Does my child qualify if I register my own foreign birth after they are born?
No, and the Department of Foreign Affairs states the rule without softening it: 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. Your own citizenship through registration takes effect from the date you are registered, not from your birth, and only a parent who is already an Irish citizen when a child is born can pass citizenship to that child. If you are expecting, contact the Department's Customer Service Hub and tell them: expectant parents are the one case the Department asks to hear from early. Registration currently takes about twelve months, so the practical lesson is to register long before children are in the picture.
Useful pages: Irish in USA · The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · Coming home · Irish around the world
Sources
- Department of Foreign Affairs: Foreign Births Registration, citizenship and passport guidance, ireland.ie
More in Irish in USA and the diaspora
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