What is the Foreign Births Registration, and who qualifies?
It is the register, kept by the Department of Foreign Affairs, that makes a person born outside Ireland an Irish citizen through a grandparent. You qualify if you were born outside the island of Ireland and one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland. You also qualify if your parent was an Irish citizen when you were born but was not born in Ireland, which usually means they registered first. If your parent was born on the island of Ireland, you are already a citizen and skip the register entirely: apply for a passport. Registration is applied for online, currently costs €278 for an adult, and takes about twelve months, with applications handled in date order. Once your name is entered, you are an Irish citizen and can apply for an Irish passport.
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 documents do I need for a Foreign Births Registration application?
- 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?