Irish citizenship

[Apileofballyhoo]

Just some information for anybody that's wondering. Estimates seen to vary but it looks like the following applies to 5 or 6 million people.

If you were born outside the island of Ireland and if either of your parents was an Irish citizen who was born in the island of Ireland, then you are entitled to Irish citizenship, and entitled to apply for an Irish passport under Irish law, irrespective of where you reside. You can also apply for Irish citizenship if one of your parents, while not born in the island of Ireland, was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth. In most cases applications of this type are made through a grandparent who was born in Ireland.

www.dfa.ie/irelanduk-citizenshipandpassports/

I think you should ask your parents if they would care to introduce you to their priest! I'm not religious either, but I wouldn't find it hypocritical to do this: I don't think you endorse their beliefs by acknowledging their profession/vocation.

A solicitor who is a notary public might do it. The one across the road from us charged £40

Finding someone who can sign it is proving a nightmare.

Also if you parents/grandparents were born before partition in what is now Northern Ireland you can go and get their docs from Belfast and still claim an irish passport. Not that I'm doing it but know someone who has.

SuperLoudPoppingAction, can a notary public witness the form even without personally knowing either the applicant or someone who does know the applicant? That goes against what I've read, but could make things a lot easier for me when I get around to doing it.

I could not see anything at all on the form about knowing the person for 2 years and the solicitor read it carefully and wouldn't have signed if he wasn't satisfied it was above board.

If we've done it wrong that'll be a pain.
Where did you read it?

The person does not need to have known the applicant for any length of time (it's two years for a countersignatory for a UK passport). But the information I've read on the Irish Dept. Of Foreign Affairs website seems quite clear that the witness needs to have a personal relationship of some description with either the applicant themselves, or a third party who knows both and is prepared to vouch for the applicant.

See "who can be a witness" under Additional Requirements on this page:

www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth/

I hope it works out for you if you've sent in the form, especially if you paid £40! And like I said, it would suit me if I can do it that way too. I'm just not sure about it. Did you really not know the solicitor at all before he signed?

I'm married to a man born in UK to Irish parents his parents live in UK, he can get an Irish passport and so can our children but can I?

Thanks

itbemay, I think you'd have to all move to Ireland and you could apply after having lived there for a certain length of time if you meet some other conditions. Just being the spouse of an Irish citizen living abroad isn't enough to make you a citizen, sorry.

When I say "all move to Ireland", I mean you and your husband and obviously any dependant children, not your in-laws as well!

You can't get Irish citizenship through your spouse. You need to be resident etc.
My siblings (and I) are all Irish citizens through our Irish born mum but only my spouse is an Irish citizen through his Irish born parent. Our daughter is currently applying to get on the Foreign Birth Register which can do either through my mum or my husband's dad. One of her cousins has already obtained it.

They're my neighbours across the road but they're not 'my' solicitor. I live in a small town so everyone 'knows' everyone I suppose. But we went off the explanation on the form.

If pushed, they would definitely know my solicitor because he is awesome.

I just paid a solicitor for witnessing my DD's application to go on the Register. He notarised some stuff as well. It was easier to pay someone than see if the local parish priest would do it.

It sounds as if your solicitor will meet the criteria, if he will say that he does know you if they contact him for confirmation. If you'd just googled for a notary public and made an appointment with the nearest one having had no previous contact with them, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have been enough. Lucky for you that you found someone! Like BloodyForms said, the list of professions is really limited and I bet quite a few people would have a problem with it.

bellinisurge, how far along is your daughter's application? Will you post to say if it is successful, if she had the form witnessed by a solicitor with no personal relationship to her, directly or through a third party? That shouldn't be sufficient according to the rules, but if it works out for you I would be interested to hear.

I'll let you know @flourella

I used a solicitor to get my passport application witnessed, and it was fine. Had my passport about a month later.

I didn’t need to go on the foreign births list though, so I’m not sure if that makes a difference.

The solicitor stamped the photos, signed the form, and gave me a business card to include. It cost £15.

Oh, forgot to mention, I used the Passport Express service at Liverpool post office.

Didn’t get it in the 10 working days advertised, but had it within a month. That service is available in Glasgow as well.

Yes, unfortunately the list of witnesses for the Foreign Births Register is much stricter than that for the passport application.

That's good to know that the Passport Express service is indeed fast though!

Yes, the Foreign Birth Register is stricter and rightly so. I've had to do much more to get my dd on the FBR whereas getting a passport doesn't require quite as much.
Hope the Irish Government is making a lot of money out of us. They'll bloody need it.

This may be a silly question but ... dh and our four children are eligible for Irish passports. Do we have to apply in a linear fashion and wait for one to be returned before sending the next (each will require dh's original long form birth certificate) or can we put them all in together as a job lot?

I was born in NI to a N Irish mother. I think that makes me eligible? I'm wondering if that also makes my dc eligible?

When I try and start the online process, it asks me to select from a drop down menu titled 'where are you?' When I select the option for Great Britain it won't let me go any further. I then get redirected to a page that gives me the phone number for the Irish embassy - which no one answers. Gah!!