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Foreign Birth Registration (FBR)

This page is informational, not legal advice. It describes Ireland's Foreign Birth Registration process in general terms based on publicly available government sources. For guidance on your specific situation, consult a qualified Irish immigration solicitor. Irish law can change — the information below reflects the process as of the verification date shown above, and may not reflect subsequent amendments.

Last verified: September 6, 2026 · Maintained by The Next Passport (Warner Creates LLC).

What is Foreign Birth Registration?

The Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) is Ireland's mechanism for recognizing citizenship by descent. It is maintained by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Unlike Italy's consular process, Ireland has a single centralized process — all applications go through the FBR office in Dublin, regardless of where you live.

A note on the name. If your forms, letters or older guidance say “Department of Foreign Affairs” without “and Trade”, that is the same department. It was renamed by S.I. No. 106/2025, in operation 26 March 2025, which also directs that references to the old name be read as references to the new one. Nothing about the FBR process, the fees or your eligibility changed with it, and the application website is still fbr.dfa.ie.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says: “You are automatically an Irish citizen if one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, and was born on the island of Ireland. You don't need to apply to become an Irish citizen in this case.” The FBR is not required for that path. The Department also says: “If your grandparent was born on the island of Ireland, your parent was born outside Ireland, and you were born outside Ireland, you can apply for entry on to the Foreign Births Register.” And for a reader whose parent is an Irish citizen: “People with a grandparent born outside Ireland, but with a parent who is an Irish citizen. If your parent became an Irish citizen through Foreign Birth Registration or Naturalisation prior to your birth and you were born outside Ireland, you can apply for Foreign Birth Registration.”

One exception runs alongside all of that, and it is worth checking before you pay: Sections 7(3)(b), 7(3A), 7(3B) and 7(3C) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 deem a person born abroad to have been born in the island of Ireland where the parent they derive citizenship from was, at the time of that birth, "abroad in the public service" — a diplomatic posting, Defence Forces overseas duty, or a civil servant posted abroad by a government department. Do not rule your family out on the employer: Section 2 of the same Act defines "public service", in relation to the employment of a person, as "employment in the service of the Government, whether or not in the civil service, or in the service of any public corporation or authority maintained wholly or partly out of public funds or in respect of which a Minister of State is responsible". Which limb applies turns on where the posted ancestor was born. Sections 7(3B) and 7(3C) — the limb for an ancestor born in the island of Ireland — were inserted by the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 and have been in force since July 31, 2023, and Section 7(3C) applies Section 7(3B), and only Section 7(3B), to a person "born before or after" that date, so it reaches births long before 2023. Section 7(3A), the limb for an ancestor born abroad, was inserted on December 13, 2017 and carries no clause of that kind, and the Department has published no answer on whether it reaches an earlier birth. A second date is unanswered too: Section 7(4) provides that "Nothing in this section shall confer Irish citizenship on a person not an Irish citizen immediately before its coming into operation", and Section 7 as substituted by Section 3(1) of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001 came into operation on December 2, 1999 under Section 9(3) of that Act, with those subsections inserted into it afterwards. So if a posting covers your line, the registration described on this page, and its fee, may not be required of you — but that is a question to put, not an answer to act on. Establish the posting first — a Defence Forces or diplomatic service record, or the posting dates from the employing department — and put those dates, where the posted ancestor was born, and the dates of birth of everyone in the line to the Foreign Birth Registration Customer Service Hub (+353 1 568 3331) before you apply.

Step-by-Step Process

These steps reflect the FBR application process as of the verification date shown at the top of this page. Always verify current requirements on the official DFAT website.

  1. 1

    Check eligibility

    Use our free eligibility checker to determine if you may qualify. The Department’s own words on each category are quoted above. Take the free eligibility check to walk through your specific situation.

  2. 2

    Gather documents

    You will need: your long-form birth certificate, 4 passport photos, a certified copy of your photo ID, and 2 proofs of address. For each ancestor in your chain: their birth certificate, marriage certificate (if married), and death certificate (if deceased). For your Irish-born ancestor: an Irish birth certificate from the GRO (General Register Office, Republic of Ireland) or GRONI (General Register Office for Northern Ireland).

  3. 3

    Arrange a witness

    Find a witness from the DFAT's list below who is personally known to you and is not a relation — the DFAT requires a witness “who is personally known to you”, so a notary who has never met you does not satisfy the requirement. The same person must do all three of the following: countersign your application form, certify your ID photocopy, and sign 2 of your 4 passport photos on the back (“Your witness must sign and date two of these photographs.”). The DFAT's own words on witnessing and certifying are quoted below.

    The DFAT publishes the list: “The witness can be one of the following, who is personally known to you and currently practicing in their profession:”

    • Garda Síochána/ Police Officer
    • School Principal/ Vice Principal/ Teacher/ School Secretary/ Pre-school Manager/ Montessori Teacher/ Lecturer
    • Member of Clergy
    • Medical Doctor
    • Nurse
    • Physiotherapist
    • Speech Therapist
    • Pharmacist
    • Dentist
    • Lawyer
    • Notary Public/ Commissioner for Oaths
    • Peace Commissioner
    • Bank Manager/ Assistant Bank Manager or Credit Union Manager or Assistant Manager
    • Accountant
    • Elected Public Representative
    • Vet
    • Chartered Engineer

    The DFAT, under “Witnesses”: “Before you send your application form to the relevant office, you must have it witnessed by an appropriate person who is personally know to you but is not a relation.” “The same witness should witness the form and two of the photographs and use their official stamp on the form. They should also certify a photocopy of the applicant's state-issued photographic identity document as a true copy of the original.” “If the witness does not have an official stamp you should supply a business card for them.” Under “Applying for a replacement Foreign Birth Registration Certificate”: “When certifying documents, the witness should include a contact telephone number and email address.”

    The DFAT's document lists, for your own ID: “Photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers licence, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by application form witness”; for your Irish-born grandparent's or parent's: “Photocopy of current state-issued photographic ID document (i.e. passport, drivers licence, national identity card) certified as a true copy of the original by a professional from the list of witnesses OR original civil death certificate (if applicable)”.

    The DFAT, under “What is a certified document?”: “A document will be considered certified/notarised where the following procedure has been adhered to:”

    • “Ask the person or organisation you have contacted to create a copy or translation of your document.”
    • “Then ask them to:”
    • “Write 'Certified to be a true copy/translation of the original seen by me' on the document.”
    • “Sign and date the document.”
    • “Print their name under the signature.”
    • “Add their occupation, address and telephone number.”
    • “Attach their stamp/seal, business card, or include their professional register reference number.”
  4. 4

    Submit online

    Go to fbr.dfa.ie and complete the electronic application form. Pay the application fee: €278 for adults or €153 for minors. The fee is non-refundable.

  5. 5

    Print, sign, and mail

    Print the completed application form. Sign it in front of your witness — they must countersign. Mail the signed printout along with all original documents to the address printed on your form. Originals are returned after processing.

  6. 6

    Wait for processing

    What the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade publishes about how long Foreign Birth Registration takes is quoted on our page “Irish Citizenship Processing Times”. The DFAT will contact you if additional information is needed. There is no online tracker for Foreign Birth Registration — the passport tracker does not cover FBR.

  7. 7

    Receive FBR certificate

    Once registered, you receive an FBR certificate confirming your Irish citizenship. You can then apply for an Irish passport online at passportonline.dfa.ie.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Leaving the ID photocopy uncertified — The DFAT asks for a photocopy of your state-issued photo ID "certified as a true copy of the original" by the same witness who signs your form, and it asks the witness to add a contact telephone number and email address. The DFAT's own words on witnessing and on certifying a document are quoted in full under "Arrange a witness" above.
  • Sending copies instead of originals — The FBR requires original documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc.). Originals are returned after processing.
  • Short-form birth certificates — The DFAT asks for the original civil birth certificate showing parental details, so a short-form certificate that omits the parents' names will not do. Note that Irish GRO certificates are themselves computer-printed — the requirement is the parental detail, not the printing method.
  • Only 2 photos instead of 4 — Four passport-sized photographs are required, and your witness must sign and date two of them. Do not attach them to the application form. If you are applying on behalf of a minor, four photographs of yourself are needed as well, signed and dated by both you and the witness.
  • Signing before you are in front of the witness — The form carries a witnessed signature, so sign it in the witness's presence. The same witness should sign the form and two photographs, apply their official stamp, and certify the photocopy of your ID.

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Not legal advice. This page describes Ireland's Foreign Birth Registration process in general terms based on publicly available government sources. Irish law can change — for guidance on your specific situation, consult a qualified Irish immigration solicitor.