Irish foreign births register

[Tobeman]

Wasn't sure of the best place to ask this, so apologies if this is not the best sub-forum...

I've completed an application to add myself to the Irish foreign births register, through descendancy via my grandfather, to laterly go on and apply for an Irish passport. Not for any real personal gain, but I don't have kids and if I do, and the whole Brexit thing turns out to be an utter shambles, any kids I have after my successful application could latterly apply as well. Therefore, if they want to go work on the continent or whatever, they could.

Who knows, it might be the start of the fall of the union or it could all blow over. This wasn't for a discussion on the outcomes of that, but more specifically who I can get to certify my form!

It states they should know me "personally" before certifying my identity and completing the form, and the list of valid professions are as follows:

• Member of the clergy (I don't know any)
• Medical doctor (I politely wrote to my GP as a last resort and he refused)
• School principal (I don't know any)
• Bank manager (I went round 6 banks locally that I have accounts with and all tell me at a corporate level they have been instructed not to complete these any more)
• Solicitor/Lawyer (...walked into one opposite the last bank I tried, at their suggestion, refused as they don't know me personally... nor do I know any personally)
• Police officer (vaguely know one, suggested the idea he could review it - told me he had no idea where the office stamp was to certify it and wasn't particularly keen on the idea)
• Magistrate/Judge (don't know any)

Suggestions of who and how to approach welcome!

[George Smiley]

Cool story brah

[Eric Mc]

Are you good at football?

[NNH]

The list is a bit wider than that:
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

Do you know a nurse, teacher, lawyer or accountant?

[Tobeman]

George Smiley said:

Cool story brah

Eric Mc said:

Are you good at football?

Not at all, why do you ask?

NNH said:

The list is a bit wider than that:
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

Do you know a nurse, teacher, lawyer or accountant?

I see you found your list from here: https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/top-passp...

Unfortunately this isn't a passport application, yet. Before that you have to be admitted to the Foreign Births Register, presumably certifying from a different list of roles, as I just copied it down straight from the form and most of those aren't mentioned.

[singlecoil]

Tobeman said:

Eric Mc said:

Are you good at football?

Not at all, why do you ask?

I don't know if it was what Eric was getting at, but I would guess that it's a lot easier to become a citizen of a country if you could represent them at international level in a popular sport.


The thread subject interests me too as I also have a claim to Irish citizenship, as my mother was born in Canada of Irish citizen parents. Though come to think if it, Ireland didn't exist as a sovereign state when they would have been born.

[Tobeman]

singlecoil said:

I don't know if it was what Eric was getting at, but I would guess that it's a lot easier to become a citizen of a country if you could represent them at international level in a popular sport.


The thread subject interests me too as I also have a claim to Irish citizenship, as my mother was born in Canada of Irish citizen parents. Though come to think if it, Ireland didn't exist as a sovereign state when they would have been born.

Owen Hargreaves, is that you?! Wait no, he's Welsh. Or Canadian. Or English. Whatever.

It's certainly not been an easy process, even to get this far. My mother's side of the family, through which I am applying, is a bit of a shambles and people have changed names more times than Sean Combs. Records in most cases haven't been kept, and so I've had to create a bit of a breadcrumb trail for the Irish to follow to link it all up - I'm expecting some resistance!

Anyway - that bit is done, and struggling the most for someone to certify the final form!

[NNH]

Tobeman said:

I see you found your list from here: https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/top-passp...

Unfortunately this isn't a passport application, yet. Before that you have to be admitted to the Foreign Births Register, presumably certifying from a different list of roles, as I just copied it down straight from the form and most of those aren't mentioned.

I found the list on https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/citizensh...

It does look like the same list, though.

[Tobeman]

NNH said:

I found the list on https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/citizensh...

It does look like the same list, though.

Interesting, thanks for pointing that out as it differs to what is spat out by the system-generated PDF at the end of the application. I'll get onto webchat and verify. Clear as mud.

[NNH]

Tobeman said:

NNH said:

I found the list on https://www.dfa.ie/passports-citizenship/citizensh...

It does look like the same list, though.

Interesting, thanks for pointing that out as it differs to what is spat out by the system-generated PDF at the end of the application. I'll get onto webchat and verify. Clear as mud.

Please let us know what you find out. I've put off my Irish citizenship application till my US Green Card application was complete, so it's time for me to get my skates on.

[Tobeman]

Brilliant. They can't answer Foreign Birth Register queries relating to passport applications via decendancy over the webchat, suggesting you speak to them on the telephone and when you call up they are currently not accepting telephone calls due to the volume of queries they are receiving. Having previously asked them a question via email at the start of this process, and was told to ask them on webchat... basically no-one will answer a query!

Think I'll print that page off you provided and include it, as it opens it up to other teachers who I can use to certify the document, just to point out the fact that it differs from the PDF form they provide.

[talksthetorque]

singlecoil said:

Tobeman said:

Eric Mc said:

Are you good at football?

Not at all, why do you ask?

I don't know if it was what Eric was getting at, but I would guess that it's a lot easier to become a citizen of a country if you could represent them at international level in a popular sport.


The thread subject interests me too as I also have a claim to Irish citizenship, as my mother was born in Canada of Irish citizen parents. Though come to think if it, Ireland didn't exist as a sovereign state when they would have been born.

I think Eric was referring to Tony Cascarino, who played 88 times for Ireland but throughout believed himself not to be eligible as his mother was adopted by his Irish grandparents.
It transpires that this did make him eligible but the story sold a few extra copies of his autobiography through the publicity the story got-and everyone was happy.