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Foreign Births Register: the complete guide for UK residents
Last checked 30 October 2026 against the official DFA page. Rules and fees can change: always check the DFA page before you post.
How people living in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland register as Irish citizens through an Irish-born grandparent or an Irish-citizen parent, using the DFA's current rules.
In short
- The Foreign Births Register is how people born outside Ireland become Irish citizens through an Irish-born grandparent, or through a parent who was an Irish citizen when they were born but wasn't born in Ireland.
- If a parent of yours was born on the island of Ireland and was an Irish citizen when you were born, you're already a citizen and don't need it.
- The DFA fee is €278 for adults and €153 for under-18s, paid online.
- You apply online at fbr.dfa.ie, then post the printed form and your original documents. Processing currently takes about 12 months.
- Everything is processed in Dublin. Irish embassies in Great Britain no longer process applications.
Who can apply
The DFA says that if you were born outside Ireland, you can become an Irish citizen through Foreign Birth Registration if:
- one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, or
- one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, even though they weren't born in Ireland. For example, they were entered on the Foreign Births Register, or naturalised, before you were born.
Your parents don't need Irish passports. The DFA answers this directly: anyone with a grandparent born on the island of Ireland can apply. The DFA's FAQ uses the words "island of Ireland", so a grandparent born in Northern Ireland counts.
Who doesn't need it: if one of your parents was born on the island of Ireland and was an Irish citizen when you were born, you're already an Irish citizen automatically. The DFA says you can apply for an Irish passport directly.
Who can't use it: if your parent only got onto the register after you were born, you can't qualify through them. The DFA says children born before their parent was registered aren't eligible. There's more on this in our guide to parent, grandparent and great-grandparent routes.
Not sure? Our free eligibility check takes a minute and is based on the DFA's published rules. It's a guide, not a decision: only the DFA decides.
How to apply, step by step
Work out your route
Grandparent born on the island of Ireland, or a parent who was an Irish citizen when you were born. The route decides which documents you need.
List the certificates for each generation
For the grandparent route you need birth certificates for yourself, your parent and your Irish-born grandparent, plus marriage or change of name documents where names changed, and death certificates where a parent or grandparent has died. See the full documents checklist.
Order the certificates
English and Welsh certificates come from the GRO, Scottish ones from Scotland's People (National Records of Scotland), Northern Irish ones from GRONI and Republic of Ireland ones from the HSE civil registration service. Order the full version that shows parents' details. Our certificate ordering guide has the links and current prices.
Gather ID, proof of address and photos
A photocopy of your photo ID (to be certified by your witness), 2 separate original proofs of address and 4 colour photographs.
Fill in the online form and pay
The form is online only at fbr.dfa.ie. There's no paper form to download. You pay the fee online when you submit it, then print the form the system produces. Citizens Information notes that you need an email address to apply. The DFA advises gathering all your documents before you start, because incomplete applications are returned without being processed.
Get it witnessed
One witness, who knows you personally, isn't a relation and is currently practising a profession on the DFA's list, signs and stamps the form, signs 2 of the photos and certifies your ID copy. See our witness and photos guide.
Post it
Post the pack to the address on your printed form. The DFA has no public office, so you can't hand it in. Use recorded post: the DFA doesn't acknowledge receipt. Don't include a prepaid return envelope, and don't put a passport application in the same envelope.
Wait
Applications are processed in strict date order and currently take about 12 months. The DFA will contact you if it needs more documents. Your originals come back by recorded mail and you'll have to sign for them.
After you're registered
- The DFA says that once you're entered on the register you're an Irish citizen and entitled to apply for an Irish passport. That's a separate application, made after registration: you can't apply for both at once.
- Citizens Information explains that your citizenship runs from the date of registration, not from your date of birth.
- Your FBR certificate shows your name exactly as it appears on your birth certificate.
- Children born after you're registered can be registered through you. Children born before can't.
- If you lose the certificate, the DFA has a replacement process with its own document list.
Special cases
- Expecting a baby. If you're not on the register when your child is born, the child won't be entitled to citizenship through you. The DFA says expectant parents whose child may be born before their application is processed can contact its Customer Service Hub, and should mark this clearly on the application.
- Grandparent born before 1864. Irish civil birth registration began in 1864. The DFA accepts a baptismal certificate in this case.
- Adoption in the family. For an Irish-born person who was adopted, the DFA asks for the adoption certificate from the central authority in the country of adoption, plus the original long-form Irish birth certificate. If you're applying through an adoptive (not biological) link, the DFA suggests contacting it directly.
- Brothers and sisters. Siblings living in the same country can send their applications in one envelope with one set of shared documents and a covering letter saying which documents apply to both.
- Amended birth certificates are accepted if issued by the state authority.
Things to check before you post
These are our own practical tips, drawn from the DFA's requirements:
- Every birth certificate shows parents' details. A short certificate without them won't link the generations.
- Names match across generations, or a marriage or change of name document explains the difference (a grandmother's maiden name, for example).
- You're sending originals wherever the DFA asks for originals, and only the ID is a photocopy.
- The same witness has signed the form, signed 2 photos, used their stamp (or you've included their business card) and certified your ID copy.
- The photos aren't attached to the form.
- You've kept a copy of everything and the recorded post receipt.
Contacting the DFA
The Foreign Birth Registration Customer Service Hub is on +353 1 568 3331, 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday (Irish time, the same as UK time), and has a webchat on the DFA page during those hours.
Sources
- Department of Foreign Affairs – Registering a foreign birth (ireland.ie)
- Department of Foreign Affairs – Citizenship (ireland.ie)
- Citizens Information – Foreign Births Register
- Citizens Information – Irish citizenship through birth or descent
Facts on this page come from the official pages above, checked on 30 October 2026. Where we give our own practical tips, we say so. This guide is not legal advice.