Anyone born outside Ireland who, at the time of their birth had a parent, who was an Irish Citizen, otherwise than by birth in Ireland, may become an Irish Citizen by application for Foreign Birth Registration.
What if one (or both) of my parents was born in Ireland?
Then you acquired Irish citizenship automatically at birth.
Can I apply through an Irish born grandparent?
Yes. If one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, their child (your parent) acquired Irish citizenship automatically at birth. Therefore, unless your parent renounced their Irish citizenship before your birth, you are eligible to apply.
Is anyone else eligible to apply for FBR?
Eligibility is not limited to grandchildren of people born in Ireland. The criteria is that at the time of your birth one of your parents held Irish citizenship other than through birth in Ireland. The FBR process is therefore also available to the foreign-born children of naturalised Irish citizens, and to children born to Irish citizens who themselves acquired citizenship through FBR.
What if my parent became an Irish citizen after I was born?
It is not possible to apply on the basis that your parent acquired Irish citizenship after your birth, except in the very limited cirumstance that your parent became a citizen through FBR prior to 1 January 1987 and you were born after 17 July 1956. This arises from previous legislation. Current legislation only provides for persons who, at the time of their birth, had a parent who held Irish citizenship other than by birth in Ireland.
How can I apply for Irish citizenship by Foreign Birth Registration?
The application forms are available to download from our website
How long does it take to process an application for Irish citizenship?
It currently takes approximately four months to process FBR applications at this mission, if all necessary documentation is provided. If we have to seek additional documents, the processing time may be longer.
No travel arrangements should be made on the assumption of having Irish citizenship and then passport by a certain future date. Once you have been notified that your application is successful, you may apply for an Irish passport. Current processing time for passport applications at this mission is approximately five weeks.
You said that the supporting documents have to be originals but I don’t have the originals of some old certificates- what should I do?
When we say original documentation we mean that the document should be from the competent issuing authority – (ie not a photocopy, even if certified). You can obtain a new original from the competent authority. Certificates from the Republic of Ireland can be obtained from General Register Office . Certificates from Northern Ireland can be obtained from General Register Office Northern Ireland
