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Tag: Foreign Birth Registration

  • My Grandparent was Irish // Can I get a passport?

    My Grandparent was Irish // Can I get a passport?

    My Grandparent was Irish // Can I get a passport?

    You’re hoping to get an Irish passport? Your parent has one, your grandparent was born in Ireland, so you want to apply to get one. Can you get one?

    The answer isn’t as straightforward as you may hope. But, eventually, you will be able to apply for an Irish passport.

    You may think that doesn’t really make sense. In this post, I’m going to go through what you need to do and show you how to get yourself in a position to apply for an Irish passport.

    You need to apply for Citizenship!

    There are a couple of things you need to consider.

    You need to be an Irish citizen to apply for an Irish passport. Passports can only be held by Irish citizens.

    If you or your parent were born in Ireland before 2005 you are automatically an Irish citizen. You can apply for a passport now. You can skip to this post showing you how to apply for an Irish passport if you live outside Ireland. Or, alternatively, you can just pop over to Department of Foreign Affairs and start your application.

    If you want to apply for a passport through your Irish born grandparent and your parent was born outside Ireland, you are not an Irish citizen. You need to apply for a Irish Citizenship before you can apply for a passport. It all comes down to who was born in Ireland.

    It doesn’t matter if your parent holds an Irish passport, just because they hold an Irish passport doesn’t make YOU an Irish citizen.

    Register a Foreign Birth

    To become an Irish citizen through an Irish born grandparent, you need to register your birth as a Foreign Birth.

    There are other scenarios where you need to Register a Foreign Birth (For example, if your parent was a naturalised Irish citizen and you were born outside Ireland) but this post will only deal with applying for citizenship through an Irish born Grandparent.

    Foreign Birth Registration, in itself, is a straightforward process but you need to have all the information you need to hand before you start the application.

    As you are applying through an Irish born grandparent you will need documentation to show your family tree from your grandparent to you. That means you will also need your parent’s details.

    Documents needed

    A person writing at a table with a cuppa. Source: Pixabay

    These are the typical documents needed when Registering a Foreign Birth. Major Caveat, you may be asked for more documentation or slightly different documentation depending on your circumstances (eg adopted).

    Documents Needed for The Applicant

    • Your original long form Birth certificate
    • If you’re married, original Marriage Certificate
    • If you’ve divorced and remarried: Divorce Decree / New Marriage Certificate
    • Certified Copy of your current Passport*
    • Proof of Name and Address. You need 3 documents showing your name and address. These can be Council Tax bills, utility bills, bank statements, P60s etc.
    • If you’ve Changed your name by Deed Poll, you need to submit the original and two documents showing your proof of usage of your new name for at least two years. Your Deed Poll must be valid for at least two years.
    • If the applicant is a minor, you will also need:*
      • Certified Copy of your current Passport* and a letter from school or Doctor confirming the child is a registered student or patient
      • One proof of address from the country in which they are resident
      • Two proofs of current residence from the minor’s parent

    *Please note that this scenario is if the person applying for the minor is their Irish citizen parent.

    As Ireland is not your place of birth and you are applying for citizenship, you would normally hold a passport from another country.

    Documents Needed For The Applicant’s Irish Parent

    • Parent’s original long form birth certificate
    • If you’re married: original Marriage Certificate
    • If you’ve divorced and remarried: Divorce Decree / New Marriage Certificate
    • Certified Copy of your current Passport or
      If your parent is deceased: Original Death Certificate
    • If they’ve changed their name by Deed Poll, you need to submit the original and two documents showing your proof of usage of your new name for at least two years. Your Deed Poll must be valid for at least two years.

    Documents Needed for Irish-Born Grandparents

    • If you’re married, original Marriage Certificate
    • If you’ve divorced and remarried: Divorce Decree / New Marriage Certificate
    • Certified Copy of your current Passport or
      If your grandparent is deceased: Original Death Certificate
    • If they’ve changed their name by Deed Poll, you need to submit the original and two documents showing your proof of usage of your new name for at least two years. Your Deed Poll must be valid for at least two years.This is not an exhaustive list, you may be asked for further details.

    Never send your valid passport with the Foreign Birth Application, always get your witness to certify  / notarise a copy and send that.

    All this information and documents required for other scenarios are available from the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

    The Application Process

    Once you’ve got all your documents together, you can start the actual application. It’s an online process and there is no definite time frame as to how long the actual process takes. It could take a year or more.

    You can start the process here on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

    It’s all really simple from here. You’ll notice tabs on the application form for the applicant, parent and grandparent and then, of course, your contact details.

    The first thing you’ll notice is that there are a number of options for ‘Please indicate the citizenship category to which the applicant’s parent belongs‘. This trips people up a little. The default is ‘Born Abroad to a Parent Born in Ireland’, if you are applying this way, leave it in the default setting. Look at it this way – like a family tree.

    Irish Born Grandparent

    vvvv

    Irish Citizen Parent – Born Abroad to a Parent Born in Ireland

    vvvv

    Applicant

    All you need to do then is fill in the ‘Irish Citizen Parent – Born Abroad to a Parent Born in Ireland’ details and the ‘Irish born Grandparent’ details.

    Foreign Birth Registration page on the DFA website
    Screenshot of Foreign Birth Registration page on the DFA website

    Once you go through the the online form, and you submit the application, you will need to print off a pdf which is populated with all your answers. From this your witness needs to sign the Certificate of Identity.

    Once you have everything compiled, send it to the address stated on the pdf. Make sure you send it by Special Delivery (from the UK) or equivalent so you can track that all your documents have been received.

    Once you do this, it’s now waiting time.

    When the process is complete, you will receive a Foreign Birth Registration Certificate which confirms you are an Irish citizen. Now, you can apply for a passport.

    Good luck! Always contact your local Embassy or Consulate for any advice.

    Irish Passport Cover - nessymon

    Nessymon.com takes no responsibility for any errors, omissions or changes that may happen to this process. Always contact your local Embassy or Consulate for advice.

  • I’m Irish, I live outside Ireland, I need a passport – Help!

    I’m Irish, I live outside Ireland, I need a passport – Help!

    *Covid Update* July 2020

    The fastest way to renew your passport, or to apply for a first time passport is to apply online.

    In case of Emergency, contact your local Embassy or Consulate.

    I’m Irish, I live outside Ireland, I need a passport – Help!

    If you’ve been living outside Ireland for a while, chances are that you will have to renew your Irish passport. In the UK, we’re lucky, if you don’t have a valid passport, you can still get back home. You can check my previous post on what documents are needed Travelling between the UK and Ireland.

    If you’re travelling anywhere else other than Ireland, you will need a passport. If you’re living anywhere else in the world you will need a passport. So how do you get one?

    Renew your Irish Passport Online

    If you need to renew your Irish passport, you can do that online now at the Department of Foreign Affairs website. To be honest, this is the easiest way to renew your passport.

    In 2017, the Department of Foreign Affairs introduced online renewals and made everything easy peasy.

    You can use a photo taken with your front facing camera on your phone. Get a friend to take it. just make sure that the room is well-lit, you have a light coloured background with no patterns. Take the photo from your chest area up, make sure your shoulders are included. Once the photo is accepted by the system, it will crop it to the correct size for your passport.

    If you’re in the UK, you can also use a Irish passport enable ‘Photo Me’ photo booth, make sure you choose the Irish Passport option. You can then use the code you are given online for your application.

    They’ve even made a nice little video for you to explain it all.

    Renewing your child’s Passport Online

    You can find out everything you need to know here on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

    You can now renew your child’s passport online. You still need to supply consent from both guardians. You will need to print off the form including the consent form, get them signed by your witness and send them to the Passport Office Online section for verification. The process normally takes about ten working days but the ten working days start from when the required documentation is received in their office.

    You can also get your child a passport card when you renew online.

    Getting a Passport Card

    A passport card is really hand to have. You can use it to travel anywhere in the EU. You can apply online for it, the same as the process for renewing your passport. When you are renewing your Passport Book, you can also apply for a Passport Card. It costs a little bit less doing it that way. You can also apply for a passport card if you have previously renewed your Passport Book and didn’t get the Passport Card option.

    There are a couple of things to remember here:

    • You must have a valid Passport Book to get a Passport Card
    • A Passport Card is valid for a maximum of five years.
    • If you have less than five years validity on your Passport Book, your Passport Book and Card will have the same expiry date.

    Getting a First Irish Passport

    You’re automatically an Irish citizen if you or your parent were born on the island of Ireland. Since 2005, any child born in Ireland, must have a parent legally allowed to reside there, to be entitled to citizenship and therefore an Irish passport.

    The whole Brexit thing has meant that in the UK, lots of people, entitled to have a passport have finally got round to filling in the form after many years.

    There are two ways to apply for your First Irish Passport

    • You can now apply for your first time passport  online.
    • Or you can apply using a Paper Application Form

    Don’t get your family to send you a form from Ireland. Outside Ireland, you have to use an APS2E form. In Ireland, you use an APS1E form.

    The main difference is a Garda or PSNI officer signs a passport form in Ireland. Outside Ireland there are a number of other professions who can witness your application.

    Where do I get an APS2E Irish Passport Application Form?

    Wherever you are in the world, you can contact your local Embassy or Consulate. The Department of Foreign Affairs have a handy page with all the embassies here on their website.

    The Irish Passport Office for Great Britain is located at:
    114a Cromwell Road
    London
    SW7 4ES

    You can find out more here.

    In Great Britain, you’ll get APS2E forms in most Irish centres also.

    London Eye - nessymon

    Renewing your Irish Passport in person in London

    If you have a completed an APS2E form and have travel plans you can go the Irish Passport Office in London with proof of travel, your old passport and 4 witnessed photographs. There’s never any guarantee but if you need a passport in a hurry, that’s your best bet.

    Lost Passport

    Remember, if you’ve lost your passport, you will need:

    • Proof of name
    • Proof of address
    • Valid photo ID

    It’s always a good idea to bring a few extra proofs and your birth certificate and a copy of your previous passport if you have it. If your passport is a non biometric passport, you will be required to produce all first time documents.

    The nice people who work at the Passport Office have the right to ask you for as much information as they require to ensure that you are who you say you are.

    If you’ve lost your passport, you can still renew online and declare your loss during the process.

    Passport Express

    Residents of Great Britain have a little bit of an advantage over those living further afield.
    You can apply for a faster turnaround through Passport Express in two post offices in Liverpool and Glasgow.

    Glasgow
    Glasgow Post Office,
    140 West Nile Street,
    Glasgow,
    G1 2RD

    Liverpool
    Liverpool Post Office,
    1 – 3 South John Street,
    Liverpool,
    L1 8BN

    Turnaround on these is normally 3-4 weeks, once all the documents received are ok. You can apply for a First Time Application or for a Passport Renewal through Passport Express.

    Getting a First Time Adult Passport

    If you are living abroad, are an adult and applying for the first time you will need:

    • 4 passport photos, two signed by your witness
    • Your Irish born parent’s Birth certificate
    • Your Irish born parent’s marriage certificate (normally if claiming through your mother, you need to show her name change)
    • Your birth certificate
    • Your marriage certificate (if you have had a name change)
    • Certified Photo ID / Certified copy of your other Passport (This is better as your name needs to be exactly the same on all passports you possess)
    • Proof of name
    • Proof of address

    Most first time adult passport applications take somewhere in the region of 4-6 weeks to process. That’s not bad considering you’ve had your whole life to do it and are only getting round to it now!!

    Getting your Baby a First Time Passport

    If you are getting your baby their first passport, you or the child’s other biological parent must have been born on the island of Ireland.

    You will need:

    • 4 passport photos, two signed by your witness
    • The birth certificate of the Irish born parent
    • The birth certificate of the child
    • The marriage certificate of the parents, if they are married, if not, well, it doesn’t exist – don’t worry

    When you fill in the application form, you must fill in both sides of Section 7.
    This is where the Father and Mother give consent that the child can have a passport.
    You must get this witnessed by a person who is on the list on professionals allowed to witness the form. This list is contained in the wraparound information sheet that comes with the APS2E form.

    Again, both sides of section 7 need to be signed and witnessed. This is to show both parents give consent.

    You don’t have to get two different people to sign each side. You can do it together, the witness must sign to say both of you were there.
    The same witness can also sign section 9 of the form.

    You will need to check with your local embassy or consulate. If you have travel plans contact them before you post off an application. No one wants to leave your baby at home while you go off on holiday. If you go to the office, they can help you. If an application you post off, goes missing or there is a problem, then you’re a bit screwed.

    I’ll say it again, go to your local Irish embassy or consulate!!!!!

    There are some different scenarios with children regarding custody/consent/if a father is not named on a birth certificate. I am not a solicitor. It is up to you to ensure you have the correct information for your own personal situation.

    Foreign Birth Registration

    If you want to get an Irish passport through an Irish born grandparent, you’re not automatically an Irish citizen. You need to claim citizenship through a process called Foreign Birth registration.

    The Foreign Birth Registration process can take approximately six months, so don’t be in a mad hurry for it. You can find out more about the process here. Once you get citizenship, you can then apply for your Irish passport.

    With your Irish Passport Application you would need to include:

    • 4 passport photos, two signed by your witness
    • Your Birth Certificate,
    • Your Foreign Birth Certificate
    • Certified Photo ID / Certified copy of your other Passport (This is better as your name needs to be exactly the same on all passports you possess)
    • Proof of name
    • Proof of address

    Phew!

    There’s a lot of information in here. I hope it helps in some way. If you have questions, please comment below and I will try to help if I can.

    All information is correct as of Dec 9 2019. nessymon.com takes no responsibility for changes or incidents due to changes. Please always contact your local Irish Embassy or Consulate / travel provider for the most up to date information.