What documents do I need for a Foreign Births Registration application?
Build the chain in originals. You need your own full (long-form) birth certificate, the full birth certificate of the parent you claim through, and the full birth certificate of your Irish-born grandparent. Each must show the parents' names; short-form certificates are not accepted. Add the marriage certificate for anyone in the chain who changed name on marrying, and death certificates for anyone in the chain who has died. You also send a certified copy of your current photo ID, proof of your address, and four passport photographs, two of them signed and dated by your witness. The witness must know you personally, not be a relative, and be practising in one of the listed professions, from police officer and teacher to doctor, lawyer or member of the clergy. Incomplete applications are returned unprocessed, so the chain has to be complete before you apply.
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
- What is the Foreign Births Registration, and who qualifies?
- Does my child qualify if I register my own foreign birth after they are born?
- What is the difference between citizenship by descent and the Foreign Births Register?
- Can I claim Irish citizenship through a great-grandparent?
- How do I get an Irish passport for the first time as an adult abroad?