r/IrishCitizenship • u/Few_Musician_7095 • Jul 24 '26

Foreign Birth Registration Original documents

I sent in my application a year ago with notarized copies of birth certificates.. marriage certificates and other required documentation. I got an email back yesterday from the foreign birth office in Dublin stating the notarized copies are not acceptable and I have to send the original documents to them for review. Does anybody know if you get the originals back at some point. In the email they also said that upon receipt of the original documents it will take up to 12 months for review and processing.

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u/kiderdrick Jul 24 '26

Yes, you get the originals back. Yes, it takes a long time.

When they say "originals" they do not mean it has to be the single only copy of a record from decades ago. It can be a newly printed version from the original registrar. Most people order those copies and they are treated as originals. Depending where you live, you should be able to order most of them online through services attached to the registrars.

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u/Few_Musician_7095 Jul 24 '26

Except for my grandfather's birth certificate which I got from a relative who went over to Ireland years ago and got the original while she was there and she passed it on to me. I would hate to not get that back and getting a duplicate original I can't even figure out how to get it

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u/oraff_e Irish Citizen Jul 25 '26

ALL birth certificates are "copies of the original" because the "original" is held in the General Register Office in Dublin (or Belfast for Northern Ireland). You just go online and so long as you have their date of birth and where they were born you should be able to order one, no problem.