Foreign Birth Registration

[Ssgogo16]

Little update on my father’s replacement he requested so I could get my own FBR application sent along.

“I am contacting you regarding your request for a replacement FBR certificate.

I am trying to process your application, however, on the application you have not filled in any of the details regarding where and when you received you we put on the register.

Thus far I have been unable to locate a record of your entry from the information you have provided. Our archives are quiet large therefore I would be grateful if you can provide further details that will help narrow down my search.

Kind regards,”

He doesn’t entirely remember the exact date that he applied given it was 30 some odd years ago. we now emailed along a picture of his original Irish passport issued in Chicago with issuance dates from the consulate. I’m a bit worried I won’t be eligible or the FBR won’t be found. I know he was Irish before me birth as we still have his original passport in hand with an issuance date way before my birth. But I am a bit worried the consulate may have lost his entry?? Is this a thing?

He’s been waiting since November of 2022 and I’m worried this has put him at the back of the queue. I’m not sure if anyone would have some guidance on this?

[FBRLurker02]

Docs received: 2nd June 2022
Address check: 9th May 2023
Congratulations email: 7 June 2023
Certificate received: 12 June 2023

Arrived sooner than I was expecting. Despite the gap between address check and congratulations, date of entry was 9th May 2023 (same day). I seem to recall hearing that people haven't been asked to sign for it, but my mum was asked to sign for it (as the email said would be the case).

They returned all the original documents (i.e. certificates) but none of the IDs or the affidavit I provided, interestingly enough. Not that it matters I suppose, lol. They did return my grandparents divorce documents (which were uncertified copies).

I also noted they were somewhat vague about my place of birth. Just the county in England I was born in, rather than the actual town (as most my ID specifies). Probably not an issue, just an observation.

[AussieBiscuithead]

I'm getting a bit worried about my wait times at the moment

Application submitted: 16/12/2020
Documents received: 04/02/2022 (COVID related problems with getting a solicitor to look at the documents, sent them a week before this date)
Clarification Email: 20/02/2023 (Missing document, replacement sent a week later)
Address confirmation: 08/05/2023
Email from Embassy: 10/05/2023 (I emailed 2 weeks prior enquiring if my documents arrived as I couldn't send them tracked, Email mentioned the address confirmation)
Email Congratulations: [Not yet]

Should I just keep waiting or should I get in touch again?

Thanks for sharing your time line.

I had the clarification email in late Feb asking for additional documents, which I sent in mid-march with tracking, I know they received the document in late March. Interesting you didn't get a confirmation about receiving the updated documents, I emailed the urgent requests inbox to find out if ill receive a conformation email, they replied saying there is a 3-4 month delay to process additional documents. Based on your dates, it took 3 months for them to process the documents and send address confirmation.

I might actually hear something next month, which would be nice.

Best,
AussieBiscuithead

[bm42]

Fingers Crossed!

I couldn't send the documents tracked as there was a cyber attack affecting international mail in the UK back then and they had just re-opened untracked mail the day I sent it off, I was desperately hoping that it didn't get lost in the backlog of international mail that was held up for weeks. Very annoying situation.

[AshJez]

I applied to FBR in August 2021. In December 2022 I was delighted to receive a request for additional information. I knew then that at least my application had been receive. It was requested a copy of my mothers ID or a notarised copy of passport as she remains alive. It was with great difficulty I was able to supply the mother passport due to relationship tensions. Anyway, eventually I obtained a notorised copy (UK) and sent this of from Holland beginning of March. On 25th Martch I sent a request to confirm receipt. I received no reply. I again requested confirmation and again no reply. That time about fours weeks ago. I requested again confirmation last Friday and today, Monday, I received a reply. A copy is below.

I hope this help others in the waiting game. Thanks to all on this formum for the progress and update reports.

----------------

Dear xxxxx,


Thank you for your email.


Your additional documents were received and have been added to your file. There is currently a delay in processing returned applications. However, you will be contacted in the coming weeks/months when your file has been returned to the Entitlement Officer dealing with your application.


Kind regards,


FBR Corporate Support

[MercyGirl]

Hi, I'm new, although have lurked for awhile. It looks like it is getting closer for me, so I figured it was time to join and put my dates out there.

Application Date: 15 May 2022
Docs Received: 4 Oct 2022

Fingers crossed to get address check soon!

My sister and I submitted our applications together. There is one hitch in our application, and it's not a small one. My grandfather's (born in Dublin in 1884) first name is wrong on my mother's birth certificate. The certified copy says Lewis instead of Denis. I've seen the original, handwritten register, and I think that's a transcription error of the elaborate cursive writing (capital L and capital D can look very similar, as can small w and small n), but the issuing authority for Mom's certificate won't change it without a court order, and there is nobody alive who could testify from personal knowledge about this anymore to support a request for a court order. I did send additional documents showing Grandpa's name as "Denis" (which is on his birth certificate) and showing my mother as the daughter of "Denis." These include her marriage license, which I sent along with the marriage certificate, and her baptismal certificate, as well as admittedly unauthenticated copies (from microfiche) of his US World War II draft registration card (yes, they required all men, including the elderly, to register in 1941) showing my mother, living at the same address, as his "person who will always be able to contact me," the notice in the paper of my mother and father's wedding in 1942, which identify her as the daughter of Denis and which show her married to my father, and of an obituary notice, also from microfiche, from when Grandpa died in 1954. Oh, and my mother's death certificate identifies her father as "Denis," born in Ireland.

I'm hoping that's enough. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, thanks to those who maintain and oversee this board. It's been a wealth of information for me, and I appreciate it.

[Hurley808]

Documents received 12/09/2022, it’s been exactly 8 months but I haven’t heard back from anyone or noreply@dfat.ie. When they address confirm you is it a person who contacts you via email or how does it happen/ what type of email should I be expecting?

[kiladre-sw]

Timeline
-------------
Application submission: 13/12/2020
Sent documents mid January 2021
Received email on 24/11/2022 from J***.M****@dfa.ie (don't know if I'm allowed to post names) titled Clarification Required [my fbr application number]

Dear [my name],
I have received your application to obtain Irish Citizenship through entry on the Foreign Births Register. Unfortunately I cannot proceed with your application without the following documents:

We require a new witness form as we were unable to verify the witness who signed this form. Please ensure you are only signing your application with a supported witness in the provided list of your FBR application and ensure we will be able to verify the witness.

Please also submit photographic identification of yourself and of your mother as both have been certified by the same invalid witness therefore we cannot verify as a true copy of the document.

We can accept a certified copy of a drivers license or passport once it has been certified by your new witness as we cannot proceed with the others as they've also been certified by an invalid witness.

While submitting these documents, please also submit additional proof of address to reconfirm the current address you are living in and in which you wish for your documents to be dispatched to.

Kind Regards
J***

On 25/11/2022 sent reply email to j***.m****@dfa.ie explaining that the witness I used was a valid notary public with the state of California - USA. During the almost 2 year gap between my application and receiving this first response the notary's commission number had changed. I explained a method for how to verify the notary via our state's government website. I also explained that I would not be able to obtain new documentation for my mother as I had gone 'no contact'.

On 27/11/2022 sent a reply followup to j***.m****@dfa.ie providing just a little bit more information I thought might be valueable.

Never received any reply from either of these emails.

Bundled up what additional/updated documentation I could get together and mailed it mid January 2023. Received automated email "Application for Foreign Birth Registration [my original fbr number] received" on 30/1/2023. I took this to me they received my updated documents and applied it to my original fbr as I had sent it with the original fbr number.

Sent an email to fbr.urgentqueries@dfa.ie on 24/3/2023 explaining that I had not heard anything back from j***.m****@dfa.ie and if it would be possible to receive an update.

Never received any reply.

So, in 2.5years I've received a total of 1 email from the dfa.ie and no additional information, my documents haven't been returned, and I'm just sitting in limbo.

I really hope that request for updated documents doesn't put me at the bottom of a pile somewhere.

[dogdayafternoon89]

I've also been lurking this board since I submitted a joint application with my sister last summer (2022).

Timeline so far:

Application submitted: July 10th 2022
Application received: August 4th 2022

Based on recent posts, I'm hoping to receive the address confirmation email soon—I'll post an update when I do. Good luck all!

Update:

My sister and I are doing a joint application through our paternal grandmother. On Wednesday 26th April, I received an email from the FBR requesting our long-form birth certificates (we'd sent them short-form versions) and a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate.

There's the rub: our grandmother never had a birth certificate. However, she was baptised and there is a record of this in the parish where she lived.

Several years ago, our half-sister successfully applied for and received citizenship using our grandmother's baptism certificate as evidence. My sister and I submitted the same baptism certificate that she used to the FBR to support our current application, but the FBR said that this is no longer sufficient evidence. Instead, the FBR told me to get a "Letter of No Trace" from the Government Records Office (GRO)—effectively, a letter to say that the GRO has searched for a birth certificate but was unable to find one.

We have now received and submitted the Letter of No Trace to the FBR, and hopefully they now have all the documents they need to move forward with our application.

So, a summary of learnings that may be of use to others:

• You need to use long-form birth certificates for your application (i.e., ones that show your parents' names and occupations); you can order these for a tenner from gro [dot] gov [dot] uk if you were born in the UK.

• If you need to request a Letter of No Trace for a birth certificate, the address to write to is gro@welfare [dot] ie.

[Vadrar91]

I've also been lurking this board since I submitted a joint application with my sister last summer (2022).

Timeline so far:

Application submitted: July 10th 2022
Application received: August 4th 2022

Based on recent posts, I'm hoping to receive the address confirmation email soon—I'll post an update when I do. Good luck all!

Update:

My sister and I are doing a joint application through our paternal grandmother. On Wednesday 26th April, I received an email from the FBR requesting our long-form birth certificates (we'd sent them short-form versions) and a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate.

There's the rub: our grandmother never had a birth certificate. However, she was baptised and there is a record of this in the parish where she lived.

Several years ago, our half-sister successfully applied for and received citizenship using our grandmother's baptism certificate as evidence. My sister and I submitted the same baptism certificate that she used to the FBR to support our current application, but the FBR said that this is no longer sufficient evidence. Instead, the FBR told me to get a "Letter of No Trace" from the Government Records Office (GRO)—effectively, a letter to say that the GRO has searched for a birth certificate but was unable to find one.

We have now received and submitted the Letter of No Trace to the FBR, and hopefully they now have all the documents they need to move forward with our application.

So, a summary of learnings that may be of use to others:

• You need to use long-form birth certificates for your application (i.e., ones that show your parents' names and occupations); you can order these for a tenner from gro [dot] gov [dot] uk if you were born in the UK.

• If you need to request a Letter of No Trace for a birth certificate, the address to write to is gro@welfare [dot] ie.

The Letter of No Trace info is really helpful- I didn’t know that was an option, many thanks. May I ask how long it took them to respond and what information you had to provide them - eg copy of baptism certificate and/or something else?

[dogdayafternoon89]

I've also been lurking this board since I submitted a joint application with my sister last summer (2022).

Timeline so far:

Application submitted: July 10th 2022
Application received: August 4th 2022

Based on recent posts, I'm hoping to receive the address confirmation email soon—I'll post an update when I do. Good luck all!

Update:

My sister and I are doing a joint application through our paternal grandmother. On Wednesday 26th April, I received an email from the FBR requesting our long-form birth certificates (we'd sent them short-form versions) and a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate.

There's the rub: our grandmother never had a birth certificate. However, she was baptised and there is a record of this in the parish where she lived.

Several years ago, our half-sister successfully applied for and received citizenship using our grandmother's baptism certificate as evidence. My sister and I submitted the same baptism certificate that she used to the FBR to support our current application, but the FBR said that this is no longer sufficient evidence. Instead, the FBR told me to get a "Letter of No Trace" from the Government Records Office (GRO)—effectively, a letter to say that the GRO has searched for a birth certificate but was unable to find one.

We have now received and submitted the Letter of No Trace to the FBR, and hopefully they now have all the documents they need to move forward with our application.

So, a summary of learnings that may be of use to others:

• You need to use long-form birth certificates for your application (i.e., ones that show your parents' names and occupations); you can order these for a tenner from gro [dot] gov [dot] uk if you were born in the UK.

• If you need to request a Letter of No Trace for a birth certificate, the address to write to is gro@welfare [dot] ie.

The Letter of No Trace info is really helpful- I didn’t know that was an option, many thanks. May I ask how long it took them to respond and what information you had to provide them - eg copy of baptism certificate and/or something else?

Sure thing—the GRO was really quick and efficient. I sent the request to their email address, they immediately sent me a link to pay the €20 fee, and then they posted the Letter of No Trace to me three or four days later.

Re the info we provided to the FBR: as I recall, we sent copies of my grandmother's baptism certificate (official parish copy), as well as her marriage and death certificates. We also forwarded my half-sister's correspondence with the BDM Online Ireland service (showing that they had searched for the birth certificate but were unable to find it), as well as a copy of our half-sister's Foreign Birth Registration Certificate (showing that she had already been granted citizenship via our grandmother).

Hope this helps!

[sophieluella]

Hi all,

I sent my FBR application off towards the end of August 2022 (I can’t remember the exact date) and had a confirmation email from the FBR team that they had received everything on 31st August 2022. I phoned them a few days later to double check the current waiting times, and I was told over 2 years.

I’d been checking the website every so often since to see if there was any update on the waiting time, and I saw a few weeks ago it had been updated to 9 months, and it had been exactly 9 months since I sent my application off, so I phoned them again to check this and they confirmed that I should get mine sorted very soon.

During that call, I didn’t give my name or any of my information to who I spoke to, but strangely enough the next morning I got an email from someone in the FBR team asking me to confirm my address and that my application is being processed now, this was a few weeks ago on 23rd May. Does anyone know roughly how long this part of the process takes, from them asking you to confirm your address to hearing whether your application was successful and you’re on the FBR now?

Thanks!

[Vadrar91]

I've also been lurking this board since I submitted a joint application with my sister last summer (2022).

Timeline so far:

Application submitted: July 10th 2022
Application received: August 4th 2022

Based on recent posts, I'm hoping to receive the address confirmation email soon—I'll post an update when I do. Good luck all!

Update:

My sister and I are doing a joint application through our paternal grandmother. On Wednesday 26th April, I received an email from the FBR requesting our long-form birth certificates (we'd sent them short-form versions) and a copy of my grandmother's birth certificate.

There's the rub: our grandmother never had a birth certificate. However, she was baptised and there is a record of this in the parish where she lived.

Several years ago, our half-sister successfully applied for and received citizenship using our grandmother's baptism certificate as evidence. My sister and I submitted the same baptism certificate that she used to the FBR to support our current application, but the FBR said that this is no longer sufficient evidence. Instead, the FBR told me to get a "Letter of No Trace" from the Government Records Office (GRO)—effectively, a letter to say that the GRO has searched for a birth certificate but was unable to find one.

We have now received and submitted the Letter of No Trace to the FBR, and hopefully they now have all the documents they need to move forward with our application.

So, a summary of learnings that may be of use to others:

• You need to use long-form birth certificates for your application (i.e., ones that show your parents' names and occupations); you can order these for a tenner from gro [dot] gov [dot] uk if you were born in the UK.

• If you need to request a Letter of No Trace for a birth certificate, the address to write to is gro@welfare [dot] ie.

The Letter of No Trace info is really helpful- I didn’t know that was an option, many thanks. May I ask how long it took them to respond and what information you had to provide them - eg copy of baptism certificate and/or something else?

Sure thing—the GRO was really quick and efficient. I sent the request to their email address, they immediately sent me a link to pay the €20 fee, and then they posted the Letter of No Trace to me three or four days later.

Re the info we provided to the FBR: as I recall, we sent copies of my grandmother's baptism certificate (official parish copy), as well as her marriage and death certificates. We also forwarded my half-sister's correspondence with the BDM Online Ireland service (showing that they had searched for the birth certificate but were unable to find it), as well as a copy of our half-sister's Foreign Birth Registration Certificate (showing that she had already been granted citizenship via our grandmother).

Hope this helps!

Super helpful thanks, really appreciate it!

[hattie9]

I also only had a copy of my late grandmother's baptism certificate. Her birth (in 1896) was never registered. I was told by the GRO I had to apply for a "late registration" of her birth in order to obtain the necessary birth certificate required to apply for FBR-- this actually involved submitting even more paperwork than the FBR itself! Once her birth was officially entered, I had to then apply for her birth certificate before I could submit my application to the FBR. It delayed the process by quite a few months.

I am mentioning this because it seems completely different to what you were advised. I would find it hard to believe they would grant citizenship without any evidence of the individual born in Ireland through whom the claim is being made.

[dogdayafternoon89]

I also only had a copy of my late grandmother's baptism certificate. Her birth (in 1896) was never registered. I was told by the GRO I had to apply for a "late registration" of her birth in order to obtain the necessary birth certificate required to apply for FBR-- this actually involved submitting even more paperwork than the FBR itself! Once her birth was officially entered, I had to then apply for her birth certificate before I could submit my application to the FBR. It delayed the process by quite a few months.

I am mentioning this because it seems completely different to what you were advised. I would find it hard to believe they would grant citizenship without any evidence of the individual born in Ireland through whom the claim is being made.

I am only passing on what the FBR has told me re my specific application—your milage may vary!

[ceylan1987]

Final update!

Applied online - 09.08.2022
Docs received - 17.08.2022
Address check - 11.05.2023
Congrats email - 08.06.2023
Cert received - 14.06.2023

Happy and relieved is an understatement!

Good luck everyone, looks like waiting times have reduced right down, 10 months for mine all in all!!

[Ssgogo16]

Wow! I was expecting we were in for quite the wait given we had missing information and were just asked for it on Sunday. But today we got the lovely email the replacement FBR is on its way! I’ll finally be able to apply for my own soon. Here are the dates if anyone is curious.

Submitted replacement application FBR certificate: 11/10/22

Supporting documents delivered: 01/14/23

Request for missing information: 06/11/23

FBR certificate mailed: 06/14/23

[Dalton_Trumbo]

Hi, I'm new, although have lurked for awhile. It looks like it is getting closer for me, so I figured it was time to join and put my dates out there.

Application Date: 15 May 2022
Docs Received: 4 Oct 2022

Fingers crossed to get address check soon!

My sister and I submitted our applications together. There is one hitch in our application, and it's not a small one. My grandfather's (born in Dublin in 1884) first name is wrong on my mother's birth certificate. The certified copy says Lewis instead of Denis. I've seen the original, handwritten register, and I think that's a transcription error of the elaborate cursive writing (capital L and capital D can look very similar, as can small w and small n), but the issuing authority for Mom's certificate won't change it without a court order, and there is nobody alive who could testify from personal knowledge about this anymore to support a request for a court order. I did send additional documents showing Grandpa's name as "Denis" (which is on his birth certificate) and showing my mother as the daughter of "Denis." These include her marriage license, which I sent along with the marriage certificate, and her baptismal certificate, as well as admittedly unauthenticated copies (from microfiche) of his US World War II draft registration card (yes, they required all men, including the elderly, to register in 1941) showing my mother, living at the same address, as his "person who will always be able to contact me," the notice in the paper of my mother and father's wedding in 1942, which identify her as the daughter of Denis and which show her married to my father, and of an obituary notice, also from microfiche, from when Grandpa died in 1954. Oh, and my mother's death certificate identifies her father as "Denis," born in Ireland.

I'm hoping that's enough. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, thanks to those who maintain and oversee this board. It's been a wealth of information for me, and I appreciate it.

Oh the horror of the hastily hand written birth certificates! My mother was born in London during WW2, I have her original birth certificate and I will say it is almost completely illegible. The only thing you can make out is her first name being Anne. Good luck! Hopefully you've provided enough evidence that it's simply a transcription error.

[23inred]

Lurker hoping to get my address confirmation any day now...

Application submitted: 19/08/2022
Documents received: 21/09/2022

[ESCJack]

Lurker hoping to get my address confirmation any day now...

Application submitted: 19/08/2022
Documents received: 21/09/2022

Me too! Docs received 23/09/2022..

Good luck!

[ferocious12]

My daughter's docs were received on 8 Sep 22. Still no word !

[teranos]

Hi,

Did you get your approval already ? Or did they ask more documents ? What's the current stage ?

Was your kid eligible for another citizenship ? Because if not you could ask it to be expedited.

I am naturalized irish as well applying from mexico for my newborn.


Cheers.

Hey Folks,


I'm new to the forum and I have two, hopefully not too stupid , questions. My partner and I are both naturalised Irish citizens, having lived in Galway for over 10 years. We are currently living in Spain and our daughter was born here last year. We have applied for FBR for her, providing all necessary documenation.

1. Is anyone else in a similar scenario (naturalised parents, living in Spain) that can let me know, from experience, if the process is cumbersome or fairly straight-forward?

2. What is the actual phone number and web-chat link for contacting the FBR office? I'm browing several, slightly similar pages with info but I cannot find a dedicated webchat for FBR.

Application Date: 18-Oct-2022
Application Received Date: 28-Oct-2022
Address Confirmation Date: TBD


Thank you for your help! Much appreciated.

D.

[TayBluetooth]

Hi everyone,

I sent my application away on 30/06/22.

Documents were received on 08/07/22.

I got an email on 23/03/23 mentioning a problem with my Grandfather's death certificate not being original. In this email, they also asked me to confirm my address which I did.

After this email, I sent the correct original document away and followed up twice asking if it had been checked, but they replied that it hasn't yet due to a backlog. They received this document on 11/04/2023.

I was just wondering if anyone is/was in a similar situation and how long it normally takes to resolve. My last correspondence with them was on 09/06/2023.

Thanks!

[sophieluella]

Hi all,

Just curious, does anyone know a rough timeline from receiving the address confirmation email to getting the congratulations email? I received the address confirmation email exactly a month ago and nothing since, I was interested to see what timelines others have had with this so I know (hopefully!) when to expect the email.

Thank you!

[Coachman]

Hi everyone,

I sent my application away on 30/06/22.

Documents were received on 08/07/22.

I got an email on 23/03/23 mentioning a problem with my Grandfather's death certificate not being original. In this email, they also asked me to confirm my address which I did.

After this email, I sent the correct original document away and followed up twice asking if it had been checked, but they replied that it hasn't yet due to a backlog. They received this document on 11/04/2023.

I was just wondering if anyone is/was in a similar situation and how long it normally takes to resolve. My last correspondence with them was on 09/06/2023.

Thanks!

I believe it's going to be further delayed as the new documents follow a different path before being addressed on your application. There are a few posts on it recently.