Foreign Birth Registration

[seands1990]

My timeline so far:

Documents received email: November 7th 2019
Confirmation of address email: July 6th 2021
Congrats email: August 5th 2021

Apparently my certificate is on its way by signed-for delivery . I will attempt not to charge at the doorbell like an excited labrador whenever it rings...

That's great news mate! I applied a month after your - Dec 2019 so hopefully not too long for myself either !

[seands1990]

My timeline so far:

Documents received email: November 7th 2019
Confirmation of address email: July 6th 2021
Congrats email: August 5th 2021

Apparently my certificate is on its way by signed-for delivery . I will attempt not to charge at the doorbell like an excited labrador whenever it rings...

That's great news mate! I applied a month after your - Dec 2019 so hopefully not too long for myself either !

[EmmaKate]

Friends, I have encountered a difficulty. The pregnancy team sent me an email saying that my father's birth certificate did not have the original, but when I applied for FBR, I provided the original of the birth certificate. Now tell me that there is no original of the birth certificate. Does anyone encounter such a problem? Did the FBR staff lose my father's original birth certificate？？

Where was your father's birth cert issued? If it was in the UK, there are 2 types; short form and long form. The short form is ok for most ID purposes but the long form is required for FBR and passport applications as it has much more information included on it. Could they mean you sent a short cert and they need the long form? If so, it's easy to apply to GRO for another cert and the turnaround time is pretty quick. It may be similar for certs from other countries. Good luck.

[Fogg]

Is there any way of blocking users on this messageboard? I don't want to read about some clown that can only spend three months of the year at her holiday cottage.

I also wondered this, and it turns out you can block people using the charmingly named 'Friends and Foes' feature. From the FAQ:

"What are my Friends and Foes lists?
You can use these lists to organise other members of the board. Members added to your friends list will be listed within your User Control Panel for quick access to see their online status and to send them private messages. Subject to template support, posts from these users may also be highlighted. If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden by default."

I took me a while to find the Control Panel - you need to find your username towards the top right of the page, and click on the arrow, and then use the tabs to find 'Friends and Foes'

[srd11]

My timeline so far:

Documents received email: November 7th 2019
Confirmation of address email: July 6th 2021
Congrats email: August 5th 2021

Apparently my certificate is on its way by signed-for delivery . I will attempt not to charge at the doorbell like an excited labrador whenever it rings...

That's great news mate! I applied a month after your - Dec 2019 so hopefully not too long for myself either !

Similar position to me - late November 2019 and not a peep since.

Just to clarify -they do send an email confirming delivery address? I've moved house and my redirect is about to expire. This would be the only thing I'd need it for and at present i can't find a way of contacting them (webchat down / phone for passport emergencies only)

[temuni]

Good news to share with all!

I contacted the passport office today to ask about expediting my FBR application due to pregnancy, and I was told by the agent that the FBR office will be reopening fully sometime in September and to expect an exact date announcement on the FBR website on September 1st.

[Fogg]

To answer a few related questions that have come up in the last couple of pages:

It seems the process goes:

You get a 'confirmation of address' email once someone has looked at your application and decided that you should be entered on the FBR. You must reply within 5 days with a scanned proof of address if you wish to have the certificate & your documents sent to an address other than the one you originally applied with. Otherwise they will send your certificate and documents to the address they have on file.

Then you get a 'congratulations' emails that confirms that you have indeed been entered on the FBR and that the certificate has been posted. The email also says that a passport application form will be included with your certificate but that you also my apply online for a passport.

[Flatcap_Julius]

Good news to share with all!

I contacted the passport office today to ask about expediting my FBR application due to pregnancy, and I was told by the agent that the FBR office will be reopening fully sometime in September and to expect an exact date announcement on the FBR website on September 1st.

Hey Temuni that's great news. Thanks for sharing and good luck with the FBR application. I have calmed down a lot of late since travel options opened up a bit. Going to Dublin, Nenagh and Cork at the end of the month - hopefully - which will be amazing. As far as my application goes, I've done what I can - and when it happens, it happens. I've dealt with a lot worse than this and I have a lot to be grateful for.

[duffy1867]

Good news to share with all!

I contacted the passport office today to ask about expediting my FBR application due to pregnancy, and I was told by the agent that the FBR office will be reopening fully sometime in September and to expect an exact date announcement on the FBR website on September 1st.

That's great news, thanks for sharing!

[northernmma]

Hi all! I am an american that filed for FBR today online and paid the fee, but when researching how to send supporting documents I saw that the website says "Please do not send supporting documentation as these cannot be processed at this time."

However, I have seen others in this thread that have sent documents anyway. Should I still send mine to get in the queue, or will I incur problems by sending these documents right now?

Thanks for any help!

Did you send it anyway?

I am in the same boat. Applied, paid fees, documents collected- but didn’t send them off yet. We are planning to move houses and not sure how to deal with this now

I have not yet, I am hoping someone on here will have some insight as to what will happen if we do send them now despite their request not too.

My concern is that if i don't send them, it could be months or years until they decide covid is gone enough for them to start processing again, and people that sent them anyway in that time will be far ahead of us in line. However conversely, if we send the documents against their wishes who knows what they will do with them or if we will even be put in the queue.

Could anyone enlighten us?

[ripforreallldo]

i sent mine in march 2020, two weeks after they closed and asked people not to send anything in. it took my documents two months to get to ireland. i sent them via recorded US mail so i know when they got there. a few months later, when they reopened, they were able to tell me through webchat that they had my application and looked it up through my mother’s maiden name. although all of that info can be found on my online application, i am certain they had my physical on hand, which they told me was being processed (this was before the christmas shutdown). i am pretty positive they are asking people not to send in applications due to the backlog, and because they are not sending out emails saying “we received xxx”

[D Jilla]

i sent mine in march 2020, two weeks after they closed and asked people not to send anything in. it took my documents two months to get to ireland. i sent them via recorded US mail so i know when they got there. a few months later, when they reopened, they were able to tell me through webchat that they had my application and looked it up through my mother’s maiden name. although all of that info can be found on my online application, i am certain they had my physical on hand, which they told me was being processed (this was before the christmas shutdown). i am pretty positive they are asking people not to send in applications due to the backlog, and because they are not sending out emails saying “we received xxx”

Good to know as I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. Sent docs late Feb 2020 and never received the 'confirmation of receipt' email although can see on tracked delivery that they were received at Balbriggan. Didn't realise they were actively discouraging people from sending in applications as early as March 2020, which I guess explains the lack of contact / receipt email.

[D Jilla]

I have not yet, I am hoping someone on here will have some insight as to what will happen if we do send them now despite their request not too.

My concern is that if i don't send them, it could be months or years until they decide covid is gone enough for them to start processing again, and people that sent them anyway in that time will be far ahead of us in line. However conversely, if we send the documents against their wishes who knows what they will do with them or if we will even be put in the queue.

Could anyone enlighten us?

Despite the warning not to send in applications you'd think they have a process for storing those that are sent through, even now. It's more likely they throw them straight on the pile rather than in the incinerator, but who knows how big that pile is or how it's being managed by the skeleton crew currently manning the office.

Great news about the possible reopening in September though. Might be worth hanging on until then to get in touch directly if you're looking for a conclusive answer, although even if/when they do reopen it's not guaranteed that the comms will get any better. If you do decide to send in this month then might be a good idea to keep a full backup set of docs in case the application goes missing. Hope this helps, best of luck!

[swede_mum]

I have not yet, I am hoping someone on here will have some insight as to what will happen if we do send them now despite their request not too.

My concern is that if i don't send them, it could be months or years until they decide covid is gone enough for them to start processing again, and people that sent them anyway in that time will be far ahead of us in line. However conversely, if we send the documents against their wishes who knows what they will do with them or if we will even be put in the queue.

Could anyone enlighten us?

Despite the warning not to send in applications you'd think they have a process for storing those that are sent through, even now. It's more likely they throw them straight on the pile rather than in the incinerator, but who knows how big that pile is or how it's being managed by the skeleton crew currently manning the office.

Great news about the possible reopening in September though. Might be worth hanging on until then to get in touch directly if you're looking for a conclusive answer, although even if/when they do reopen it's not guaranteed that the comms will get any better. If you do decide to send in this month then might be a good idea to keep a full backup set of docs in case the application goes missing. Hope this helps, best of luck!

Thanks for all the replies!

I think I will wait till September end to see if they officially reopen the process. I will be really disappointed if my original documents (such as Birth certificate) are misplaced or lost.

[Riverside12]

Hello all. Long time lurker here (very long time… 2 years!)

Thought I’d join the party and share my status since I’m now on my two year application anniversary - albeit like many here there’s not much of an update.

Application Submitted: 9 August 2019
Supporting Documents sent: late September 2019
Email confirming receipt of application and docs: 7 October 2019.

And radio silence since! Desperately waiting my confirmation of address email so I know I’m at least still in the queue

Tried to use the WebChat service last week but the passport team’s usual reply was they don’t have access to the FBR application process.

So feeling somewhat fatigued from waiting but equally it’s been so long I’ve somewhat resigned myself to semi-forgetting about it!

Thanks for all the great advice and insights this forum has shared. Been very useful seeing people’s updates and congrats on those who have made it through the other side!

[Nodrick]

So an update on my progress. There has been some success
I'm one of the December e-mail lot and currently at 2 years and 3 months (819 Days).

Application : 15 May 2019
Confirmation docs received: 29 May 2019
Confirmation of address email: 14 December 2020
2nd Confirmation of Address email 23 July 2021
Congratulations email : 11 August 2021
Cert received: TBA

Hopefully this gives hope to some of the 2 year+ lot

[Nodrick]

So an update on my progress. There has been some success
I'm one of the December e-mail lot and currently at 2 years and 3 months (819 Days).

Application : 15 May 2019
Confirmation docs received: 29 May 2019
Confirmation of address email: 14 December 2020
2nd Confirmation of Address email 23 July 2021
Congratulations email : 11 August 2021
Cert received: TBA

Hopefully this gives hope to some of the 2 year+ lot

Oh I should add, the second email for confirmation of address was sent out to me as they hadn't responded to the December confirmation of Address - so most of you will only get the first one.

[dolewhip]

So an update on my progress. There has been some success
I'm one of the December e-mail lot and currently at 2 years and 3 months (819 Days).

Application : 15 May 2019
Confirmation docs received: 29 May 2019
Confirmation of address email: 14 December 2020
2nd Confirmation of Address email 23 July 2021
Congratulations email : 11 August 2021
Cert received: TBA

Hopefully this gives hope to some of the 2 year+ lot

Congratulations! About time that there's some real movement for the December lot.

Really hoping to join you with a congratulations update soon (confirmation of address received over four weeks ago, on the 13th of July). Also, if my certificate doesn't ship within a week, I'm worried it'll arrive when we're traveling, and thus no one around to sign for it. Ah well

[Pgm888]

Congrats email today!!!
Address check July 23.
Application accepted 6/28/2019.

I was also in the Team 1 email last December.

Good luck to all. This board was very helpful.

[jgclancy]

Congrats to Nodrick & Pgm888 -grand news for you both. I guess it's two pints in your honor tonight!

jgclancy

[JuniorBatman]

Hello all. Long time lurker here (very long time… 2 years!)

Thought I’d join the party and share my status since I’m now on my two year application anniversary - albeit like many here there’s not much of an update.

Application Submitted: 9 August 2019
Supporting Documents sent: late September 2019
Email confirming receipt of application and docs: 7 October 2019.

I don't think you are at your two year anniversary yet, I'm afraid. I don't think they will do anything with an application until they get the documents, which was 7 Oct 2019. There have been a couple of people with November 2019 who have progressed, but generally it's still around July 2019 at the moment.

[JuniorBatman]

Hello all. Long time lurker here (very long time… 2 years!)

Thought I’d join the party and share my status since I’m now on my two year application anniversary - albeit like many here there’s not much of an update.

Application Submitted: 9 August 2019
Supporting Documents sent: late September 2019
Email confirming receipt of application and docs: 7 October 2019.

I don't think you are at your two year anniversary yet, I'm afraid. I don't think they will do anything with an application until they get the documents, which was 7 Oct 2019. There have been a couple of people with November 2019 who have progressed, but generally it's still around July 2019 at the moment.

[V3rvangen]

Hello all. Long time lurker here (very long time… 2 years!)

Thought I’d join the party and share my status since I’m now on my two year application anniversary - albeit like many here there’s not much of an update.

Application Submitted: 9 August 2019
Supporting Documents sent: late September 2019
Email confirming receipt of application and docs: 7 October 2019.

I don't think you are at your two year anniversary yet, I'm afraid. I don't think they will do anything with an application until they get the documents, which was 7 Oct 2019. There have been a couple of people with November 2019 who have progressed, but generally it's still around July 2019 at the moment.

It seems as though those waiting since around July 2019 are generally with the infamous team 1, though, with many of them having received a confirmation of address email last December and for some reason forgotten in the confusion post the new lockdown.
It actually has been progressing steadily and uniformly the last few months, with applications from September, October and now November 2019 being accepted around a month apart.
I would imagine this progress will continue, with those outliers from July 2019 being the exception rather than the rule.

[Riverside12]

Hello all. Long time lurker here (very long time… 2 years!)

Thought I’d join the party and share my status since I’m now on my two year application anniversary - albeit like many here there’s not much of an update.

Application Submitted: 9 August 2019
Supporting Documents sent: late September 2019
Email confirming receipt of application and docs: 7 October 2019.

I don't think you are at your two year anniversary yet, I'm afraid. I don't think they will do anything with an application until they get the documents, which was 7 Oct 2019. There have been a couple of people with November 2019 who have progressed, but generally it's still around July 2019 at the moment.

Thanks JuniorBateman. That sounds about right so will sit tight for a while longer.

[Fogg]

Final update to my timeline:

Documents received email: November 7th 2019
Confirmation of address email: July 6th 2021
Congrats email: August 5th 2021
Ceritificate received: August 11th 2021

I'm an Irish citizen with the paperwork to prove it

Congrats to the other recent success stories and thank you to everyone who has shared their timelines on the thread. It saved me a lot of stress to know everyone else was experiencing the same thing. Hopefully there'll be lots more congrats emails going out soon now the office re-opening is on the horizon.

Right...now to crack open that celebratory bottle of Bailey's!