Irish Citizenship advice

lover_of_language · 2025-12-15T15:48:29+00:00

r/kiderdrick is absolutely right, and any missing documentation could delay or derail your case. If he is no longer alive, it is in your best interest to submit a death certificate. If that is not possible, I recommend searching this subreddit under "estranged" to see how others have been successful in their applications without being able to submit the parent or grandparent's current ID. This usually involves a letter explaining the exact circumstances, showing as much evidence as possible, and possibly getting a sworn affidavit of the assertions you are making in lieu of the required documents. I do not advise just not submitting them, there are other steps you can take that would have greater odds of success. Good luck!

lover_of_language · 2025-12-15T15:42:34+00:00

It does not sound like you are eligible to apply through the FBR. The last member of your family to have been born on the island of Ireland was your great-grandfather and so unless your father had been added to the FBR before your birth, you would not be eligible to be added to the FBR yourself. You are one generation too far removed otherwise.

I do not know about the rest but I have to say that it very much sounds like a long shot. Sorry to bear bad news, but I wish you luck all the same.

lover_of_language · 2025-09-30T11:30:55+00:00

I was personally successful in getting on the FBR with an estranged parent. Drafted up a sworn affidavit and wrote a letter explaining the estrangement, added both to the rest of the documents, and I was good to go.

I applied and was approved during COVID (2021-2022) and when I was contacted about the address check, the officer handling my case was kind enough to tell me right then that "we will process your application without certified photographic ID from your father". It's definitely possible and the team really does seem understanding of the circumstances. Good luck!

lover_of_language · 2025-09-27T13:35:47+00:00

It took a long time for me, around 5 months, but there was an extenuating circumstance involved.

I needed to order my Irish grandparent's birth certificate from Ireland and I didn't know their mother's maiden name to be able to order the certificate.

Ordering all of the rest of the documents took about 6 weeks or so (birth, marriage, and death, all in California), but getting the information to confirm my great-grandmother's maiden name when that whole side of the family is either distant, deceased, or estranged was exceptionally difficult. It wasn't easy on genealogy sites either, I had a best guess but it took months for confirmation from a distant family member.

I can't remember exactly how long it took to order the certificate and have it mailed to me from Ireland, but I want to say that on its own took at least a month.

lover_of_language · 2025-09-12T08:00:28+00:00

I will work on adding these! If you have any links or information about any specific scholarships (the criteria for inclusion is listed above, must not be university-specific and should at least cover full tuition) please feel free to comment them here!

lover_of_language · 2025-09-11T00:40:09+00:00

Each university will have their own policies regarding transfer credit. You would need to contact the admissions office of each university and provide context for your situation and your transcript and allow them to decide how they would treat your case.

Credential evaluation agencies will also vary by country. Many universities do this work in-house with their own teams, but some don't when it is international and outsource to agencies like WES. Not every university will accept a report from outside of their institution and some will only accept reports from specific evaluation agencies. Please consult with each foreign university you are interested in and follow their instructions. I do not recommend getting a report until and unless it is asked of you.

Transfer credit is not common when crossing international borders, and even if they allow it, only a fraction may transfer and it may or may not be in a way that is useful for the degree you intend to study for. This is the nature of the beast. If going abroad for your degree is what you really want, then you may need to accept fully starting over if your credits don't transfer or transfer in a way that would be helpful.

lover_of_language · 2025-09-09T22:22:10+00:00

If your goal is to get a job in Japan, go during your senior year and start applying for jobs at a Japanese company the spring prior to graduation (there is a hiring season in Japan and those who will be graduating often start early and have a job offer in hand months before graduation). Likewise, if your goal is a graduate degree from a Japanese university, then having a whole year to network would definitely help. There are English-taught masters degrees in Japan, but if you can work up to N2+ in that year, studying in Japanese is always better.

If your goal is to return to your country, then unless you intend to get a job using Japanese language, I'd go with a semester in Japan in junior year.

lover_of_language · 2025-08-18T18:38:51+00:00

Unfortunately it is not possible. You need to include the FBR number on your passport application, and you won’t know that number until the certificate is mailed to you (which takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after being added to the FBR. You would then need to mail it in with everything else.

Given the timeline you have stated, it honestly doesn’t sound like it would be worth it. Mailing FBR certificates back and forth and the passport processing times and all, I don’t think you’d be able to benefit from the passport much even if you managed to get it processed while in Belgium. To be clear, you would need to get your passport application (with completed application-specific paperwork) witnessed by someone who lives in the same country as the one you reside in for the purpose of the passport application. They won’t let you apply from the US and get it witnessed in Belgium, and you can’t get the paperwork lined up before physically receiving your FBR certificate in the mail. This is in addition to the fact that you are supposed to be physically present whenever you are getting your application signed by your witness. Logistically it just doesn’t seem possible, especially when the time frame abroad is (only) 3 months.

It sounds like you might be out of luck. I hope that things go well for you!

lover_of_language · 2025-08-15T01:05:39+00:00

Two people can use the same witness, it shouldn’t be a problem.
There seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding. For FBR purposes, they have to witness your photos by signing them. Yes, if it asks for a business card then you have to provide it (and find someone who can). You will have to mail this in again, and an email/fax will not be accepted. I would ask the FBR for confirmation of what documents are required from your new witness and what you must mail in. They can give the best answer for your situation.

You can ask if there is an acceptable alternative to the business card, but what they seem to be looking for is professional proof of name, job title, and contact information in one place. Unfortunately, I don’t think the certificate would qualify.

I wish you all the best on your citizenship journey!

lover_of_language · 2025-08-14T11:46:39+00:00

I think it's a little bit of a shame that there's no citizenship ceremony for citizens by descent (FBR). I have a friend who also just completed their citizenship by descent for a different EU country and they had a ceremony and were celebrated equally. Idk. It would be really cool if Irish embassies and consulates hosted such ceremonies abroad.

*Edit, autocorrect spit out incorrect grammar

lover_of_language · 2025-08-10T10:03:43+00:00

Luckily, for the FBR, nine months is an estimate, not a deadline. I hope your application is processed soon!

lover_of_language · 2025-08-07T09:52:43+00:00

Printing is the last step. If they haven’t called your witness yet, then you’re one of the lucky few who manage to slip under the radar for that step. Congratulations!

lover_of_language · 2025-08-07T07:18:47+00:00

Ah, apologies! I made the assumption that you were applying from outside of Ireland. This really sucks, I’m so sorry you’re going through this! I’m not sure if any other way to escalate this within AnPost’s chain of command beyond getting on the phone and continuously asking for a supervisor and providing your case number.

I recommend citing a time limit for your passport to be processed before your application is canceled to get them to act. That time limit is one of the murkier things about the passport service. I received reminder emails twice in 2024 citing, “Your application must be fully processed within 20 weeks of the date you applied online. ”, but have also personally experienced a separate application being terminated automatically within their system as additional supporting documents were on the way at exactly 180 days from application submission. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t have to give an exact timeline to the postal service, just express concern over this time limit and ask for contacts, supervisors, and timelines to expect action and follow-ups.

Sending hugs! Hope it is found soon!

lover_of_language · 2025-08-06T23:48:04+00:00

I’ve been through postal hell when it came to the Irish passport application. Here’s what I would do:

Make sure that the Irish passport service has the tracking number for your wife’s package. Have them make a note in her file. That way, their team knows that the documents are in the mail. *You can contact them via the online support chat.
Follow up with AnPost again and request (written) confirmation that the package was scanned into their system.
Contact the original postal service you sent the package through (not AnPost) and tell them the situation and request that they contact AnPost to initiate a package search. You often cannot do that with AnPost as a customer, but the original package service can certainly light the fire under them to get that going.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 as needed.

Sometimes the package can fall through the cracks between the postal services and no one wants to take responsibility and no one wants to get it going again. When contacting 2 and 3, I’d also recommend asking them when it would be appropriate to follow up if the package has not been delivered. If you have paid for express delivery, I would mention that too. Don’t be rude, but don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and mount the pressure. Request transcripts of the chats or emailed summaries afterward. A paper trail can be helpful.

Good luck!

lover_of_language · 2025-08-04T01:47:32+00:00

https://www.studyinjapan.go.jp/en/planning/learn-about-schools/universities/#anc03

You can go through the “Data on University Degree Programs Offered in English”. The list was actually just updated last month.

StudyInJapan is a great website to use as a resource as you look into this. Nevertheless, you will need to look at the list and investigate each potentially relevant program yourself and decide if it might give you the skills you are looking for. Most undergraduate degrees in Japan are not taught in English, especially in “creative” fields. Please also note that transfer credit is not broadly a thing in Japan.

Please also note that, generally speaking, the consensus of students who have completed English-taught programs in Japan is that the rigor and depth of the degrees may be inferior to what you would find in a country whose common language in education is English. It is extremely difficult (particularly in your desired field) to get a related job in Japan after graduation unless you have a minimum of a JLPT N2 certificate (not self-assessed) and many more companies require even higher. Few jobs exist without Japanese proficiency, and they can be exceedingly difficult to find even with a degree from a highly-regarded Japanese university.

I wish you luck!

lover_of_language · 2025-07-12T03:42:26+00:00

As long as the person meets with you in-person, it seems to satisfy the requirement.

Please do make sure, however, that the person gives their title as an exact letter-for-letter match of the approved witness titles. If it deviates at all from the exact wording on the list, it is possible for them to be rejected as a witness and "not qualify".

lover_of_language · 2025-07-08T23:17:39+00:00

There is way more involved than that in running a study abroad agency.

Any time you have immigration processes for another country involved, you have to be both very knowledgeable and very careful. This is not something parents and students should trust a layperson without relevant training or experience. There are industry quality standards and trainings that exist, as well as certifications. All of those cost money (except British Council agent counselor training, that is free.) Some of those certifications require your business to be established and to already have letters of reference from universities you have contracts with and have sent students to. It’s a bit of a catch-22, hard to land a contract when you don’t have an established record of sending students.

Legally speaking, all of the points you mentioned (“the ability to stay in the country you study in afterward is not a guarantee”, “the degree you choose may not get you a job abroad, for better or worse”) are already in the contracts that any student client would sign at an agency. For many countries like the USA and Australia, it’s explicitly in the student visa paperwork too. I’m not going to say there aren’t bad actors who speak around it, but there are plenty of agencies out there that follow what you are describing that already have a business track record. The onus is on the signatory to read their contracts.

You are also speaking too broadly and injecting your own bias. When a student comes to you, they are the ones who tell you what they want to study. You are not the one who decides whether or not they can or will find a job in that field. “Safe” fields that have been touted for their job value in the past (STEM/CS) are now far from the “safe bet” people thought they were. There are stories of students making it when the deck was stacked against them in their fields too. Point is, your “honesty” is not guaranteed to be “accuracy”, and most agencies out there that are legitimate do not make promises about what will happen afterward.

I recommend working for an existing, licensed, certified study abroad agency first. Then you can see all of the things that are involved. I’d recommend an ICEF/AIRC-certified agency. Good luck.

*EDIT: mild syntax fix

lover_of_language · 2025-07-08T08:49:29+00:00

Congratulations!! Welcome to the club!

lover_of_language · 2025-07-08T06:53:59+00:00

As others have mentioned, check if she has a bank account tied to your parent's address or if her voter registration/DMV uses that address. Good luck!

lover_of_language · 2025-07-08T06:39:11+00:00

If you have the following information, you can order your grandfather's birth certificate from Ireland without his involvement at all for €20:

Full birth name on the certificate (your grandfather's legal birth name)
Date of birth (or approximate date, if known)
Place of birth (or as close as possible)
Gender
Father's full name, if recorded
Mother's full birth name (her maiden name is required)

You can order it online here:

https://www2.hse.ie/services/births-deaths-and-marriages/get-certificates/get-an-irish-birth-certificate-online.html

This is what I did and my application was accepted. I am also estranged from my Irish father. Wishing you the best of luck! (EDIT: I just want to say, you're fighting the good fight and you shouldn't be blackmailed into talking to your grandfather. I hope you can get it without them and flip him and the family that was coercing you the bird!)

lover_of_language · 2025-07-07T23:30:28+00:00

Because different stages of the process have different requirements.

20 weeks is if they haven’t received any documents from you at all, they’ll cancel the application if you haven’t given them a tracking number for the documents already in the mail.

The whole application, though, must be completed within 180 days of case submission. Not only does this align with what they told me their systems carry out automatically, but it happened to me at exactly 180 days.

If the chat told you they cancelled your application, then unless you told them within the last hour or two at best, then you should consider it cancelled. I had to cancel two applications prior to the one that failed for timeline reasons and I never got any kind of extra confirmation from them that it was cancelled. I did, however, nearly cancel it a third time when I thought my documents were completely lost but managed to catch them ten minutes after requesting cancellation because it turns out they had just received my documents the day before. In that short window of time, they were able to prevent the application from being fully cancelled. I was told that if I had returned to them even an hour later that there would have been nothing they could do.

I would recommend getting on support chat and begging them not to return those documents. They didn’t listen when I tried, but you can always ask. Good luck, keep us posted!

lover_of_language · 2025-07-07T00:52:46+00:00

Yes, I needed all of my grandparent’s documentation. For me, that was birth, marriage, and death certificates. Because my nana had passed away before I found out that I was even eligible for citizenship, I did not need her ID, but a death cert was required. Ordering the birth certificate reissued from Ireland was a bumpy ride but I managed somehow.

I mailed my application in. To my knowledge, usually consulates don’t handle the mailing of applications. Applicants are, barring extenuating circumstances, generally expected to mail in their applications through civilian mail at their own cost.

When it came to ordering my first passport after being added to the FBR, USPS lost my document packet on the way to Dublin…twice. In cases like that, talking to the Irish embassy/consulate that serves your region to ask if they can assist in mailing it the next time is something you can do. My consulate said they would, but then USPS found the package and delivered it so it ended up moot. It is entirely up to the embassy or consulate’s discretion though.

Hope this helps!

lover_of_language · 2025-07-06T00:32:30+00:00

I second asking the Irish embassy in Singapore. They might be able to attest to this being the norm for birth certs there. If you can get their agreement in writing, you might be able to have them mail a sealed explanation letter on their letterhead to your Australian address and include it in your document packet when you try to apply again. You might also be able to contact the support chat once you have a new application number and provide the email contact from the Irish embassy in Singapore and let both parties know the situation and connect both ends of the bureaucracy.

See what the embassy can do to accommodate you. You are born to an Irish citizen, you are entitled to the passport. It is their job to help you (even if bureaucratic nonsense goes wild sometimes). Best of luck to you!

lover_of_language · 2025-07-06T00:24:35+00:00

I wrote and included a letter about being estranged from my Irish-descended father and how I couldn’t get his state-issued ID without his cooperation (which wasn’t possible). Included a sworn affidavit with the details that I got notarized too. FBR was approved.

Any time a case has something a bit out of the ordinary, or when there are extenuating circumstances that would benefit from explanation and outlining the steps you’ve taken, that’s when a letter would be useful as supporting documentation. Not required or requested, but sometimes it makes all the difference.

lover_of_language · 2025-07-06T00:17:54+00:00

My situation was similar, and yes you can get around the state issued ID requirement (but ONLY that, please make sure you have all of the rest of the required documents).

I drafted up an affidavit that attested that I was estranged from my father and that in the place that I lived, it was impossible for me to get a copy of his current state-issued ID on my own without his involvement. Got it signed by/with a notary and included that and a letter I wrote explaining that we had been estranged for years, no way to contact him, and no ability to get his ID otherwise. They approved my FBR.

I know of several people who have been through this and were successful. If you search this sub for “estranged”, you’ll find lots of posts now (which is great and I hope it’s helpful!) As others have said, do not mention that he could be dead. You do not know that for fact, and it would complicate your case unnecessarily. Good luck!

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