The Irish Foreign Births Register: Applying from Australia

If one of your grandparents was born in Ireland, you may be able to become an Irish citizen by registering on the Foreign Births Register. Many Australians assume the paperwork will need a notary, an apostille, or both. On the Irish government's current published requirements, it needs neither. What it does need is original certificates, and a witness who knows you personally — which is the part that trips up Australian applicants.

Last checked: 24 September 2026, against the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs' Foreign Births Register pages on ireland.ie. Requirements change; read the current page and the checklist that comes with your application.

Who can register

The Department of Foreign Affairs says you may be entitled to register if:

• one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland, or
• one of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, even though they were not born in Ireland.

If a parent was born on the island of Ireland and was an Irish citizen when you were born, you are usually already Irish automatically and do not need the register; you can apply for a passport directly. And the register only works one generation at a time: if your parent registered after you were born, you are not eligible through them.

Registration is not retrospective. You become an Irish citizen from the date of registration, not from birth.

How the application works

The application is online only; there is no paper form. You complete it online, pay online, and then print the completed form. You post that form with your supporting documents, photographs and the checklist to the address printed at the top right of your form. Depending on where you live, that may be an Irish embassy or consulate, or a PO Box in Ireland.

The Department has no public office for these applications and does not acknowledge receipt, so send the bundle by a tracked or recorded service and keep the tracking details.

Documents: originals, not copies

The Department's rule is that originals must be submitted unless stated otherwise. That means original civil certificates for three generations:

• You: your original civil birth certificate showing your parents' details.
• Your Irish-connected parent: their original civil birth certificate, and their civil marriage certificate or other change-of-name document if relevant.
• Your Irish-born grandparent: their original civil birth certificate, and marriage certificate where relevant. For a grandparent born before 1864, a baptismal certificate is accepted instead.
• Death certificates for a parent or grandparent who has died, where the checklist asks for them.
• Two separate original proofs of your address.
• Four colour passport-style photographs.

The Department says it returns all original certificates by recorded mail at the end of the process. Processing takes a long time, so:

• Order fresh certificates from the Australian registry rather than sending a certificate you may need in the meantime. Make sure you order a version that shows parents' details; a short extract or commemorative certificate will not do.
• Get the Irish grandparent's certificate from the Irish civil registration service, not from a family copy of uncertain origin.
• Keep photocopies of everything you send.

The witness: the requirement that catches Australians

Your application must be witnessed by someone who:

• knows you personally,
• is not related to you, and
• is currently practising in one of the professions on the Department's list.

The witness signs the form, signs two of your photos, stamps the form with an official stamp (or you include their business card), and certifies a photocopy of your photo ID as a true copy of the original. Copies of your parent's and grandparent's ID must also be certified by someone from the same list.

The list is long and includes police officers, teachers and school principals, members of the clergy, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, vets and other health professionals, lawyers, notaries, bank and credit union managers, accountants, chartered engineers and elected representatives. Some titles on it — Peace Commissioner, Commissioner for Oaths — are Irish offices.

Three things follow for an Australian applicant:

You probably do not need to pay anyone. Your GP, your pharmacist, your child's school principal or your accountant may well be on the list and know you. Most will witness it as a courtesy.

A notary you have just met may not qualify. A notary is on the list, but the witness must know you personally. Booking a notary you have never met to witness the form may not satisfy that requirement, whatever their seniority. Use a notary only if one knows you.

A Justice of the Peace is not on the list. The Australian JP is not a named profession. Do not assume a JP's stamp will be accepted because it works for Australian documents.

The Department's pages do not say anything specific about witnesses outside Ireland. Choose one who clearly fits a listed profession, and make sure their stamp or business card shows it.

Does anything need an apostille or a notary?

The Foreign Births Register pages do not ask for apostilles on Australian certificates, and do not ask for anything to be notarised. Do not pay for either unless the Department asks you to in writing.

Where the Department accepts a certified copy instead of an original, its own guidance describes who may certify a copy — including the issuing authority, a solicitor or a notary — and the wording the certification should carry. Follow that wording exactly if it applies to you.

After registration

Once you are registered, you receive a Foreign Birth Registration certificate, and can then apply for an Irish passport. Registration does not affect your Australian citizenship; Australia permits dual citizenship.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a JP to witness my FBR application? A JP is not on the Department's list of witnesses. Use someone from the list who knows you personally.

My witness does not have an official stamp. What do I do? The Department's guidance allows you to include the witness's business card instead. Check the current instructions.

Do I need an apostille on my Australian birth certificate? The Department's published requirements do not ask for one. Do not add it unless asked.

Will I get my original certificates back? The Department says it returns all original certificates at the end of the process, by recorded mail.