T.M.H.N.E.T
Rainbows aren't just for world champions
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Or as unlucky as melucky as me and be actaully born in Ireland
Calling all Irish: paperwork/passport question
- Thread starter Fnaar
- Start date
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Adam4868
Guru
Is there a difference ?I should have said the Republic of Ireland.
jefmcg
Guru
Well, maybe not passports, but maybe citizenship. Because if you ever want/need to move to Europe your citizenship will probably cover both. It may also give your kids more options if they don't yet have duel citizenship.
jefmcg
Guru
Lots of us like to have options, even if we never take them. Not taking EU citizenship cuts off many options. Is it any surprise not everyone is happy with that?
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
But they can apply when they need it...
T.M.H.N.E.T
Rainbows aren't just for world champions
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Me neither..
jefmcg
Guru
I'm sure you've researched it, but in my experience you are entitled to much more if you parent was a citizen than your grandparent, and if the most recent citizen ancestor was great-great parent or earlier, then you get nothing.
Also father were more valuable than mothers, as far as citizenship goes.
classic33
Leg End Member
Either parent for Ireland.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/e...ish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html
Adam4868
Guru
The list goes on and on and on ..........
threebikesmcginty
Corn Fed Hick...
- Location
- ...on the slake
I'm just jealous because I can't get one and then do feck all with it.
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
I think you just need a parent born anywhere in the south or north. We vaguely looked into it for the purpose of uni fees but they needed to be living there for a bit.
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
Right, very long answer from my brother coming up but first I need to point out that I was wrong upthread when I said my brother dealt direct with Dublin; he didn't, it was the embassy in London.
Message begins:
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As your friend was not born in Ireland, to be granted Irish citizenship he must first have his birth (through qualifying parents or grandparents) recorded on the Foreign Births Register. It's this process that grants citizenship. The passport application can then follow easily.
He therefore needs
1. Parents' original full birth certificates, marriage, and if applicable, death certificates.
(If your friend's parents are both Irish, then he should need only the one parent's records, though both won't go amiss. He should also get the marriage record, and if applicable, any death records.)
2. His own full birth certificate.
3. A certified photocopy of an identity document, such as passport or photo driving licence.
4. Original utility bills (gas, electric, bank, council tax will do).
5. Four passport sized photos.
6. FBR application form downloaded from the FBR website.
He first makes an online application on the FBR website (address below), using the information from the certificates he has gathered. Payment is made at the time the online application is being completed. I think I was about £180 or the euro equivalent for the application fee.
IMPORTANT : There is no facility to edit an application once it has been submitted. If he discovers a mistake, he must make a new application. It makes sense to check everything thoroughly.
In (3) above, he can get a photocopy of his passport (the identity page), and have it authenticated and stamped by a Notary Public or similar, but the Embassy of Ireland will also accept copies that have been certified at a Post Office. This is MUCH cheaper. A Post Office will certify up to three documents for a flat fee of £10. If a Notary Public does it, he'll have to sell a kidney.
I took two photocopies of my passport and one photocopy of my driving licence, and had the P.O. certify all three for a tenner. That gave me a spare. He must take the original documents along with the copies, and the clerk will check the copies against the originals before certifying, by writing and signing the copies and then the office's stamp on them.
For (5) and (6), he must have two of the four photos authenticated by a suitable person. The online application process for the FBR will give guidance on who can do this, but I took them to the local parish priest, who knows me, and he signed and dated the back of two of them. All four are still submitted. This person will also complete the section of the FBR form your friend will have downloaded and taken with him, and stamped it with an official stamp (the church's parish office stamp in my case). He himself also has to sign the form, but must do it in the presence of the witness, so don't take it ready signed.
Once the online application is made, paid and submitted, he must then post the physical certificates and authentication documentation, to the address on the FBR forms, to support the online application. In my case, it was to the Embassy of Ireland in London. The forms will say which address to use, as it will depend on where the applicant is currently living.
Time passes.
It takes about six months to process this. They're experiencing unusually high levels of applications.
If all goes well, he will get a packet that returns all his original documentation (I didn't get the photocopies back) plus, and this is the important bit, his Foreign Births registration certificate and number, with a cover letter acknowledging that he has been granted Irish citizenship.
There will also be a passport application form. It's self-explanatory, but the FBR registration number is what he puts in the appropriate box in the passsport application form, along with all the usual stuff that goes on such a form. He'll need another couple of passport photos, authenticated, as the previous four are not returned. Passport photos must be used within six months of authentication, if I recall, so it doesn't make sense to get half a dozen done at first, since the application for FBR is going to take six months alone. The passport application fee is priced in euro, but he can pay in sterling. If he supplies a card number, they'll just debit the correct amount at the time regardless of what goes in the payment box.
TIP : Make sure to go to a place that does proper passport photos, as there are rules for dress that a shopping mall self-operated photobooth won't know about! Don't wear glasses. Don't wear a white shirt. Wear a grey or blue or dark shirt. This is because the background will be white, and the biometric passport recognition system uses the contrast between clothing and face as part of the recognition processing. A white shirt will cause the passport photo to be rejected on receipt as non-compliant. I went to a local photography dealer and I was about £7 a set of four. Rather that than setting back the whole application process to save two quid!
Obtaining Birth/Marriage/Death Certificates.
DO NOT GO to https://www.birthsdeathsmarriages.ie/, or similar third party sites. A certificate will cost 40 euro here.
Go direct to http://www.gov.ie/services/buy-a-birth-certificate/, a certificate will cost 20 euro & p/p here. As long as he has enough details to specify the certificate(s) he wants, he should be fine.
It's a good idea to make a complete scan of all the documents in the application pack before posting. The scans are no good for official purposes but it means he knows what he sent and would need to send again if anything goes awry in the post. I chose the £100 value insurance option when I sent my certificates, to cover the cost of replacement if they got lost in the post.
This is where the online application is made :
https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth/
Any more info I can give, just let me know."
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Message ends.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Blimey, what a fuss.
All you needed to play football for Eire under Jack Charlton was an Irish Setter.
All you needed to play football for Eire under Jack Charlton was an Irish Setter.
I don't think Tony Cascarino even met that requirement.
He just said he had an Irish granny and got picked.
