Foreign Birth Registration

[pfw]

Curious, I live in California so I'm 8 hours behind Dublin time.

Has anyone seen the Live Chat on the DFA page back online at all?

I'm in NC and check occasionally during their work hours but it never seems to be working

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Curious, I live in California so I'm 8 hours behind Dublin time.

Has anyone seen the Live Chat on the DFA page back online at all?

I'm in NC and check occasionally during their work hours but it never seems to be working

That's kind of what I thought. I suppose if they had people manning the chat that would be less people to be actually clearing the backlog. Hopefully soon they'll get some form of inquiry back up and running tho. oh well.

[thommykins]

Long time reader, first time poster!

Applied: Jan 2020
Docs received: Feb 2020

Just had an email back confirming the team are now processing Jan 2020 applications.

Fingers crossed it won’t be long - maybe I’ll get lucky and be able to have a cold one to celebrate on Paddy’s day!

[Jojo1904]

Hi all. Just to cheer all you 2020 applicants up, I’ve just had my confirmation of address email this morning that tells me my application is about to be approved!

My timeline applied - January 21st 2020
Documents received - January 28th 2020
Confirmation of address - February 24th 2022

I had emailed them this morning as I was worried I would receive a phone call and not an email since I’ve since moved to Italy after applying and no longer have the same address or telephone number. 2 hours later I received the fantastic news that it’s being approved. So so happy it’s finally happening! Now the stress of the passport application to go through since I don’t have any bills in my name here in Italy (all in my husbands name).

[JeremyNYC]

Well, it's been over two years and I am finally Irish. In the time since my application, there's been a pandemic, I've gotten older, seen parents get older, and numerous other life changes. My mortality made me question everything from the importance of this journey to keeping my US citizenship. For the last few years, I've said that I want to visit Moscow and Ukraine before war breaks out and the day I wake to my dfa congrats email, Europe is at war. Nothing is certain, which always reminds me that my current value system is likely to change.

Timeline:
Application sent: Dec 16 2019
Docs Received: Dec 19 2019
Address Confirmation: Feb 10 2022
Congrats email: Feb 24 2022

[Jojo1904]

Hi all. Just to cheer all you 2020 applicants up, I’ve just had my confirmation of address email this morning that tells me my application is about to be approved!

My timeline applied - January 21st 2020
Documents received - January 28th 2020
Confirmation of address - February 24th 2022
Congratulations email - February 24th 2022

I had emailed them this morning as I was worried I would receive a phone call and not an email since I’ve since moved to Italy after applying and no longer have the same address or telephone number. 2 hours later I received the fantastic news that it’s being approved. So so happy it’s finally happening! Now the stress of the passport application to go through since I don’t have any bills in my name here in Italy (all in my husbands name).

Edited to add that I received my congrats email 1 hour after sending the proof of address. They’re working hard obviously to get through our applications which is a good sign.

[jgclancy]

Well, it's been over two years and I am finally Irish. In the time since my application, there's been a pandemic, I've gotten older, seen parents get older, and numerous other life changes. My mortality made me question everything from the importance of this journey to keeping my US citizenship. For the last few years, I've said that I want to visit Moscow and Ukraine before war breaks out and the day I wake to my dfa congrats email, Europe is at war. Nothing is certain, which always reminds me that my current value system is likely to change.

Timeline:
Application sent: Dec 16 2019
Docs Received: Dec 19 2019
Address Confirmation: Feb 10 2022
Congrats email: Feb 24 2022

Congrats JeremyNYC --glad ya made it! Congrats to all others too

jgclancy

[xRGHx]

love seeing the wave of 2020 applications going through! At this rate, I think they'll prolly get to mine in the December 2020 pile end of this year/beginning of next. Congrats to all the new citizens!

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hi all. Just to cheer all you 2020 applicants up, I’ve just had my confirmation of address email this morning that tells me my application is about to be approved!

My timeline applied - January 21st 2020
Documents received - January 28th 2020
Confirmation of address - February 24th 2022
Congratulations email - February 24th 2022

I had emailed them this morning as I was worried I would receive a phone call and not an email since I’ve since moved to Italy after applying and no longer have the same address or telephone number. 2 hours later I received the fantastic news that it’s being approved. So so happy it’s finally happening! Now the stress of the passport application to go through since I don’t have any bills in my name here in Italy (all in my husbands name).

Edited to add that I received my congrats email 1 hour after sending the proof of address. They’re working hard obviously to get through our applications which is a good sign.

Congrats! That's awesome. I too am headed to Italy once my Irish citizenship is done.
Question. I have also moved since I applied. What was the requirements for proof of address?

[GoingBackBackToEire]

Where does the "Address check" part of the process come in?

Somehow (I don't know how) I got the impression it meant they were starting on your application, but from studying the data in the spreadsheet, the time between the address check and the congrats email is pretty short.

Is the address check closer to the end of the process? Maybe it's there to make sure you haven't changed address since applying to the FBR, now several years ago?

[JeremyNYC]

Where does the "Address check" part of the process come in?

Somehow (I don't know how) I got the impression it meant they were starting on your application, but from studying the data in the spreadsheet, the time between the address check and the congrats email is pretty short.

Is the address check closer to the end of the process? Maybe it's there to make sure you haven't changed address since applying to the FBR, now several years ago?

The address check means you have essentially been approved. "will be approved shortly" is my cut and paste from the email. It was a part of the process pre-covid when the delay was shorter, but still ~6 mos. But yes, it appears to serve the purpose of confirming before sending the cert to a stale address. Some folks have a 1-2 day gap between that and their congrats email. I assume those folks didn't change addresses. Other folks have a 1-2 week gap, like mine. My address changed so I send some photo evidence of the new address. Also, I believe I replied within an hour. I sent a follow-up email last night to check in because my gap seemed to be larger than everyone else.

After processing there can also be a request for more documentation. I think someone a few months ago got a combo of address verification and request for docs.

Hope that helps.

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Where does the "Address check" part of the process come in?

Somehow (I don't know how) I got the impression it meant they were starting on your application, but from studying the data in the spreadsheet, the time between the address check and the congrats email is pretty short.

Is the address check closer to the end of the process? Maybe it's there to make sure you haven't changed address since applying to the FBR, now several years ago?

The address check means you have essentially been approved. "will be approved shortly" is my cut and paste from the email. It was a part of the process pre-covid when the delay was shorter, but still ~6 mos. But yes, it appears to serve the purpose of confirming before sending the cert to a stale address. Some folks have a 1-2 day gap between that and their congrats email. I assume those folks didn't change addresses. Other folks have a 1-2 week gap, like mine. My address changed so I send some photo evidence of the new address. Also, I believe I replied within an hour. I sent a follow-up email last night to check in because my gap seemed to be larger than everyone else.

After processing there can also be a request for more documentation. I think someone a few months ago got a combo of address verification and request for docs.

Hope that helps.

I also have changed addresses since applying. What did you submit as proof for the new address? Want to make sure I have it on hand when I get the address verification.

[Muscat]

I sent my change of address docs on the same day I received my ‘your application will soon be approved’ email (8th Feb). Everything has come to a halt and I’m just getting ‘out of office’ emails from Laura on team 8. Really disappointed and not sure what to do now.

[Muscat]

Re change of address docs…

“If you have moved address since you completed your application, you should provide a scanned copy of proof of that new address e.g. original utility bills, bank statements, government correspondence within 5 working days.“

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Re change of address docs…

“If you have moved address since you completed your application, you should provide a scanned copy of proof of that new address e.g. original utility bills, bank statements, government correspondence within 5 working days.“

so just one item as proof of new address? Curious what exactly they mean saying "scanned copy" and then "original" utility bills. (seems like two opposite things). Does one need to provide a scan of a posted envelope as well? All of my bills are paperless: Electric, Cable, Bank Statements ..

[HarleyQ]

I have paid and was about to send off mine and my sisters applications and when going over everything I have had another overthink - so figured I'd turn to the forum to see if any of you had any advice.

I am trying to complete my FBR for me and my sister as my grandfather was born in Ireland, whereas my mum was born in Wales and was adopted by him in 1968 when he moved over to Wales, she has never applied for an Irish passport.

When completing the application I have selected "Born abroad and adopted by an Irish Citizen" where it queries to "please indicate the citizenship category to which the applicant’s parent belongs" but now I am not too sure whether I have made a mistake and maybe it should have been the "Born abroad to a parent born in Ireland" - I may be overthinking it but I thought i'd query as i dont know whether the focus should be more on my mum being adopted or that my grandfather was born in Ireland.

I have including my mothers original birth certificate and her adoption certificate and when they asked for mother's Birth surname I used her biological surname as it didn't seem to have a place to show adopted name as where it states what she is now known as then it is now her married name. Now I am wondering if that was a mistake also and I should have used her adopted surname as that is the one on our birth certificates and her marriage certificates.

I do have a good trail of documentation to show everything:
Irish born Grandparent: Birth certificate, Marriage certificate (my mother was adopted by her adopted irish father and her biological mother who he married).
Adopted Parent: Original Birth Certificate, Adopted Certificate (with same mothers name as birth), Marriage Certificate which documents all the name changes.

I know we wont know until the dreaded d- day whenever that is but can someone tell me whether this seems alright or whether I have messed it all up!

[HarleyQ]

Sorry double posted and not too sure how to delete my duplicate so I am editing it.

[Jojo1904]

Re change of address docs…

“If you have moved address since you completed your application, you should provide a scanned copy of proof of that new address e.g. original utility bills, bank statements, government correspondence within 5 working days.“

so just one item as proof of new address? Curious what exactly they mean saying "scanned copy" and then "original" utility bills. (seems like two opposite things). Does one need to provide a scan of a posted envelope as well? All of my bills are paperless: Electric, Cable, Bank Statements ..

I didn’t have any utility bills in my name as I only moved to Italy permanently last summer and all the bills are in my husbands name so I scanned my local council registration document when I became resident here and they accepted that. If your bills are all online just forward one of them to your files then attach that file to the email your send them back when they ask for your confirmation of address. I emailed them back straight away and it was confirmed within half an hour!

[brainiacghost]

I have paid and was about to send off mine and my sisters applications and when going over everything I have had another overthink - so figured I'd turn to the forum to see if any of you had any advice.

I am trying to complete my FBR for me and my sister as my grandfather was born in Ireland, whereas my mum was born in Wales and was adopted by him in 1968 when he moved over to Wales, she has never applied for an Irish passport.

When completing the application I have selected "Born abroad and adopted by an Irish Citizen" where it queries to "please indicate the citizenship category to which the applicant’s parent belongs" but now I am not too sure whether I have made a mistake and maybe it should have been the "Born abroad to a parent born in Ireland" - I may be overthinking it but I thought i'd query as i dont know whether the focus should be more on my mum being adopted or that my grandfather was born in Ireland.

I have including my mothers original birth certificate and her adoption certificate and when they asked for mother's Birth surname I used her biological surname as it didn't seem to have a place to show adopted name as where it states what she is now known as then it is now her married name. Now I am wondering if that was a mistake also and I should have used her adopted surname as that is the one on our birth certificates and her marriage certificates.

I do have a good trail of documentation to show everything:
Irish born Grandparent: Birth certificate, Marriage certificate (my mother was adopted by her adopted irish father and her biological mother who he married).
Adopted Parent: Original Birth Certificate, Adopted Certificate (with same mothers name as birth), Marriage Certificate which documents all the name changes.

I know we wont know until the dreaded d- day whenever that is but can someone tell me whether this seems alright or whether I have messed it all up!

Your mother was born in wales and adopted by an irish citizen, so "Born abroad and adopted by an Irish Citizen" would be correct.

[JoannaKJ]

HarleyQ from everything I’ve read on this forum - and that’s a lot - you have done everything right.

[Emcg1909]

Has anyone had a long gap between submitting their application fee and submitting their documents? I’m just wondering if I should expect to wait from the date of my application or the date the documents were received. Clearly it doesn’t matter either way, they’ll get to it when they get to it, but I’m currently living in the UK on a visa, and I don’t want to pay for permanent residency if I will soon have the right to live here as an Irish citizen.

[Mandino55]

Has anyone had a long gap between submitting their application fee and submitting their documents? I’m just wondering if I should expect to wait from the date of my application or the date the documents were received. Clearly it doesn’t matter either way, they’ll get to it when they get to it, but I’m currently living in the UK on a visa, and I don’t want to pay for permanent residency if I will soon have the right to live here as an Irish citizen.

I think it would be safe to assume the wait will be from the date the FBR offices receives your documents.

[martingeorge]

Hi there, I think that it would be safe to assume that your FBR will effectively be processed in date order from when you documents were received. I applied and paid on 8 Jan 2019, and a short time after I ended up with cancer which resulted in four serious operations in that year. I didn't get to the documents submitted stage until 3 February 2020. I am just starting to see a chink of light on the horizon. Good luck to all Martin

[PMM]

"However we then discovered the recent EU decision that the days spent in the EU with their spouse who is an EU citizen don’t count towards the 90/180 days, only days spent in the EU on their own. So that meant my application on its own would be enough."

Ooh, this is interesting... Do you have a link to this decision anywhere?

https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/ ... r-spouses/

I emailed the European Direct Contact Centre and received a word for word response that the person on that web page did.

Similar article here as well - https://www.citizensadvice.org.es/schen ... -citizens/

Quite how it works in practice I will find out in a couple of years if I manage to get an Irish passport.

[Con_Phillips]

My application was delivered yesterday (20/01) and I received an email the same day from the department to say that they had received it. I placed my application number on the front of the parcel that I had sent, as per the instructions.

I was pleasantly surprised that they had acknowledged receipt of my application so soon, after reading some of the other people’s experiences within this thread.

It took a total of 6 working days to arrive with Royal Mail International Tracked & Signed which was longer than I anticipated. Apparently it took customs two days to process my parcel. It must be busy in Dublin!

Hi all,

Application: 06/01/2020
Documents Received: 20/01/2020

I haven't posted for some time (the last input of mine being the post quoted above).

I've been keeping an eye on this forum and it appears that it may not be too long until my application is reviewed. Hopefully I'll receive good news.

I do have a few points to make through regarding my application, which could potentially cause some issues:

My grandmother (my Irish relative through which I am trying to obtain citizenship) doesn't have any valid ID, she is 98 years of age and isn't compos mentis. The FBR team had asked me to obtain a letter from her GP in place of valid ID, stating that she is under his/her care and asked that the letter confirm her address and be signed and stamped by the GP. I had managed to obtain this letter but given that this was two years ago now, I am wondering whether they'll request an updated letter, which would/could delay my application further.

My grandmother's middle name was recorded incorrectly on her marriage certificate. It stated her middle name as "Catherine" instead of "Kathleen" - no idea why. Hopefully this won't present issues, as all of the other documents I have supplied includes her correct middle name.

To add to complication, she married my grandfather who was a Polish man. On their marriage certificate, it stated his correct name, which is Zdzisław. However, after their marriage (presumably he got fed up of people mispronouncing his name) he opted to use the name George instead (although he never changed his name in any official capacity). On all documents, other than their marriage certificate, he uses the name George.

I am hoping that the above points don't create too many complications with my application. Has anyone been in a similar predicament to myself? If so, did it lead to any problems?