How to get an Irish passport through a grandparent, step by step

Yes, you can get an Irish passport through a grandparent if that grandparent was born anywhere on the island of Ireland, Northern Ireland included. It is a two-stage process. First you apply to the Foreign Births Register, which makes you an Irish citizen from the date you are entered on it. Then, with your Foreign Birth Registration certificate in hand, you apply for your first Irish passport through Passport Online.

Below is the whole journey in order: checking you qualify, gathering the documents, registering, then getting the passport. For more detail on the registration stage itself, see our Foreign Births Register guide.

Do you qualify? The three checks

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) says you can apply for Foreign Births Registration if your grandparent was born on the island of Ireland, your parent was born outside Ireland, and you were born outside Ireland. In practice that comes down to three questions.

1. Was any one of your four grandparents born on the island of Ireland? Mother’s side or father’s side makes no difference, and one grandparent is enough. A birth in Belfast or Derry counts the same as one in Cork or Galway, and so does a birth before 1922.
2. Was your parent (that grandparent’s child) born outside Ireland? If your parent was born on the island of Ireland, you don’t need this route at all. You are already Irish and can apply for a passport directly.
3. Were you born outside Ireland? If so, the Foreign Births Register is your route.

It does not matter whether your parent ever held an Irish passport or registered, or whether your grandparent or parent is still alive. The DFA’s documents list sets no age limit for adult applicants, and Ireland allows dual citizenship, so you keep your current nationality (more in our dual citizenship guide).

The legal basis is section 7 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. Your parent was an Irish citizen from birth because their parent (your grandparent) was born in Ireland. A citizen born abroad passes citizenship to the next generation born abroad only through registration under section 27, the Foreign Births Register. The Act also says that for anyone registered after 1 July 1986, citizenship starts on the date of registration, not at birth.

The documents you need for an Irish passport through a grandparent

The DFA lists documents for three people: you, your Irish citizen parent (the one descended from the Irish-born grandparent) and your Irish-born grandparent. Unless the list says otherwise, originals must be submitted, and they are returned to you by recorded post at the end. Do not send original photo ID.

Your documents (adult applicant)

• The completed, signed and witnessed application form
• Your original civil birth certificate showing your parents’ details
• Your original civil marriage certificate or other change-of-name document, if your name has changed
• A photocopy of your current state-issued photo ID (passport, driver’s licence or national ID card), certified as a true copy by your application form witness
• Two separate original proofs of address
• Four colour photographs, two of them signed and dated by your witness (don’t attach them to the form)

Your parent’s documents

• Their original civil birth certificate showing their parents’ details
• Their original civil marriage certificate or other change-of-name document, if applicable
• A photocopy of their current state-issued photo ID certified as a true copy by a professional from the witness list, or their original civil death certificate if they have died

Your Irish-born grandparent’s documents

• Their original civil birth certificate showing their parents’ details
• Their original civil marriage certificate or other change-of-name document, if applicable
• A certified copy of their current photo ID, or their original civil death certificate if they have died

If your grandparent was born before 1864, when Irish civil birth registration began, the DFA accepts a baptismal certificate instead. If a parent or grandparent was adopted, extra documents apply, and the DFA asks people claiming through an adoptive rather than biological link to contact it first.

The grandparent’s birth certificate comes from the civil register where they were born. For births in the Republic, the HSE civil registration service sells a full standard birth certificate for €20 plus postage (€5 outside Ireland). For Northern Ireland births, GRONI (General Register Office Northern Ireland) holds records from 1864 and charges £15 for a certificate, excluding postage. If you can’t find the record, our guide to Irish and British ancestry records covers where to look.

Applying for a child under 18? The child sends a letter on headed paper from a school, family doctor or similar showing their address instead of proofs of address, and the parent or guardian applying adds their own ID, proofs of address and photos. Siblings living in the same country can share one set of family documents: send both forms in one envelope with a letter explaining which documents cover both.

Witness and photo rules

One witness does four things: signs the form, signs and dates two of your four photos, stamps the form with their official stamp (or you include their business card), and certifies the copy of your photo ID. The witness must know you personally, must not be a relative and must be currently practising in one of the listed professions, which include:

• police officer, teacher, school principal or lecturer, member of the clergy
• doctor, nurse, pharmacist, dentist, physiotherapist, speech therapist, vet
• lawyer, notary public or commissioner for oaths, peace commissioner
• bank or credit union manager or assistant manager, accountant, chartered engineer, elected public representative

When certifying copies, the witness should add a contact phone number and email address. A notary you have never met is not enough for the form itself, because the witness must know you personally.

Step 1: register on the Foreign Births Register

1. Gather every document first. The DFA warns that incomplete applications are returned and not processed.
2. Fill in the online form at fbr.dfa.ie. There is no paper form. Print it when you finish.
3. Pay online: €278 for adults (€270 registration and certificate plus €8 postage and handling) or €153 for under-18s (€145 plus €8).
4. Get the form and two photos witnessed and the ID copy certified.
5. Post the pack to the address on your printed form. Use recorded post, because the DFA does not acknowledge receipt, and there is no public office for in-person applications. Never put a passport application in the same envelope; the two are handled by different offices.
6. Wait. Applications are processed in strict date order and currently take about 12 months. The DFA contacts you if it needs more.

Your Foreign Birth Registration certificate shows your name exactly as it appears on your birth certificate, and your parent’s name exactly as on theirs, even if either of you now uses a different name.

Step 2: apply for your first Irish passport

Once you hold the certificate, you are an Irish citizen and can apply for a passport. Passport Online is the fastest way and works from nearly anywhere in the world. You need a digital photo that meets the photo guidelines (the DFA says home photos are less likely to pass), a credit or debit card, an email address and a printer. The form takes about 10 minutes.

As a first-time adult applicant, your identity has to be verified by an appropriate witness outside Ireland on an identity verification form you print from the application. It tells you which witness types are acceptable. You then post your supporting documents. For someone born abroad who holds a Foreign Birth Registration certificate, the Passport Service asks for:

• The identity verification form
• Your original FBR certificate, or a colour copy certified by a solicitor or notary public
• Your full original civil birth certificate (the version that names your parents)
• Your original marriage or civil partnership certificate, if you want the passport in your married name
• One proof of address and one separate proof of name, each dated within 12 months (government letters first, otherwise utility bills or bank statements; non-English documents need a translation into English or Irish)
• Photo ID: your original passport or national ID card from another country, or a certified copy of your driver’s licence

Originals are returned. Send them promptly: if the right supporting documents haven’t arrived within 20 weeks of applying, the Passport Service may decide on what it has, which can mean a refusal.

Fees and total cost

For one adult living in the US, Canada or Australia, the fixed government fees come to €368 (€278 + €75 + €15). Add certificates for three generations, recorded international postage both ways for your own pack, and any certified copies or translations. The DFA’s Foreign Births Register list does not ask for apostilles; it asks for original civil certificates.

How long it takes

• Foreign Births Register: about 12 months from a complete application.
• First-time passport online: the Passport Service’s current average is 20 working days, counted from the day your supporting documents arrive and not including postage. First-time applications can’t be expedited, so don’t book travel until the passport is in your hand.

Gathering certificates from three generations often adds weeks or months before you can even apply.

Common mistakes that cause delays

• Short-form certificates. Every birth certificate must be a civil certificate showing the parents’ details. Abstract or short versions without parents’ names don’t link the generations.
• Name changes with no paper trail. If your grandmother appears under her maiden name on one record and her married name on the next, the marriage certificate is what connects them. Send a marriage or change-of-name document for every person whose name changed. Our guide to building a document chain shows how.
• Missing death certificates. For a grandparent or parent who has died, the original civil death certificate takes the place of their ID. Leaving it out stalls the file.
• Wrong witness. A relative, someone retired from their profession, or someone who doesn’t know you personally will get the form sent back.
• Sending copies instead of originals. The DFA wants originals of certificates, and returns them. Only photo ID goes as a certified copy.
• Starting a family mid-wait. Children born before you are registered can’t claim through you. If a baby may arrive before your application is processed, mark the application clearly and contact the Foreign Birth Registration Customer Service Hub (+353 1 568 3331, weekdays 9am to 4.30pm).

For a broader checklist that works across countries, see our documents checklist.

When the grandparent route doesn’t work

• The Irish-born ancestor is a great-grandparent. You can only register if your parent was already on the Foreign Births Register when you were born (or registered before 1 July 1986). If your parent registers now, it helps any children they have later, not you. See Irish citizenship through great-grandparents.
• Your grandparent wasn’t born on the island of Ireland. The grandparent route needs a grandparent born on the island. If your grandparent was born elsewhere to Irish-born parents, the claim is a great-grandparent claim and the timing rule above applies.
• Your parent was born in Ireland. Good news: skip the register and apply for the passport directly as a citizen from birth.

For how Ireland compares with other countries that accept grandparents, see citizenship through grandparents, and for the full picture of Irish routes, the Irish citizenship by descent guide.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Department of Foreign Affairs: Registering a foreign birth (eligibility, documents, witnesses, photos, fees, processing time, FAQs)
• Passport Service: Documentary requirements for adult applications (first-time applicant born abroad with an FBR certificate)
• Passport Service: First adult passport (Passport Online, identity verification)
• Passport Service: Passport fees
• Passport Service: Current turnaround times
• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, revised (Law Reform Commission) (sections 7 and 27)
• HSE: Order a birth certificate and nidirect: Ordering life event certificates (GRONI)

Checked against these sources on 24 October 2026. Rules, fees and waiting times change; confirm with the Department of Foreign Affairs before you apply.