklist does say if resident outside of the state you may use a certified copy of your passport, it does also say in citizenship documents to submit your fbr certificate and your original foreign passport if you have one. I think this is what’s causing the confusion. I’m personally just sending a certified copy as I don’t want to send my passport abroad whilst having a few bits of travel planned, one of which is for work. I can’t risk not having a passport for the next few months. However most of this travel is to the EU so it would be nice to travel in an Irish passport not a British one

[Cathal]

As someone who had the documents received email in late Dec-2021, I've been watching this thread and my emails like a hawk this past few weeks - finally got my address check email this morning and have updated the sheet.

Docs received: 23-Dec-2021
Address check: 6-Jan-2023

Following up on this, I got my congratulations email yesterday (12th Feb) - surprised that they're working through Sundays, but maybe part of the extra effort to clear the backlog?

Certificate has been printed and posted to the UK.

Docs received: 23-Dec-2021
Address check: 6-Jan-2023
Congrats email: 12-Feb-2023

[Valo]

As someone who had the documents received email in late Dec-2021, I've been watching this thread and my emails like a hawk this past few weeks - finally got my address check email this morning and have updated the sheet.

Docs received: 23-Dec-2021
Address check: 6-Jan-2023

Following up on this, I got my congratulations email yesterday (12th Feb) - surprised that they're working through Sundays, but maybe part of the extra effort to clear the backlog?

Certificate has been printed and posted to the UK.

Docs received: 23-Dec-2021
Address check: 6-Jan-2023
Congrats email: 12-Feb-2023

Oh wow. So they ARE working through weekends. Very very interesting

[LongWayDown]

I've just received my confirmation of being accepted onto the FBR and have now applied for my passport. On the required documents list, for those applying through basis of FBR citizenship it states "Original passport from country of birth (if you have one)". Does anyone know certain if a certified copy is fine or if you need to post off your actual physical passport?

There is a passport thread whereby people abroad have just sent a certified copy of their passport without issue. Each to their own but I wouldn't be sending my only escape document anywhere outside of my country.

[sloanb]

Yippee

Received my congrats email a short while ago. My 28 day nervous wait since address check is now over, I'm Irish

My update:
Application submitted online: 15/01/2022
Documents received : 27/01/2022
Confirmation of address email: 16/01/2023
Congrats email: 13/2/2023

The delay between address check and congrats must have been mostly the certificate printing, as the email states that it has been printed. "A certificate has now been printed and posted to the address provided by you."

And now for the passport application...

Good luck everyone

[farangmau2022]

My application was sent and received in early October 2022, it seems I may need to move to a different address from the one used on all the application documentation.

How is a change of address likely to affect the address confirmation email ? Is it going to invalidate the whole application ?

[saxonthebeach]

Strange timeline for my child:

Online application: 2020/07/21
Documents received: 2020/10/06
Clarification email: 2022/10/26 (child was an infant at the time of application and is now 2, so they emailed requesting updated pictures)
Updated pictures delivered to Balbriggan: 2023/01/13
(I have confirmation from USPS tracking but no acknowledgement from FBR team. Note that the 2.5 month delay on my end was because child's next Dr. appointment was in the new year and we decided to just wait until then to get the pictures witnessed.)

Has been radio silence since, despite my having emailed in to request confirmation of receipt of the new pictures. I know the email address is monitored since I had an email exchange in Oct 2022 with the person who requested the new pictures (I emailed asking if the pictures needed to be witnessed by the same person as the original pictures 2 years ago - received an email back the very next day stating the answer here was no). I have replied to this email twice now asking for confirmation and have heard nothing back.

[Valo]

Yippee

Received my congrats email a short while ago. My 28 day nervous wait since address check is now over, I'm Irish

My update:
Application submitted online: 15/01/2022
Documents received : 27/01/2022
Confirmation of address email: 16/01/2023
Congrats email: 13/2/2023

The delay between address check and congrats must have been mostly the certificate printing, as the email states that it has been printed. "A certificate has now been printed and posted to the address provided by you."

And now for the passport application...

Good luck everyone

I'm Jan 9th for confirmation of address email and I'm STILL waiting

Congrats!

[hayburnman]

Just received my approved email!

I am now an EU citizen!

Application submitted: 09/01/2022
Documents received: 24/01/2022
Email requesting address confirmation: 12/01/2023
Email congratulations. 13/02/2023

Can't wait to walk through the EU gates again!

[EmilyEU]

As someone who had the documents received email in late Dec-2021, I've been watching this thread and my emails like a hawk this past few weeks - finally got my address check email this morning and have updated the sheet.

Docs received: 23-Dec-2021
Address check: 6-Jan-2023

Following up on this, I got my congratulations email yesterday (12th Feb) - surprised that they're working through Sundays, but maybe part of the extra effort to clear the backlog?

Certificate has been printed and posted to the UK.

Docs received: 23-Dec-2021
Address check: 6-Jan-2023
Congrats email: 12-Feb-2023

Oh wow. So they ARE working through weekends. Very very interesting

I wouldn't be so sure they are working on sundays...it may have been an automated email......very unlikely to get public sector workers to work weekends and legally they are entitled to double pay under irish law...dont think the government will pay that......but it may be one sunday a month type thing

[Paddy399]

I’m tired of being a long time lurker and am starting to worry. I’m seeing more and more people get approved while I sit here in radio silence. My dates are as follows.

Online application sent 13/10/20
Confirmation of documents 18/12/20 (coincidentally my birthday)
Address confirmation email 16/11/22

And silence ever since…

My hope is that it will be soon and my delay was caused by me submitting my application with three of my siblings and all of us used the same paperwork. We all have the same dates as above and no one has heard anything since.

My application was held up due to there being a fault in the dfa system which prevented agents from receiving some address confirmations. In my case they received mine but not my brother’s and because they were linked applications neither could progress without the other. Perhaps you might need to check with your siblings whether they have dealt with things on their end properly. Alternatively there is a massive backlog for printing apparently and you don’t get a congrats email until your certificate is printed.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have since resent my address confirmation and advised my siblings to do the same.

The gentleman replied to my email this morning to state that he is no longer with that department and my application was passed along to another agent. Perhaps he was brought it to help clear the backlog, but now where does that leave us?

[sloanb]

My application was sent and received in early October 2022, it seems I may need to move to a different address from the one used on all the application documentation.

How is a change of address likely to affect the address confirmation email ? Is it going to invalidate the whole application ?

Moving to a new address is no problem at all, you'll be fine. When the address confirmation comes to you via email just let them know you've moved and provide the necessary proof. Here's the wording from my address confirmation email.

"To ensure these documents are dispatched to the correct address, you should confirm your address by return e-mail. If you have moved address since you completed your application, you should provide a scanned copy of proof of that new address, e.g. original utility bills, bank statements, or government correspondence, dated within the last six months."

[alex012]

I've just received my confirmation of being accepted onto the FBR and have now applied for my passport. On the required documents list, for those applying through basis of FBR citizenship it states "Original passport from country of birth (if you have one)". Does anyone know certain if a certified copy is fine or if you need to post off your actual physical passport?

Whilst it’s true that the checklist does say if resident outside of the state you may use a certified copy of your passport, it does also say in citizenship documents to submit your fbr certificate and your original foreign passport if you have one. I think this is what’s causing the confusion. I’m personally just sending a certified copy as I don’t want to send my passport abroad whilst having a few bits of travel planned, one of which is for work. I can’t risk not having a passport for the next few months. However most of this travel is to the EU so it would be nice to travel in an Irish passport not a British one

Sorry for not being clearer. You're correct that that's the part I was querying. I completely agree and am also planning on sending a certified copy instead. Hopefully that doesn't cause any issues. I'll see if I can reach out to them for a definitive answer as well. Thanks!

[farangmau2022]

My application was sent and received in early October 2022, it seems I may need to move to a different address from the one used on all the application documentation.

How is a change of address likely to affect the address confirmation email ? Is it going to invalidate the whole application ?

Moving to a new address is no problem at all, you'll be fine. When the address confirmation comes to you via email just let them know you've moved and provide the necessary proof. Here's the wording from my address confirmation email.

"To ensure these documents are dispatched to the correct address, you should confirm your address by return e-mail. If you have moved address since you completed your application, you should provide a scanned copy of proof of that new address, e.g. original utility bills, bank statements, or government correspondence, dated within the last six months."

Perfect, thanks so much for your response.

[DamianMartin]

Here is a little it of good news I received yesterday from FBR Office.

"Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen in 2022."

"During 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs implemented a number of measures to address the volume of FBR applications on hand, with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these applications. These measures, which include increased staffing directed towards the processing of FBR applications, have had a positive impact on the waiting time for applicants. The current waiting time for FBR applications is 11 months from receipt of supporting documents, down from over 2 years in mid 2022."

[smbschrader]

Well, my whole little family is Irish now! Now my children can come with me to Ireland if they choose.

I applied 13 months ago for FBR certificates for my two children in the same envelope, using the same citizenship documentation. Received the congrats emails one month to the day after the address confirmation emails.

Applications submitted online: 04 Jan 2022
Docs received emails: 27 Jan 2022
Requests to confirm addresses: 13 Jan 2023
Confirmations of entries to FBR: 13 Feb 2023
Certificates received:

[EmilyEU]

Here is a little it of good news I received yesterday from FBR Office.

"Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen in 2022."

"During 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs implemented a number of measures to address the volume of FBR applications on hand, with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these applications. These measures, which include increased staffing directed towards the processing of FBR applications, have had a positive impact on the waiting time for applicants. The current waiting time for FBR applications is 11 months from receipt of supporting documents, down from over 2 years in mid 2022."

That's great that the FBR service confirmed that in writing. Really positive as we generally don't release any information from state services in Ireland unless its 100% accurate. Roll on November 2023 for me!

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Oh wow. So they ARE working through weekends. Very very interesting

I recall there was a job listing for the Balbriggan office a few months ago and it mentioned having flexible hours.

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Sorry for not being clearer. You're correct that that's the part I was querying. I completely agree and am also planning on sending a certified copy instead. Hopefully that doesn't cause any issues. I'll see if I can reach out to them for a definitive answer as well. Thanks!

I've seen posts here where folks have run into issues with this. Somewhere in the passport discussion thread.
I think the problem was that notaries in the US have rigid procedures and wouldn't certify the copy the way Ireland wanted it done. So that caused a delay as they had to mail more documents.

As long as you get the copy certified the way Ireland prefers you'll be fine.

[elizabeth7]

My Congrats/approval email was received on Jan 9, 2023. (Yay!)

Unfortunately, since then, after no certificate/docs have been received, I realized that my package has gotten lost in transit (FBR supplied the tracking number after I inquired). The tracking info ends in my region/state (so it got to the USA) but not to my address. Has anyone had this problem? Apparently my issue has now been sent to the Passport Office which is doing a "Postal Investigation". I am concerned about not being able to get my certificate. The supporting docs are now lost too. Can anyone provide any insight?

[Matt_UK]

Here is a little it of good news I received yesterday from FBR Office.

"Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The service was also impacted by necessary Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021 and the unprecedented demand for passports seen in 2022."

"During 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs implemented a number of measures to address the volume of FBR applications on hand, with a view to significantly reducing the processing time for these applications. These measures, which include increased staffing directed towards the processing of FBR applications, have had a positive impact on the waiting time for applicants. The current waiting time for FBR applications is 11 months from receipt of supporting documents, down from over 2 years in mid 2022."

That's great that the FBR service confirmed that in writing. Really positive as we generally don't release any information from state services in Ireland unless its 100% accurate. Roll on November 2023 for me!

Ministers have been mentioning this timeline in the Dáil since the middle of January. KildareStreet is a useful resource for keeping up with the timeline as they tend to say it there before anywhere else!

[Apple10]

Folks would anyone be kind enough to drop a link to the Irish passport application thread from this forum?

I need to find out what docs I need to send and certify but the online application doesn't let you move on from the photo and I don't want to have to make two trips out if I can help it.

Cheers

[CR001]

Folks would anyone be kind enough to drop a link to the Irish passport application thread from this forum?

I need to find out what docs I need to send and certify but the online application doesn't let you move on from the photo and I don't want to have to make two trips out if I can help it.

Cheers

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