Foreign Birth Registration

[binky62]

Gah. I'm starting to get anxious seeing address confirmations for applications received after mine.
Mine was received 21/03/2022... hopefully I won't have too much longer to wait.

As a long-time lurker, I have noticed this before. It does seem a bit sporadic as they are supposed to do them in a 'strict' date order.

[Patpatriot]

As someone who has followed this page for a while I can say that they definitely are not processing in strict date order and despite what the government says they are not processing them in 10 months. There are a few people that do get them done a lot quicker than others, maybe just lucky with who is looking at them or which order they fall on top of the pile going to the printer. All you can do it wait though, I'm over 13 months from documents received and 6 weeks since address confirmation, but since they didn't ask for anything further have to assume it's just stuck in the backlog going to print?

[Burtonian]

Thanks to all posters on this helpful thread.

The below dates of my pending FBR application seem to reflect the average experience:

Application submitted online: 15/10/2021
Documents received email: 18/02/2022
Confirmation of address email: 20/01/2023

[Burtonian]

So in this context do they only want the marriage certificate as evidence for the name changes?

That was my understanding. I submitted a marriage certificate for my grandmother but not for my father.

I received an address confirmation email on 20 January and have not to date been asked for additional documents, but am awaiting formal action on the application.

[Ssgogo16]

Got a bit of a weird situation for everyone. Father was added to the FBR in the early 1990’s and was required to turn in his FBR to the consulate to be issued a passport. Passport is over 15 years expired so the DFA will not accept his prior Irish passport as proof of citizenship.

Of course, we no longer have his FBR so we sent in a replacement request:

Application 09/2022
Supporting documents received 01/23

After a month of waiting I called the FBR office to inquire about this and was told some very unfortunate news. They are no longer processing replacement certificates as all staff have been moved to processing new FBR applicants. Well now we’ve unfortunately got my father stuck without his Irish passport, me and my siblings are also unable to apply for our own FBR till we get that replacement. Under normal processing times does anyone know how long the replacement certificate takes?

I was really hoping it wouldn’t take as long as a new application given it’s essentially a records request. But now I’m not too sure, hopefully they resume processing replacements before the end of 2023?

[corky100]

The DFA accept expired passports for certain passport applications....might be worth asking them why an expired passport is not good enough for FBR?

From the passport application form - "Photocopy of parent’s Irish passport – must be issued before the date of adoption"

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/22 application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

Could you please check your dates as in the years? as it looks like your application was submitted around the time mine was and also you have a below average timeline with only 9-10 months wait. Thanks.

Those dates are correct and just under 10 months wait for accepting my documents to address confirmation

Something doesn't add up because your online application was made after the documents were received.
I suppose 14/11/22 should be 14/11/21

[GoingBackBackToEire]

As someone who has followed this page for a while I can say that they definitely are not processing in strict date order and despite what the government says they are not processing them in 10 months. There are a few people that do get them done a lot quicker than others, maybe just lucky with who is looking at them or which order they fall on top of the pile going to the printer. All you can do it wait though, I'm over 13 months from documents received and 6 weeks since address confirmation, but since they didn't ask for anything further have to assume it's just stuck in the backlog going to print?

There's a number of factors at play.
I don't see why they wouldn't be processing them in date order. It's what they say they're doing, and I don't see that they'd have anything to gain from saying one thing and doing another.
It's more likely that different applications take different amounts of time to process.
We also know they've added more staff recently, and it's likely that new staffers don't work as quickly as more experienced people. Also, applications processed by new staff require checking by senior staff. This adds time.
It also seems that the order of their processes are flexible. It seems that some do the address check early and others right at the end. Some hold off on the congrats email until the cert is printed and posted, but do they all? In the past it has been 1-2 weeks to receive your cert after the congrats email. Basically just the time in the post. But now we're seeing some at 1-2 weeks and some at 4-6 weeks.

[EmilyEU]

As someone who has followed this page for a while I can say that they definitely are not processing in strict date order and despite what the government says they are not processing them in 10 months. There are a few people that do get them done a lot quicker than others, maybe just lucky with who is looking at them or which order they fall on top of the pile going to the printer. All you can do it wait though, I'm over 13 months from documents received and 6 weeks since address confirmation, but since they didn't ask for anything further have to assume it's just stuck in the backlog going to print?

I would strongly agree with this assessment.

[EmilyEU]

Got a bit of a weird situation for everyone. Father was added to the FBR in the early 1990’s and was required to turn in his FBR to the consulate to be issued a passport. Passport is over 15 years expired so the DFA will not accept his prior Irish passport as proof of citizenship.

Of course, we no longer have his FBR so we sent in a replacement request:

Application 09/2022
Supporting documents received 01/23

After a month of waiting I called the FBR office to inquire about this and was told some very unfortunate news. They are no longer processing replacement certificates as all staff have been moved to processing new FBR applicants. Well now we’ve unfortunately got my father stuck without his Irish passport, me and my siblings are also unable to apply for our own FBR till we get that replacement. Under normal processing times does anyone know how long the replacement certificate takes?

I was really hoping it wouldn’t take as long as a new application given it’s essentially a records request. But now I’m not too sure, hopefully they resume processing replacements before the end of 2023?

Would the FBR not be able to themselves search for your fathers FBR? Since they are in the possesion of then information/record....I understand they want to see it but if its the situation you are in, they might be able to help...also slim chance the consultate your father handed it in to still have though....but could be paper trail...an earlier post spoke about going to a genealogy service or something to that affect to get documents worth a try....good luck

[JohnL]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

[Ssgogo16]

Got a bit of a weird situation for everyone. Father was added to the FBR in the early 1990’s and was required to turn in his FBR to the consulate to be issued a passport. Passport is over 15 years expired so the DFA will not accept his prior Irish passport as proof of citizenship.

Of course, we no longer have his FBR so we sent in a replacement request:

Application 09/2022
Supporting documents received 01/23

After a month of waiting I called the FBR office to inquire about this and was told some very unfortunate news. They are no longer processing replacement certificates as all staff have been moved to processing new FBR applicants. Well now we’ve unfortunately got my father stuck without his Irish passport, me and my siblings are also unable to apply for our own FBR till we get that replacement. Under normal processing times does anyone know how long the replacement certificate takes?

I was really hoping it wouldn’t take as long as a new application given it’s essentially a records request. But now I’m not too sure, hopefully they resume processing replacements before the end of 2023?

Would the FBR not be able to themselves search for your fathers FBR? Since they are in the possesion of then information/record....I understand they want to see it but if its the situation you are in, they might be able to help...also slim chance the consultate your father handed it in to still have though....but could be paper trail...an earlier post spoke about going to a genealogy service or something to that affect to get documents worth a try....good luck

I had the same thought, my guess is they won’t want to spend time cross referencing the registry? I don’t really have any other guess for why they can’t. I honestly didn’t mind waiting a bit for his replacement certificate but to hear they’re not even processing them, that hurt to hear. I hope I’m not waiting too much longer, I can’t wait to be Irish.

[EmilyEU]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

Depends on the year of birth and whether the person in question as in the grandparent is or was holding an Irish passport. Check dfa.ie FAQ's or call them directly.

[Rxp2023]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

Yes that is correct

[sloanb]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

Yes that is correct

And I can confirm that Rxp2023's response is correct. It was my situation as my grandfather was born in Belfast. As my mother was born in England I needed to go via the FBR route. And I received my congrats email just a few days ago, 13th Feb.

[JohnL]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

Yes that is correct

And I can confirm that Rxp2023's response is correct. It was my situation as my grandfather was born in Belfast. As my mother was born in England I needed to go via the FBR route. And I received my congrats email just a few days ago, 13th Feb.

Thank you Rxp2023 and sloanb- much appreciated! My friend will be so pleased to hear this. And congrats on your citizenship sloanb!

[Valo]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

Depends on the year of birth and whether the person in question as in the grandparent is or was holding an Irish passport. Check dfa.ie FAQ's or call them directly.

This isn’t quite correct.

Doesn’t matter if they held an Irish passport or not. They could have only held a British one their entire lives. Birth on the island is what matters.

[EmilyEU]

Hi all,

Asking for a friend whose Grandparent was born in Northern Ireland. I believe they can apply for Irish Citizenship through the FBR - isn't that correct? The rules state "born on the island of Ireland"...

Thanks - John

Depends on the year of birth and whether the person in question as in the grandparent is or was holding an Irish passport. Check dfa.ie FAQ's or call them directly.

This isn’t quite correct.

Doesn’t matter if they held an Irish passport or not. They could have only held a British one their entire lives. Birth on the island is what matters.

Apologies I think I may have misread something on the dfa website.

People in Northern Ireland can generally chose which citizenship they would like.

Congrats for your friends situation.

I still think people claiming they are "Irish" having never stepped foot or ever lived in the country but yet have one irish grandparent born here, doesn't fully grasp what it means to be Irish but I don't make the citizenship rules here.

[Rxp2023]

I find this quite a strange remark to be making on an FBR forum designed to give people advice and useful information about the process. I noticed you made a similar comment a week or so ago when I said I was applying through my grandfather and it I found it a little bit offensive. Isn’t the whole point of FBR that we are apply for citizenship through our grandparents? After all, if our parents were born in Ireland then we would already be automatic citizens and wouldn’t need to apply through FBR at all. It’s a bit presumptuous to think that someone has never set foot in Ireland or has no connection with it when that wasn’t even mentioned. Certainly in my case I have been to Ireland many times, have family there, have a huge amount of respect and admiration for the country and have always been very proud of my Irish heritage. It’s true that many UK citizens are applying for citizenship for practical reasons relating to access to the EU, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Being part of the CTA means already that we share rights to travel and work in each other’s countries pretty much unrestricted, (a mutually beneficial agreement that many people from both countries enjoy). Therefore, there was no practical incentive for me to pursue Irish citizenship prior to brexit as all benefits were already open to me. With regards to Brexit, it has had a huge negative impact on many of our lives (especially for those of us who voted against it), and have found eligibility for Irish citizenship to be a bit of a lifeline. No, I don’t think acquiring citizenship is going to make me quintessentially Irish, but nor do I think it will do any harm to Ireland as my rights to live and work there etc will be unchanged. Apologies if this comes off as overly defensive, but again, this is a forum about the FBR process so it does seem strange to express your disapproval every time someone has a question about it.

[SPD78]

Hi all

Only been on this message a few months but what a great people with great information and have been hooked checking everyday seeing how others applications were going and feeling relieved as the waiting times fell.

My timeline for my application was

14/11/21application made online
19/4/22 application received (delay in getting all my documents ready)
17/2/23 address confirmation

Just hopefully the congrats email is not too long and me and my wife can retire to Spain. Lucky lady as she is only a Uk passport holder. Finally done something right as a husband lol. Thanks grandad

[SPD78]

Sorry realised I put November 22 for application made. Yes I meant to put November 21. Updated accordingly now. Apologies

[Mr_Knight]

I find this quite a strange remark to be making on an FBR forum designed to give people advice and useful information about the process. I noticed you made a similar comment a week or so ago when I said I was applying through my grandfather and it I found it a little bit offensive. Isn’t the whole point of FBR that we are apply for citizenship through our grandparents? After all, if our parents were born in Ireland then we would already be automatic citizens and wouldn’t need to apply through FBR at all. It’s a bit presumptuous to think that someone has never set foot in Ireland or has no connection with it when that wasn’t even mentioned. Certainly in my case I have been to Ireland many times, have family there, have a huge amount of respect and admiration for the country and have always been very proud of my Irish heritage. It’s true that many UK citizens are applying for citizenship for practical reasons relating to access to the EU, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Being part of the CTA means already that we share rights to travel and work in each other’s countries pretty much unrestricted, (a mutually beneficial agreement that many people from both countries enjoy). Therefore, there was no practical incentive for me to pursue Irish citizenship prior to brexit as all benefits were already open to me. With regards to Brexit, it has had a huge negative impact on many of our lives (especially for those of us who voted against it), and have found eligibility for Irish citizenship to be a bit of a lifeline. No, I don’t think acquiring citizenship is going to make me quintessentially Irish, but nor do I think it will do any harm to Ireland as my rights to live and work there etc will be unchanged. Apologies if this comes off as overly defensive, but again, this is a forum about the FBR process so it does seem strange to express your disapproval every time someone has a question about it.

Don't take the bait. There will always be gatekeepers.

[Rxp2023]

Fair point

[Dalton_Trumbo]

I find this quite a strange remark to be making on an FBR forum designed to give people advice and useful information about the process. I noticed you made a similar comment a week or so ago when I said I was applying through my grandfather and it I found it a little bit offensive. Isn’t the whole point of FBR that we are apply for citizenship through our grandparents? After all, if our parents were born in Ireland then we would already be automatic citizens and wouldn’t need to apply through FBR at all. It’s a bit presumptuous to think that someone has never set foot in Ireland or has no connection with it when that wasn’t even mentioned. Certainly in my case I have been to Ireland many times, have family there, have a huge amount of respect and admiration for the country and have always been very proud of my Irish heritage. It’s true that many UK citizens are applying for citizenship for practical reasons relating to access to the EU, I don’t see anything wrong with that. Being part of the CTA means already that we share rights to travel and work in each other’s countries pretty much unrestricted, (a mutually beneficial agreement that many people from both countries enjoy). Therefore, there was no practical incentive for me to pursue Irish citizenship prior to brexit as all benefits were already open to me. With regards to Brexit, it has had a huge negative impact on many of our lives (especially for those of us who voted against it), and have found eligibility for Irish citizenship to be a bit of a lifeline. No, I don’t think acquiring citizenship is going to make me quintessentially Irish, but nor do I think it will do any harm to Ireland as my rights to live and work there etc will be unchanged. Apologies if this comes off as overly defensive, but again, this is a forum about the FBR process so it does seem strange to express your disapproval every time someone has a question about it.

Don't take the bait. There will always be gatekeepers.

Agreed. The point of the FBR is allow the descendants of those who left Ireland to maintain a connection or reconnect with their family heritage and reconnect to the culture and country their ancestors left. The very process does that, whether or not you choose to live in Ireland or somewhere else. Joining an FBR forum simply to disparage the people applying to FBR is ridiculous.

[Patpatriot]

Congratulations email received today. Dual applications for my daughters, submitted in one folder, separate emails but only 5 minutes apart.

Online Application: 31/12/21
Documents Received: 18/1/22
Address Confirmation: 11/1/23
Congrats Email: 20/2/23