Foreign Birth Registration?

[lwillia89]

After e-mailing the DFA, they confirmed that my had been put forward for approval: 13.06.2018
Received: 28.07.2018

Application was dated 15th June, but was not received until the end of July.

I am assuming that you mean that your FBR certificate was dated 15th June.

Considering that your application receipt date was two days earlier than Kev918, it's puzzling that your application took about two months longer to process.

In any event, here's my total timeline:
January 31, 2018: FBR application received at DFA in Dublin.
May 11, 2018: Entry of foreign birth registry.
May 29, 2018: I received my FBR under a cover letter dated May 18, 2018 along with all of the original documents I had submitted with my application.

I wonder if submitting through London introduces some delay. Were the returned documents sent via London?

Or was there something about your documentation that you think may have resulted in additional review?

You're right - I mean the FBR certificate is dated 15th June.

Absolutely certain applying through London causes an additional delay. My application was pretty straightforward, I applied through my Grandfather who was born in Co. Fermanagh. Although there was a discrepancy between his names (born Cyril Oliver, married as Oliver Cyril), they didn't ask for additional documentation. Turnaround times seem quicker for US applicants from what I've seen on this forum. The letter from the DFA with the certificate and original documentation had an Irish postmark and was sent straight from Dublin.

Passport times seem slow from here as well. My application was submitted straight to the Passport Office in Cork, but the current estimated issue date is October 31st.

[PasadenaTom]

I received my FBR certificate in the mail today. The cover letter said “We are delighted to confirm that you are now an Irish citizen”. They cannot be any more delighted than me!

Here’s my timeline:
Applied online: April 9, 2018
Documents mailed: April 9, 2018 (sent directly to Dublin)
Documents received by DFA: April 16, 2018 (acknowledged via email)
Entry in FBR: July 26, 2018
Cover letter date: August 9, 2018
Received FBR certificate: August 16, 2018

It took four months and one week from online submission and mailing of documents to receipt of my certificate.

I think my documentation was pretty straightforward. The only name discrepancy was the presence of a middle initial on my grandfather’s death certificate that is not found on his other documents. His age on his wedding certificate was off by a couple of years. But his parents name on that document matched the parent names on his birth certificate.

I realize that some others have more complex situations with documentation. But I wanted to share this for those of you who are waiting, because I think it is evidence that FBR application processing is getting quicker – at least for uncomplicated ones. I was told “up to six months”. So this is wonderful news.

Now it is time to send in my passport application!

[BrexitEscapee]

I received my FBR certificate in the mail today. The cover letter said “We are delighted to confirm that you are now an Irish citizen”. They cannot be any more delighted than me!

Congratulations Tom - you've been helpful to lots of people on this board so it's good to see you've made it. I got my certificate a few weeks ago and they acknowledged receipt of my passport application a week ago. The online tracking system estimates early November for me to receive it.

[Michael123]

Two person application timeline from Boston, Masssachsuetts USA

8/10/18 Cousins online Application completed and fees paid
8/10/18 Cousin received email confirmation
8/10/18 Credit card charged
8/17/18 My online application completed and fees paid
8/17/18 I received email confirmation
8/17/18 Credit card charged
8/17/18 Both applications and supporting documents shipped together to Dublin, Fedex 1 day service
8/18/18 Saturday - no action
8/19/18 Sunday - no action
8/20/18 fedex package delivered to Dublin

nothing further... just waiting.


anyone know what the internal process is for the applications? What the steps are? any info is helpful.

[Michael123]

Update

8/21/18. Email confirmation of package delivery, for both applicants.

[dmf90]

PasadenaTom, you're as stressed out about the process as I was, haha.

You are right about that!

Thanks for confirming that my assumption about the passport copies was correct and should cause me no problems. And thank you for your other helpful posts.

I expect this should also be helpful to dmf90. The UK embassy in Seoul states that it will make a certified copy of a UK passport. That might alleviate some of the stress of that 28 day deadline.

Thanks for the reply. I took a visit to the UK embassy in Seoul and they were pretty useless and said I would have to book an appointment in advance, unfortunately, I wasn't in Seoul for their next appointment so I decided to spend a full day tracking down family friends and managed to find a new witness. I can't believe I missed not getting the ID certified! Hopefully my application will be ok now. Thanks

[Sotyrockz04]

Received an email today from DFA:

"Congratulations you are now an Irish Citizen. Your recent application for Foreign Birth Registration had been successful and your certificate is currently awaiting printing. Your original documentation and your certificate will be sent to you by registered post in 2-3 weeks"

[PasadenaTom]

Congratulations Tom

Thank you!

Received an email today from DFA:
Your original documentation and your certificate will be sent to you by registered post in 2-3 weeks"

Congratulations! As I recall, you submitted your documentation about a week before me. So it is puzzling that yours has taken more time. You also received an email notification about your approval, as well as a response to your inquiry about application status a few weeks ago. My certificate and returned documents just showed up in the mail, with no forewarning. And I received no response to my status inquiry.

I would have thought it was first-in, first-out. But maybe they hand out piles of applications to several people. And if the person handling yours has a more complex application ahead of yours, goes on three week holiday, or simply handles them more slowly than others. That might account for the differences. It certainly seems that some are more prone to send emails than others.

Have you requested a passport application from the consulate for your area? I think the London Embassy includes them when they return the FBR certificate, if applications were submitted to them. But there was no passport application included with mine - only a link to the DFA website for information. The local consulate for me is San Francisco. They were pretty quick. I think it took two days from request until delivery to my mailbox.

[Sotyrockz04]

Congratulations Tom

Thank you!

Received an email today from DFA:
Your original documentation and your certificate will be sent to you by registered post in 2-3 weeks"

Congratulations! As I recall, you submitted your documentation about a week before me. So it is puzzling that yours has taken more time. You also received an email notification about your approval, as well as a response to your inquiry about application status a few weeks ago. My certificate and returned documents just showed up in the mail, with no forewarning. And I received no response to my status inquiry.

Thanks! yeah i submitted my application a week before you and was receiving regular responses throughout the the time my application was in Dublin, i have a feeling your right about our applications going to different people throughout the process and some of them being quicker than others. I also think for some reason that by sending it from the USA our applications are going faster then some other countries.

I requested my passport application though NYC and it took about 2 weeks to receive.

[Michael123]

What does the FBR Certificate look like?

[PasadenaTom]

What does the FBR Certificate look like?

I am not inclined to put my own certificate on a public website. But here you will find an example from someone who has:
http://thewildgeese.irish/photo/my-iris ... ntext=user

Mine looks exactly the same.

[Michael123]

Perfect!! Thank you!! I cant wait unti mine arrives, it arrived only 1 week ago.

[Michael123]

.... meaning my application arrived in Dublin a week ago.

[Michael123]

Just wondering, Does the application number end up as the FBR certificate number?

[PasadenaTom]

No. They are different numbers.

[Michael123]

Ok, thanks. Just just seemed to be the same format.

[davemckinnon]

A timeline from Canada, in case anyone else is applying from here and wondering how it goes for us:

After months of ordering birth, death, and marriage certificates from Dublin, BC, Ontario, and Québec (PQ bureaucracy in particular don't make it easy)...

19 February 2018 - Online application completed and credit card charged.

24 February 2018 - Hard copy and supporting documents sent from Vancouver to Dublin by registered mail.

07 March 2018 - Confirmation via postal tracking that the package arrived in Dublin.

07 May 2018 - I emailed websiteinquiry@dfa.ie to ask about progress.

09 May 2018 - Response saying, "The application was received on the 15th March.  It takes four to six months to process an application.  If there are errors or omissions, it will take longer.  The FBR certificate and original documents will be sent together by registered post.  We do not have online tracking for Foreign Births Registration."

06 July 2018 - Email from noreply@dfat.ie stating "Congratulations you are now an Irish Citizen. Your recent application for Foreign Birth Registration has been successful and your certificate is currently awaiting printing. Your original documentation and your certificate will either be sent to you by registered post in 2-3 weeks or our mission will be in touch with you directly to arrange collection/delivery.  If there is a delay in you receiving your documentation you should contact the office listed at the top of your application form."

17 July 2018 - FBR certificate received. Certificate dated 05 July 2018 (one day earlier than the date of the email telling me that it was awaiting printing)

I had my passport application form ready with necessary documents and photos, and sent the application off to the Irish Embassy in Ottawa the same day I received my FBR certificate. My reference was phoned by someone in the passport office at the Ottawa embassy about two weeks later, and my application showed up in the online tracking system 18 August 2018. Estimated issue date 28 September 2018.

The process here for passport applications seems to be that the Embassy verifies the reference and determines eligibility based on documents received, and then forwards the application to Dublin electronically. Once complete, the passport is sent to the Embassy where it is packaged up with the original supporting documents, and sent on to me.

All the best to everyone in their application processes.

[Michael123]

Thanks for posting your timeline. From what I have read, your times seems consistent with the applications sent directly to Dublin from the USA, slightly iver the four months. The only inconsistency that I can see with some applications is the email confirmation that some applicants receive. I sent my application and documents fedex over night, they were received on a Monday morning and I got the confirmation email on Tuesday.

[cathsarah]

Congratulations to everyone who has received their certificates! Hopefully mine should come soon as the application dates mentioned on here for those who have received theirs is somewhat later than when I applied: original application received in Edinburgh on the 14th of March this year, additional documents were sent on the 22nd and nothing else has been heard since.
I should mention this application is for three people (one adult and two minors) through one person (our mother) so I don't know if this slows down the process at all in terms of logistics etc. Also,we have applied through the Edinburgh Consulate rather than directly to Dublin but again I don't know if this makes any difference.
Just thought I'd post an update in case this helps anybody else as I have been helped a lot by this thread. Thanks and good luck to everyone with their applications!

[PMartin44]

Congratulations to all who have received their certificates.

I am just applying for my FBR and was wondering if the passport sized photographs I need to include should be Irish sized ones or is it ok to include UK sized ones?

[Michael123]

I would follow the requirements of what the Irish FBR is looking for.

[littlerr]

Congratulations to all who have received their certificates.

I am just applying for my FBR and was wondering if the passport sized photographs I need to include should be Irish sized ones or is it ok to include UK sized ones?

They are the same size - standard 2-inch photo (normally 35x45mm). Ireland is a bit more flexible - it accepts photo that have a width between 35-38mm, and height between 45-50mm. In UK it's strictly 35x45mm. Both need the face to cover around 75%.

Ireland: https://www.dfa.ie/passportonline/passp ... uidelines/
UK: https://www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports

[PasadenaTom]

I would follow the requirements of what the Irish FBR is looking for.

I just says "passport-sized" photographs. I submitted photos that met the Irish passport photo size requirement with my FBR application. When I received my passport application from the Irish Consulate in San Francisco, there was an insert that said that U.S. sized photos were OK. Does that mean that they are acceptable with the FBR? Good question for which I don't know the answer.

[Michael123]

With my FBR application, I went to CVS and they had the Irish Passport requirements and took the photo accordingly.

[PasadenaTom]

With my FBR application, I went to CVS and they had the Irish Passport requirements and took the photo accordingly.

That's where I got mine. But I had to cut them to size myself, as they said they could only cut the U.S. size.

Not sure what options are available in the UK. But CVS appears to be a veterinary services firm there.