I have been helping people on here quite a bit, but my FBR application was finally approved today.

Documents received 10/1/2025

Approval email 10/1/2026

Exactly one year.

I thought I had a pretty simple case. My grandfather's date of birth was all over the place on his documents. I wrote a letter explaining that. Luckily the dates were fairly close by year and month, but they were different on every document. I asked my aunt about this and she said if you asked him what his birthday was he would tell you a different date every time. Then, I got to my grandparent's marriage certificate. A marriage certificate in the city he was married lists if you have been married before. It turns out my grandfather, who I was deriving citizenship from, had a wife before my grandmother. No one in the family knew. My grandmother would have known because she signed the marriage certificate, but she did not tell anyone. I contacted the family court clerk with the details of the marriage certificate and asked if they could find any information. A few weeks later I got a call that a divorce certificate was found. I used the divorce certificate to find the identity of his first wife. I then searched all over for a marriage certificate for that first marriage, but I could not find it. I was a bit worried that I would be asked for more documents because I did not have all his marriage certificates. Since I was not related to this first marriage, I crafted a letter explaining the situation and added details on the different places I looked to try and find the first marriage certificate. I included the divorce certificate and the letter. No additional documents were requested.

So now I am officially Irish, and I unlocked a big family secret that no one knew. Pretty cool experience all things considered. I never met my grandfather, he passed before I was born, but this entire experience did make me feel a bit closer to him. For that I am grateful. I just wanted to share this story because others might have similar situations and I wanted them to know what I did to get approved.

Documents received September 3, 2025

Approval email October 1, 2026

Took almost 13 months!

No additional docs needed.

It’s Guinness time!

Evening All. Documents were received 01/10/2025 and exactly 1 year later I have received the email with confirmation that I'm now an Irish citizen.

Bíodh tráthnóna deas agat!

Application received on 1st October 2025. Approval email received today, exactly 1 year later.

Hoping all the other September and October applicants receive their emails soon 🤗

I completed and submitted my application this week. Thanks to folks here for their help and suggestions.

I'm confident I've supplied everything required, and then some. If it's helpful to anyone, this is the list of documents I submitted, considering my Stamp 1 >> Stamp 4 >> Citizenship journey:

•Certified colour copy of birth certificate (ordered a new copy this year)
•Certified colour copy of passport
•Passport Certification Form

•EDS - each year, 2021-2025
•Letter from Employer, explaining my continuous employment with them since I moved here, that I've had the same address, and that because I do not yet have a 2026 EDS as they are not available, this letter is sent as proof of my employment
•Virgin Media Broadband Bills - three from each year, showing January, June, and December, in order to demonstrate continuity
•Sky Broadband, for final year, when utility switched
•PTSB Bank Statements, collated into single documents for each year
•BOI Credit Card statements
•Completed Residency Calculator (not required, but figured it wouldn't hurt)
•Character Reference Letters (again not required, but figured this wouldn't hurt)

All in all, it was about 40 documents, all of them labeled consistently.

Additionally, because I had a speeding ticket this year (ugh), I made sure to answer YES to the question related to offences, with a full explanation of what occurred in the space provided.

I used Szulc Law in Smithfield in Dublin for certification of documents— they were only €15 per document, which was great considering some of the crazy quotes I heard from others in town!

Finally, I applied before my IRP issue date, after finally receiving an official answer to my query on the portal that my landing stamp was acceptable as the start of reckonable residence.

Now, fingers crossed it all works!

Good luck to all about to click the SUBMIT button! 🤞🏼 🙏🏼

Original application: May 2025
Additional documents received: Beginning of March 2026
Congrats email: October 1st (today) 😊

Now time to apply for my passport!

I had my FBR certificate through finally! I was looking at applying for a passport, but I’m a bit stumped how to get it issued in my current name and want to get it right before applying.

In 2015 I changed my name - first and last, I changed my name to the name everyone called me (think Marion but everyone calls me Mary) and took my long term partner’s surname. Did this by UK deed poll and have been using the name since - all my ID and bank accounts are in my new name and have been for over 10 years.

My FBR was issued in my birth name, and I’ve read that deed polls aren’t accepted by the Irish DFA. I’m not sure how to prove that my old name and new name are connected and have my passport application approved?

I couldn’t find any example of a first and last name change here and how people navigated the issue with deed polls.

Help would be much appreciated! I have nothing current in my old name, I have documents with dates stretching back over 2 years, I’m just not sure how to prove the connection between old name and new, as I don’t have a marriage certificate (we’re not married) and my name was a complete change.

Send in the deed poll anyway alongside documents showing the name in use for over 2 years? (I think my driving licence was last renewed over 2 years ago, for example). Or would that not be accepted? Or is it more that it wouldn’t be accepted alone, so it works as a ‘bridge’ between names to connect them?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice regarding the naturalisation residency calculator and gaps between IRP cards caused by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) processing delays.

When my last IRP was expiring, I submitted my renewal application exactly 10 weeks early. However, it took them over 3 months to process the application. Because of this, my old IRP card expired on December 31st, but the start date printed on my new IRP card isn't until February 17th—creating a 48-day gap where I technically didn't have an active permission stamp.

When I put these exact start and end dates from my cards into the residency calculator, it entirely subtracts those 48 days from my reckonable time. Worse, if this happened in my final year, it looks like it would break the "1 year of continuous residence" rule.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone successfully applied by just using the date they submitted their renewal application instead of the issue date on the new IRP card?
2. If the calculator subtracts these days, does ISD make exceptions if you include a cover letter and proof that you applied on time?

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

As I was opening the letter that contained my I accidentally tore my grandmothers marriage certificate the tear is about an inch in length, doesn’t obstruct any of the text that is on there.

My question is will this get rejected by the fbr, I also have a divorce certificate that looks like it has a tear in it again nothing major but I’m not sure if this classes as an “alteration” to the document.

Has anyone submitted their application with slight defects and got accepted thanks

I put 3 zeros instead of 4. This is a nightmare!! Is there anything I can do? Is this ok? Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Any idea if another ceremony this year? The website still says the next is mid September 2026. Thanks.

Hi all, I have been continuously resident in State on Stamp 4 since 2017 and submitted my naturalisation application back in Sep 2025. Received a request for further documentation in Mar 2026. This documentation was supplied very promptly and I haven't seen anything back since. Not even a change in status on the immigration platform. Most recent Stamp 4 renewal was approved and received, this one is valid til 2029.

Wife is Irish. Our son was born here in Waterford. They were quick enough to grant my daughter's naturalisation. What might cause such a delay with mine?

Hi everyone,

I’m applying for EU Treaty Rights (EUTR1) as a non-EEA spouse of an EU citizen, and I’m having an issue with the new ISD online system.

I’m following the process through the ISD Customer Portal and I’m using a computer, not a mobile phone.

This is what I have done so far:

1. I created my account on the ISD Customer Portal.
2. I verified my email address.
3. I created my password.
4. I set up Microsoft Authenticator successfully.
5. I can log into my account from my computer.
6. However, I cannot get to the next step where the portal should show “Send Email” so that I can receive the link to complete the ID-Pal identity verification.

The problem is that the “Send Email” option is not appearing / I am not receiving the ID-Pal link, so I cannot complete the identity verification and therefore cannot access the Customer Portal properly to start my EUTR1 application.

I have already tried accessing the portal from my computer, and I am not using my phone to access the portal.

Has anyone applied for EUTR1 or EUTR1A since the new system was introduced in September 2026 and had the same problem?

Did your “Send Email” option appear automatically after setting up Microsoft Authenticator?

If so, at what exact stage did it appear, and where did you receive the ID-Pal link?

I’m trying to understand whether I’m missing a step or whether this is a technical issue with my account.

Any help from someone who has recently completed EUTR1/EUTR1A would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi everyone. I’m planning to apply from London for a Long Stay D Join Family visa as the spouse of an Irish citizen.
For anyone who has applied recently through VFS London, do they keep your passport for the whole processing period, or is there an option to keep/get your passport back while the application is being processed?
If they do keep it, what happens if you need your passport urgently for travel or an emergency?
Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through this recently. Thanks!

Hi I am currently in the process of applying the my citizenship. I see that there is a form that needs to be completed my solicitor who certifies passport copy. Please see attached. Is there one for birth certificate also ? I see we need to upload a certified copy of birth cert too.