Apply for Foreign Births Registration

If you were born abroad and a grandparent was born in Ireland, you can become an Irish citizen through the Foreign Births Register. This guide covers the documents, the fees and the 12-month wait.

You apply online to the Department of Foreign Affairs at fbr.dfa.ie, then post your original documents to Dublin. Adults pay €278 and the wait is about 12 months.

Do you need it?

• Yes, if you were born outside Ireland and one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland.
• Yes, if you were born outside Ireland and a parent was an Irish citizen when you were born but was not born in Ireland. For example, they became Irish through Foreign Births Registration or naturalisation before your birth.
• No, if a parent was born on the island of Ireland. You are already Irish and can apply for a passport directly.
• No, if your parent was entered on the register only after you were born. You are not eligible.

What you need

• An email address, to fill in the online form
• Your original civil birth certificate showing your parents' details
• Your marriage certificate or name-change document, if your name has changed
• A photocopy of your state-issued photo ID, certified as a true copy by your witness
• Two separate original proofs of address (children need a letter from a school or family doctor instead)
• Four colour photos, 2 of them signed by your witness
• Your Irish-born grandparent's original civil birth certificate, their marriage certificate if relevant, and a certified copy of their photo ID or their original death certificate
• The same for your parent (the link between you): original civil birth certificate, marriage certificate if relevant, and certified photo ID or original death certificate
• If your claim is through a parent who became Irish: their naturalisation, Foreign Birth Registration or Post Nuptial Citizenship certificate

Step by step

1. Collect every document first. Incomplete applications are returned and not processed.
2. Fill in the online application at fbr.dfa.ie. There is no paper form.
3. Pay the fee online when you enter your application.
4. Print your completed application form and sign it.
5. Ask a witness to sign the form, sign 2 of your photos and certify your ID copy. They must know you, not be a relative, and work in a listed profession, such as a Garda, teacher, doctor, solicitor or bank manager.
6. Put everything in one envelope. Do not attach the photos to the form and do not send your original ID.
7. Post it by recorded post to the address printed on your form. You will not get an acknowledgement.
8. Wait for your Foreign Birth Registration certificate. Your originals come back to you by post.
9. Apply for an Irish passport once you are on the register, using your new certificate.

How much it costs and how long it takes

You become an Irish citizen on the day you are entered on the register. Only then can you apply for a passport, as the passport is handled by a different office.

Common mistakes

• Sending church or baptism records instead of civil certificates. A baptism certificate is only accepted for a grandparent born before 1864.
• Using a witness who is a relative, or who signs the form but not the photos and ID copy. The same person must do all three.
• Putting a passport application in the same envelope. Send it separately after you are registered.
• Applying for an older child born before you were registered. Only children born after your registration can apply through you.
• Missing documents. The department returns incomplete applications without processing them.

Related guides

• How to apply for an Irish passport
• How to apply for Irish citizenship
• How to get a copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate
• How to get a document apostilled or authenticated