An Irish passport is an opportunity to live and work freely anywhere in 28 EU member states, along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. It also entitles you to travel to 178 countries visa free. If you qualify, you can become a citizen in 2-8 months on the low end. Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert, but I did attain mine in less than 8 months! I’m happy to share my experience, but please contact your consulate and consult the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s website. Further, although it may seem like a headache, Ireland actually has the most streamlined Citizenship by Descent applications in the world (because i am a glutton, I’m also in the midst of applying in Italy and it is a complete nightmare). Finally, a lot of the helpful information below is US-specific, but the steps are essentially the same in every save document translations if applicable.
There are a few ways you may qualify, but most commonly, either a parent or grandparent was born on there. If your parent was born there, you are technically automatically a citizen and need only apply for a passport (about 8 weeks turnaround). Congratulations, you may bypass FBR entirely! If your grandparent was born in Ireland, this means your parent was technically a citizen at the time of your birth and you can claim it, by registering with the Foreign Births Register, which can take up to 6 months. If your parent was a citizen at the time of your birth by any means, you are entitled to Irish citizenship.
Step 1: Gather Documentation
This is by far the most difficult part. “Original” here meaning “State Issued” or Official. For each you must order, plan on spending roughly $45-70/US document, and $75/Irish document. It seems like an odd list of things, but really they just want every vital document from each person in the line. You can apply for more than one family member at once, using the same original documents; ie: My brother and I applied at the same, ordering our own documents but only had to submit one set for my grandfather and father.
If you live close to the capital of the state any of your documents were issued in, I highly suggest paying a visit to the vital records office to procure any that you can. Find yours here. This is a lot cheaper, and you can sometimes get them that day. I do not, so I used VitalCheck to order all of mine from the states. You can also mail in a written request/check for about $10 cheaper depending on the state, but I liked seeing the status, and as someone who is routinely delivered the wrong mail, I like the security of UPS shipping over USPS. Tip: read through the terms and conditions carefully, depending on the state, you sometimes cannot order a living family member’s document without a court-order. If at all possible, try to get your family member to order it themselves and reimburse them. VitalCheck will ask you to correctly identify every address you’ve ever lived at, so it’s difficult to impersonate them (not that I would condone that sort of thing). Also remember, even though your documents will be returned, they could be in Dublin for months up to years, so I would advise ordering a copy of your own Birth Certificate to send. If you need more than one document from the same state, order them at the same time so you only have to pay for shipping once. VitalCheck is a private service that state websites officially recommend, but it’s a complete pain will likely be some back and forth before your get your documents. They also may not contact you if there is a problem, so make sure to keep on top of them if it seems to be taking too long.
In complete contrast, I used birthsdeathsmarriages.ie for the Irish documents, and they pulled a birth certificate for a 1927 home-birth on a farm with no street address and had mailed it across the Atlantic in less than 2 weeks. Also, if you do not know the date exactly, they let you choose a range and will help you find it.
You will need:
Your Irish grandparent’s long form original birth certificate
Your Irish grandparent’s original marriage certificate (if applicable)
A notarized copy of your Irish grandparent’s current Passport/State ID (if living)
Your Irish grandparent’s death certificate (if deceased)
Your Irish parent’s original birth certificate
Your Irish parent’s original marriage certificate (if applicable)
A notarized copy of your Irish parent’s current Passport/State ID (if living)
Your Irish grandparent’s death certificate (if deceased)
Your original birth certificate
Your original marriage certificate (if you’ve changed your name)
A notarized photocopy of your current passport/state ID
Three separate documents showing proof of residence e.g. utility bill, bank correspondence, government correspondence
Four passport photos* , two of which signed by your witness
Printed Online Application
Optional: additional documents you already have, any emails from the consulate
I suggest also making an additional photocopy of every document for yourself to save should anything go horribly, horribly wrong.
Cost: $100-$350, Time: 1 month
Step 2: Apply Online
After you have received all of your documents, proceed to the application! This is pretty self-explanatory, but be forewarned you have to finish it once you start, cannot save and return later. Pay €278 (and cry a little) and print it out. DO NOT SIGN IT YET!
Cost: $325, Time: 1 hour
Step 3: Have Your Application Witnessed
A “Witness” is Ireland’s wacky alternative to a notary, the DFAT lists on the official website: “Lawyer, Commissioner for Oaths, Police Officer Magistrate, [or] Judge” that “must either know you personally or know a third party who knows you personally…[but] cannot be related to the applicant”. HOWEVER I have instructions from an email with a consulate officer that any Notary Public is an acceptable witness. Your bank most likely does this for free, or AAA will do it for a few dollars per signature. Bring your passport/ID!
They must see you sign the application, and sign it themselves and stamp it where the application asks. They must also sign and date two of the photos. I had mine also stamp the photos just to be safe, but I’m not sure it’s necessary. This is also a good time to get any of your Passport/ID photocopies notarized. You must have the originals with you!
Cost: $0-$10, Time: 1 hour
Step 4: Mail Everything to Ireland
Take a second (or third or fourth look over everything, compile the documents and their copies in a logical order, and put your application on top. If applying with family members, include a letter explaining the shared documents, state your relationships, and write out clearly each persons name and application numbers. It’s a good idea, too, to include an extra photocopy of each shared document. I also used green paperclips for good Irish luck!
I personally use FedEx for everything important. Signing up for an account is free and automatically saves you 17%. I got them on a good day and it only cost me $13 to send a huge envelope 3 days. They unfortunately will not insure documents for more than $100, but I’ve never had a problem with them. Save the tracking, ask for updates on delivery, and take note when it says “received”. The Department of Foreign Affairs will also notify you via email.
Cost: $10-$30, Time: 3-7 days
Mailed to me with my FBR
Step 5: Wait to be Registered
With Brexit clogging up the lines, the turn-around on Foreign Births registration can be six to twelve months as of January 2019. You can ask for updates on your application by emailing fbr.consular@dfa.ie with your name and application number. They will also email you a week or two before you receive the document by mail along with all of the original documents returned. Mine only took 4 months, but I’ve heard this is atypical. Getting the email that starts out “Congratulations you are now an Irish citizen” was more exciting than getting into college.
While you are waiting for your FBR, you can have your consulate mail you a passport application. Find out which is your consulate here. You must go through the consulate your state is assigned to, and they must mail you a physical application. All applicants outside of Ireland will use the APS-2 form.If multiple people in your household are applying, they will send all in the same envelope. You will also likely need to get four more passport photos. Passport photos can be no more than six months old, so you cannot use the same ones you used for FBR.
Step 6: Passport Application
Fun fact about this whole application process: even if you are a citizen either automatically because your parent was born in Ireland, or upon receiving your FBR, you are NOT permitted to stay in the country for more than your 90 day tourist visa via your non-EU passport. Insane, right? This is what it says on the DFAT website, and was also clarified for me via email with the consulate. So if you’ve gone through 80% of the work of FBR, you may as well finish out and get the passport.
If your parent was born in Ireland, you need to gather the following
completed APS-2 Application form (witnessed in section 9)
Four passport photos (2 of which signed by witness)
Your original birth certificate, plus photocopy
Your original marriage certificate (if you’ve changed your name), plus photocopy
Your Irish parent’s original birth certificate, plus photocopy
notarized photocopy of your current passport/state ID
two separate documents showing proof of residence e.g. utility bill, bank correspondence, government correspondence
A money order for $120 payable to “Consulate General of Ireland”
If you are applying through FBR
completed APS-2 Application form (witnessed in section 9)
Four passport photos (2 of which signed by witness)
Your original birth certificate, plus photocopy
Your original FBR document, plus photocopy
your original marriage certificate (if you’ve changed your name), plus photocopy
Notarized photocopy of your current passport/state ID
two separate documents showing proof of residence e.g. utility bill, bank correspondence, government correspondence
A money order/cashiers check for $120 payable to “Consulate General of Ireland”
At the top of APS-2 form, the application number is clearly marked, which you should retain for your records. Not required, but I suggest also writing the application number on the back of your document photocopies, especially if you are sending in multiple applications. Also remember, you must submit a separate payment for each and again attach a letter explaining so. The post office will issue a money order for $1.25m most banks will do it for around $5.
You will mail these documents to your assigned US consulate, NOT Dublin. The consulate makes no contact in any way that they have been received. In fact, 8 weeks after I sent mine in, I emailed them with the application number and got not reply. Further, the central passport office in Dublin doesn’t handle issuing passports outside the country, so they won’t have record of your application. This is to say, spend the extra on FedEx, and make sure to check the tracking.
Cost: $120 + $10 shipping, Time: 8+ weeks
Sligo, Ireland
Step 7: Receive Your Passport
Congratulations, this is what all the work was for! If you applied for multiple, they will send them all in the same envelope via Fedex. Only my dad (despite doing very little other than cooperating) received an email with tracking the day prior. Signature is required, so I stayed home all day to be there when it arrived, or you can have the package held at a FedEx location. Immediately double-check all of your details-spellings, birthplace, gender, etc. Mistakes are extremely rare, but they do constitute an invalid passport. If anything’s amiss, they send along instructions for recourse.
Total time: 6-12 months, Total cost: $700-900 (less per application if sharing documents)
Step 8: Leave the Country
US Federal law requires you to exit and enter the country using your US passport, and the Republic of Ireland requires you to do the same with your Irish. You may also have to present your second passport at customs, but it’s not advised to unless asked. Neither country prohibits dual citizenship, but they don’t officially recognize it. Essentially, when you are in either country, you are considered to be their citizen only. This also means, while you can now enter more countries visa free or with fewer restrictions, you are not entitled to consular assistance from the US if you entered as an Irish Citizen. Remember, it is always your responsibility to keep your stamps in order. Do not enter France as a US citizen if you intend to stay in Schengen longer than 90 days. Do not enter Brazil visa-free on your Irish passport and try to leave with your US.
*A Few More Notes on Passport Photos
Ireland’s passport photos have different requirements than the US. You can find the official guidelines here. The sizing is slightly different and most importantly, you must not smile. According to my correspondence with the consulate, smiling in photos is the most common way an application gets delayed. Also, while Ireland technically permits you to wear glasses, glare is a common problem and they can interfere with biometric recognition. In my experience, Walgreens and CVS absolutely freak if you ask them for a slightly different size. I suggest finding a local copy shop who will take your photo and size it correctly. Plan to spend about $15/set of four.
Step 9: Celebrate!
Have 11 pints of Guinness and blast Thin Lizzy! You have just surmounted a rolling hill of bureaucracy in pursuit of that powerful, coveted, maroon book. Sláinte!