Thomas Pringle
Question:672. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when a person (details supplied) will receive a decision on their Irish citizenship application which was submitted in April 2020. [2277/22]
View answerWednesday, 19 January 2022
Questions (672)
Written answers
My Department is responsible for citizenship by descent through the Foreign Births Register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended.
The processing of Foreign Birth Registration has resumed and will be gradually scaling up in line with the recruitment of additional resources. Due to the complex nature of the Foreign Birth Registration process and the pause in the Service due to necessary Covid-19 restrictions, applicants are being advised that they should allow approximately 2 years from the receipt of supporting documentation for processing of Foreign Birth Registration applications at this time.
The first application referenced was registered on 8 April 2020, with the other applications registered on 29 September 2020. All are waiting to be processed. The documentation submitted in support of these applications is being stored in a secure environment.
Foreign Birth Registration staff continue to provide an emergency service for Foreign Birth Registration in cases of exceptional urgency, such as expectant parents, or stateless persons. Such applicants may contact the Passport Service directly.
My Department is fully committed to allocating additional resources over the coming period to assist with the processing of the high volume of new applications anticipated, and the Foreign Birth Registration applications currently on hand.