Foreign Birth Registration

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hi Everyone
Looking for advice/experience of anyone applying without the grandparents photo id. I have just successfully applied for my first Irish passport as my mum was born in Northern Ireland. I am now starting the process of adding my two kids to the regsitry of foreign births (which having read this board I can see will take some time!). I have discovered that I need a copy of my mum's (their grandparent) official id. My mum doesn't have a driving licence or passport so I called the Registry of Foreign Births helpline and got a very vague answer from them saying I could apply with a letter saying my mum doesn't have ID but they would probably ask for it at some point. Anyone had success in a similar situation? I have suggested to my mum she just applies for a UK passport to help resolve this but she doesn't want to do this as she sees it as a waste of time.

I'm in a similar position of not being able to provide my grandparent's photo ID. My maternal grandfather is still alive but completely uncontactable; my grandparents divorced when my mother was a teenager, and that was the last time she ever saw him - I've never met him.

I emailed the Irish embassy (in the UK), and they spoke to the FBR office directly and advised me to apply with a letter explaining why I couldn't provide his ID. I did this, and also had an affidavit written up and printed out the email conversation to include with the application.

I did try to compensate, by including divorce records (separation agreement and decree nisi) - although they are not originals - and also a copy of my great uncle's ID. He lives in Northern Ireland and is also estranged from my grandfather so I was not able to notarise his ID. I explained all this in both the letter and the affidavit. All the other requested documents were submitted correctly.

Unfortunately I have been waiting for over 11 months (docs received email on 2nd June 2022) and have not had address confirmation. I suspect this might be delaying things, although they have not requested any additional documentation from me either - just complete silence. Not sure if maybe I've overcomplicated things to the point no-one wants to look at it or if they do just take longer for these applications. The current waiting time is supposed to be 6 - 9 months I believe.

Since you're in contact with your mum, it would probably be easier to submit it with some kind of ID? I think the process would at least be smoother if you could. You could try without, providing a letter etc, but I feel like they might ask why she doesn't have ID or look for an alternative from you, which could slow things down.

From what can be seen on here, 6 - 9 months does not seem accurate. Seems like just about 11 - 12 months for congrats email from what I've seen. I'm guessing these may be straightforward applications with all required evidence submitted without any qualification. Stay the course, I'm guessing you'll hear something soon.

[Js6391]

[quote=Js6391 post_id=2114367 time=<a href="tel:1683611456">1683611456</a> user_id=274296]
DV22 same timeline as me and my brother I sent a new birth certificate and had to email urgent enquiries for them to find it and give it to the person doing my application I think if you email them might be your best option

Thanks for sharing! Did you send the urgent enquiries to the agent that contacted you first, or did you have a different contact to help get the birth certificate to the agent handling your case?
[/quote]


I sent an email to fbr.urgentqueries@dfa.ie and a lady got back to me after a couple days saying she checked with the post department and found my certificate and forwarded it onto the person dealing with my application

[loobyloo]

I have just successfully applied for my first Irish passport

I have suggested to my mum she just applies for a UK passport to help resolve this but she doesn't want to do this as she sees it as a waste of time.

You've satisfied the DFA that you are you are an Irish citizen from birth - not sure why the DFA require more...but that's beside the point.

Provisional driving license? Who's time? Nothing stopping you doing all the legwork and paying the money. At the end of the day, her grandchildren might find themselves in a sticky situation where the passport of a neutral country could come in handy

I think I may be able to persuade her to get a passport if I go through the application process and pay for it as you suggest so I will give that a try. She does have a blue badge for disabled parking which has her photo on and can be used as ID for voting. I think I will ring the FBR and ask them if that counts a government issued id

[Tickets]

Hi I was wondering if someone can help me my fbr got approved last Wednesday I was wondering how long would it be before I received my certificate I live in the uk and will I be notified when it is posted ?

[mx_cathain]

Just an update for the board - I'm waiting to see if they need to do a document check now, but now I'm at address check can anyone tell me whether to expect one at this point as from looking, they don't seem to request any info after document check (unless I'm looking at a rejection, which I'd be really shocked at as it's very very clear lineage, all documents except a dad's scanned passport - have explained estrangement):

Application submitted: 04/08/2022
Documents received: 15/08/2022
Address confirmation: 09/05/2023
Email Congratulations: TBC

I'm not sure if this is a congratulations email but I got a tracking number saying I'll get an email when it's being printed, with a waiting time of 6-8 weeks, for those keeping track of timelines who sent theirs out in August.

Application submitted: 04/08/2022
Documents received: 15/08/2022
Address confirmation: 09/05/2023
Application Printed and Posted: 10/05/2023
Email Congratulations: TBC

[mx_cathain]

Hi I was wondering if someone can help me my fbr got approved last Wednesday I was wondering how long would it be before I received my certificate I live in the uk and will I be notified when it is posted ?

You should have a tracking number in your email, it'll go live when they post it, and you'll be able to check it there on the An Post website https://www.anpost.com/Post-Parcels/Track/Search (that's what I'm guessing).

[Tickets]

Hi Yh there is a tracking number but when I track nothing appears how long is it usually from when you receive your congratulations email to when they post out do you no ?

[Rxp2023]

Hi I was wondering if someone can help me my fbr got approved last Wednesday I was wondering how long would it be before I received my certificate I live in the uk and will I be notified when it is posted ?

Received mine recently, took 1 week to arrive at my house in the UK

[Tickets]

Ok thank you did they notify you when they posted because I have a tracker when I got confirmation email but nothing has been scanned in on it did your email say it can take up to 4 weeks to be printed and posted ?

[Rxp2023]

Ok thank you did they notify you when they posted because I have a tracker when I got confirmation email but nothing has been scanned in on it did your email say it can take up to 4 weeks to be printed and posted ?

This was the exact email I received, don’t recall any tracking info, but even I received some I never used it. One week to the day of this email: “ Congratulations, your application for Irish citizenship through entry on the Foreign Births Register has been successful.

A certificate has now been printed and posted to the address provided by you. Please note that your application will be sent via Registered post and someone will need to be available to sign for the envelope.

If you live in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, Passport Online is the fastest and cheapest way for you to get your first Irish passport. See https://www.dfa.ie/passportonline/ for more information.”

[ceylan1987]

Hi all

Providing an update on August 2022 applications.

Applied online - 09/08/2022
Docs recieved - 17/08/2022
Address check - 11/05/2023

[HarleyQ]

Related to adoption of parent: Court Order for Adoption (Adoption Order)

I hope someone can help as I have had a look through the search function but I am looking for a more direct answer in relation to requesting Court Order for Adoption.

I am applying through my Irish Born Grandfather who adopted my mother where the adoption took place in Wales where they resided, I had requested the adoption certificate but I overlooked the order as part of my document package.

Does anyone know what the process of requesting this is as I have been trying to look things up but my search terms on google seem to pull through information relating to starting an adoption order, not requesting the information related to one from the 1960s!



Positive Side Note: The prediction of current timescales was accurate so I am super impressed with how the FBR are speeding through the applications now, just kicking myself for missing a document!
Sibling Applications sent together:
Application 1 Date: 14th October 2021
Application 2 (sister) Date: 23rd February 2022
Document Acknowledgement: 25th August 2022
Request for Additional Information (Court Order for Adoption): 11th May 2023

[corky100]

Related to adoption of parent: Court Order for Adoption (Adoption Order)

I hope someone can help as I have had a look through the search function but I am looking for a more direct answer in relation to requesting Court Order for Adoption.

I am applying through my Irish Born Grandfather who adopted my mother where the adoption took place in Wales where they resided, I had requested the adoption certificate but I overlooked the order as part of my document package.

Does anyone know what the process of requesting this is as I have been trying to look things up but my search terms on google seem to pull through information relating to starting an adoption order, not requesting the information related to one from the 1960s!



Positive Side Note: The prediction of current timescales was accurate so I am super impressed with how the FBR are speeding through the applications now, just kicking myself for missing a document!
Sibling Applications sent together:
Application 1 Date: 14th October 2021
Application 2 (sister) Date: 23rd February 2022
Document Acknowledgement: 25th August 2022
Request for Additional Information (Court Order for Adoption): 11th May 2023

Your best bet is to dig through the family archives - failing that, if the court where the adoption occurred is closed, you have to dig around the courts that are still there, and hope there's a record. There probably isn't.

There is another option. Get a RICA for your mother, you will have to speak with the AAI to see if they will accept an application without a court order. As it was in the 1960's you may have luck.

https://aai.gov.ie/en/who-we-are/inter- ... /rica.html

https://aai.gov.ie/en/contact-us.html


Elephant in room....tell me more about this "document package"

[corky100]

By family archives, I mean boxes in the loft. As for document package - do you mean what you sent over to FBR?

[HarleyQ]

By family archives, I mean boxes in the loft. As for document package - do you mean what you sent over to FBR?

Thanks Corky, I have enquired with the family oracle (my grandmother) and they do not have any additional documents that I havent already submitted a copy of in the document package (aka - the many many sheets of labeled documents that I so eagerly and confidently sent to the FBR thinking I had it all covered!) so I have sent an email to what is likely to have been the court to see if they can instruct further on the process so I appreciate the advice! I will give them a call mid-week but thought i'd fire off an email first just to start the ball rolling!

[corky100]

I had an original copy of the court order - But I've looked into how I would get a copy. The court still exists, and it seems they're depositing the records with the local council.

Have a look here:-

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/inf ... gion=wales

[corky100]

Also, sorry if this is grandmother suck eggs - my adoption certificate from the GRO lists name of court, date of order and court registrar.

[Triathlete]

I would like to add my experience with Irish Foreign Birth Registration. Some things are a little different now (I applied in 1978 and was approved in 1979), but the basic premise still applies.
You will need to pay the fee and fill out the form. The documents you need are:
1. Irish Grandparent’s birth certificate.
2. Irish Grandparent’s marriage certificate.
3. Your parents birth certificate (the one that is the child of the Irish Grandparent).
4. Your parents marriage certificate.
5. Your birth certificate showing your parents names on it.
6. Your marriage certificate and any divorce decrees demonstrating change of name.
7. You will need an affidavit of identify from a priest or rabbi or religious personage or a Judge. I am. It religious and I work in the courthouse, so I used a Judge. They were more than happy to demonstrate that they knew my identify.
I sent in originals. It took 18 months but they returned all the originals.
It is a long process but it works.

[duffy1867]

I'm in a similar position of not being able to provide my grandparent's photo ID. My maternal grandfather is still alive but completely uncontactable; my grandparents divorced when my mother was a teenager, and that was the last time she ever saw him - I've never met him.

I emailed the Irish embassy (in the UK), and they spoke to the FBR office directly and advised me to apply with a letter explaining why I couldn't provide his ID. I did this, and also had an affidavit written up and printed out the email conversation to include with the application.

I did try to compensate, by including divorce records (separation agreement and decree nisi) - although they are not originals - and also a copy of my great uncle's ID. He lives in Northern Ireland and is also estranged from my grandfather so I was not able to notarise his ID. I explained all this in both the letter and the affidavit. All the other requested documents were submitted correctly.

Unfortunately I have been waiting for over 11 months (docs received email on 2nd June 2022) and have not had address confirmation. I suspect this might be delaying things, although they have not requested any additional documentation from me either - just complete silence. Not sure if maybe I've overcomplicated things to the point no-one wants to look at it or if they do just take longer for these applications. The current waiting time is supposed to be 6 - 9 months I believe.

Since you're in contact with your mum, it would probably be easier to submit it with some kind of ID? I think the process would at least be smoother if you could. You could try without, providing a letter etc, but I feel like they might ask why she doesn't have ID or look for an alternative from you, which could slow things down.

One thing I never anticipated when I started the FBR journey was just how much you become interested in other people’s journeys - hopefully you get sorted soon - we have seen others success with a similar story on this forum.

It’s so good to see the wait times come down, I was part of the Feb 20 Club and waited for 28 months before I had certificate in hand - totally worth the wait of course and a huge privilege to have it - as someone said to me when I started the journey, sit back, relax - it will happen

The idea that some people have certificate (and passport for that matter) in hand the same calendar year they apply is fantastic! One thing that has always been true is that the wait times have consistently been 20% over what they will admit - so if they are saying 9 months, you’re looking at around 12 for most people

[binky62]

A bit late to put this on here but I'm finally an Irish citizen.

Application date: 17 Nov 2021
Documents received: 21 Apr 2022 (It took me a couple of months to order a long-form version of my grandparent's birth certificate, at the time I didn't know there was a difference!)
Address clarification email: 20 Feb 2023
Congratulations email: 8 May 2023 (the certificate was dated as issued on 17 April 2023! So there was a big gap between printing and the congrats email)
Certificate received: 12 May 2023

Now on to the passport...

A question for people that have applied for the passport already. I'm not overly keen on sending the FBR certificate back to Ireland as there is a good chance it might get lost (and then take forever to get a copy). On the passport purchase email, it says you can send a colour photocopy of it and have it certified. I went on the Ireland chat assistant today and the guy said it has to be the original certificate. Has anyone sent off a colour copy of it?

[boardupdate]

A question for people that have applied for the passport already. I'm not overly keen on sending the FBR certificate back to Ireland as there is a good chance it might get lost (and then take forever to get a copy). On the passport purchase email, it says you can send a colour photocopy of it and have it certified. I went on the Ireland chat assistant today and the guy said it has to be the original certificate. Has anyone sent off a colour copy of it?

I am three weeks into my passport application and I have sent a notarised colour copy of my FBR certificate as it clearly states on the application form that a copy is acceptable. The passport application tracking has moved on from saying it is verifying my documents to now saying that my application is being processed and I haven't been asked to send the original certificate. I'd advise people to send a notarised copy as a couple of months ago a poster said that their application was lost in transit and seemingly it will be October at the earliest before replacement certificates will be printed.

For anyone applying from the UK the Post Office will notarise 1-3 documents for £12.75 so I did my certificate, passport and driving licence as an additional proof of address.

[binky62]

A question for people that have applied for the passport already. I'm not overly keen on sending the FBR certificate back to Ireland as there is a good chance it might get lost (and then take forever to get a copy). On the passport purchase email, it says you can send a colour photocopy of it and have it certified. I went on the Ireland chat assistant today and the guy said it has to be the original certificate. Has anyone sent off a colour copy of it?

I am three weeks into my passport application and I have sent a notarised colour copy of my FBR certificate as it clearly states on the application form that a copy is acceptable. The passport application tracking has moved on from saying it is verifying my documents to now saying that my application is being processed and I haven't been asked to send the original certificate. I'd advise people to send a notarised copy as a couple of months ago a poster said that their application was lost in transit and seemingly it will be October at the earliest before replacement certificates will be printed.

For anyone applying from the UK the Post Office will notarise 1-3 documents for £12.75 so I did my certificate, passport and driving licence as an additional proof of address.

Interesting...thank you for replying!

On the website chat he said that I could only get my passport certified. I did ask about Royal Mail doing this and he said no, it had to be the witness for the passport. I also did say to him that the email and form states the FBR certificate can be certified, again he said no it can't. I queried it and he kept saying the same thing over and over. He then eventually said I could get it certified at my own risk and they would probably ask for me to send the original, in all not very helpful.

So you got the FBR certificate certified by the Royal Mail? I might do the same. I don't want to wait for another half a year if it gets lost. It seems that their guidance isn't very clear or consistent...there I was thinking the passport would be more straightforward

[boardupdate]

I am three weeks into my passport application and I have sent a notarised colour copy of my FBR certificate as it clearly states on the application form that a copy is acceptable. The passport application tracking has moved on from saying it is verifying my documents to now saying that my application is being processed and I haven't been asked to send the original certificate. I'd advise people to send a notarised copy as a couple of months ago a poster said that their application was lost in transit and seemingly it will be October at the earliest before replacement certificates will be printed.

For anyone applying from the UK

Interesting...thank you for replying!

On the website chat he said that I could only get my passport certified. I did ask about Royal Mail doing this and he said no, it had to be the witness for the passport. I also did say to him that the email and form states the FBR certificate can be certified, again he said no it can't. I queried it and he kept saying the same thing over and over. He then eventually said I could get it certified at my own risk and they would probably ask for me to send the original, in all not very helpful.

So you got the FBR certificate certified by the Royal Mail? I might do the same. I don't want to wait for another half a year if it gets lost. It seems that their guidance isn't very clear or consistant...

I'd definitely send a notarised copy of the certificate as the worst that can happen is you lose a couple of weeks if they do ask for the original. I'll post an update when I get my passport or if they decide I have to send the original.

[shomat]

Hello! I'm more of a reader than a participant but I've learnt so much from reading this forum!

I sent my documents today and I'm a bit concerned. UPS wouldn't ship because the address is a PO Box. I had to use USPS and they said there's a new policy and there would be a $21 customs fee on delivery. I purchased a cashier's cheque and put it in the envelope stating it was for the customs fee but I'm concerned the package will be turned away without opening it to see the cashier's cheque. I had to declare a value so I only declared $1.

Has anyone else encountered this? I've never heard of a customs fee for documents.

**update**
USPS and An Post have marked this as delivered. Whew! Now the waiting begins...

Did they cash the check you included? Do you know if they accepted it because you included that? I tried to send my application today as well, and I was really surprised when the USPS Clerk told me there was a customs fee due and no way for me to pay it, that it must be paid by the receiver. I said "these are going to the government, are they really going to pay to receive my package?" but she really couldn't offer any help and had no way charge me extra. I'm really concerned about getting it returned-to-sender since it's an urgent request.

[okcomputer]

Hi Everyone, thanks for sharing all the helpful info. I finally posted the FBR applications with supporting documents for my teenage kids today. I may have broken a record as I applied online in July 2021 and it took so long to get the full application ready. I was an Irish citizen (and passport holder) when my kids were born but I was not born in Ireland. My understanding is that they have to apply based on my parent (who was born in Ireland). Is that correct? I included everything in the packet except that the certified copy of my Dad's passport was out of date, so I am hoping that won't cause too much issue. We live in different countries so difficult to sync all of that. I'll update on this board as I'm hoping newer applications will be closer to a year than 3 years.