The Next Passport
Foreign Birth Registration · Processing TimesIrish Citizenship Processing Times
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Tradeanswers “How long does it take?” for Foreign Birth Registration on its citizenship page, and again on its Foreign Birth Registration page. The passages below are quoted word for word from those two pages, each with a link to where it comes from.
Last verified: September 29, 2026 · Maintained by The Next Passport (Warner Creates LLC).
This page is informational, not legal advice. Every statement below about how long Foreign Birth Registration takes is quoted from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with a link to the page it comes from. It is not a guarantee or a prediction about your case.
“How long does it take?”
After all the correct physical documents are received it takes approximately 12 months to process a Foreign Birth Registration application. Applications requiring clarification or further documents take longer. Incomplete applications delay the processing of the complete applications.— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Irish citizenship page
The Foreign Birth Registration page
If an expectant parent is not on the Foreign Births Register when the child is born, the child will not be entitled to Irish citizenship. Applications for Foreign Birth Registration are processed in strict date order. This process is currently taking approximately 12 months. If you are an expectant parent and your child may be born before your application is processed in line with the timeline above, you may contact the Foreign Birth Registration Customer Service Hub, via phone or WebChat.— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Registering a Foreign Birth
“How long does it take to process my application?”
Due to the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration process, it takes approximately 12 months to process a completed Foreign Birth Registration application. If you are an expectant parent applying to be entered on the Foreign Birth Register, you should mark this clearly on your application.— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Registering a Foreign Birth — frequently asked questions
“What is the current status of my application?”
Due to the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration process, it takes approximately 12 months to process a completed Foreign Birth Registration application. If we require further documentation, we will contact you.— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Registering a Foreign Birth — frequently asked questions
“Apply online”
You should gather all the required documents prior to completing the online form. Incomplete applications will be returned to you and not processed.— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Registering a Foreign Birth
Was a parent of yours born on the island of Ireland?
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.— Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Registering a Foreign Birth
Our guide Irish citizenship through a parent covers that route.
| Fee |
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| Department | Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |
| Where you apply | fbr.dfa.ie |
| Legal basis | Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 |
You can map your Irish line in about two minutes to see which route fits and which documents you'll need to gather.
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Keep track of your documents
The Next Passport builds a document checklist for your Irish line and tracks which documents you have gathered.
Start your Irish checklist →Not legal advice. The statements above about how long it takes are quoted from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Consult a licensed Irish citizenship solicitor before relying on this summary for any specific decision.