Questions about FBR online form

[panamateur]

Greetings. I am a Brit, born in England, now living in Germany, applying to register my foreign birth in Ireland prior to applying for an Irish passport due to Brexit.

My maternal grandfather was born in N. Ireland. Neither of my parents were born in Ireland/N. Ireland, and they have not registered their births (which were both in England) in Ireland.

My questions regard the online application form.

1. On the first page (General), it asks: Did Parent (through whom Irish citizenship is said to be derived) acquire Irish citizenship by virtue of…
- Birth to a Person Born in Ireland
- Naturalisation
- Post Nuptial Declaration
- Foreign Births Registration
- Adoption

I take this to refer to my mother, as it is her father who my claim in based on, however, I don't think any of the alternative answers (of which I must select one) are correct as she does not have Irish citizenship. I suppose "Birth to a Person Born in Ireland" is the best answer, but my grandfather was born in N. Ireland, not Ireland so is this correct?

2. On the 'Applicant' page, it asks for Mother's Birth Surname. Is this my mother's surname at my birth, or her birth? Likewise, on the 'Parent' page, it also asks for the Mother's Birth Surname. Is this her mother's surname at the time of my mother's birth, or my mother's surname when she was born?

3. Also, on the 'Parent' page, it asks "Did this person ever make a 'Declaration Of Alienage' (renouncing Irish Citizenship) to the Minister for Justice of Ireland or through any Irish Embassy or Consulate?". The answer to this I assume is no, but it seems an irrelevant question as she is not an Irish citizen. I have the same question about the 'Grandparent' page as I don't think my grandfather had Irish citizenship either, having being born in N. Ireland. Should I enter 'No' for both?

Many thanks in advance.

[Rbs3]

Hello

I recently applied too, so I am familiar with the form.

1. Your mother is automatically an Irish citizen, being born to a parent born on the island of Ireland (she doesn’t need to hold an Irish passport or register her FBR - citizenship is automatic from her birth). For citizenship by birth/descent, the law doesn’t really draw any distinction between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. So the box to tick is ‘birth to a person born in Ireland’

2. Surname at her birth. In other words, your mother’s maiden name. What they will do is trace the names back to your grandfather - they will see from your mother’s birth certificate and any marriage certificate that her birth surname links her to your grandfather by name.

3. She is an Irish citizen as it is automatic for her (whether she holds a passport or not). People only normally renounce citizenship because they are taking up citizenship of a country that does not allow dual-citizenship. Based on what you have said, I would tick no.

Good luck! Once you have all the documents to hand, the form makes more sense.