First Irish passport through an Irish-born parent

The Irish government distinguishes the parent-born route from the grandparent route. A parent born on the island of Ireland can make the child an Irish citizen from birth, while a grandparent-based claimant generally becomes a citizen through registration.

The passport application must still prove identity, the parent-child link, and the Irish-born parent’s civil record.

• Your full civil birth certificate showing the parent relationship.
• Your Irish-born parent’s full civil birth certificate.
• Marriage, adoption, or name-change evidence where the names do not align.
• The identity, photograph, witness, and address materials required by the current passport application.

The Passport Service asks for your Irish-born parent’s full original civil birth certificate, the version that names their parents. It doesn’t accept baptismal certificates, birth certificates that leave out the parents, or laminated certificates.

For a birth in what is now the Republic of Ireland, order the full standard birth certificate from the General Register Office (GRO): online through the HSE’s certificate service, by phone or at a civil registration service, or by emailing the GRO’s application form. For a Northern Ireland birth from 1922 on, order the long birth certificate from the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI). Northern Ireland births from 1864 to 1921 are held by both offices.

If your parent’s name on your birth certificate differs from the name on their Irish birth certificate, link the two with the original civil marriage certificate, a separation agreement, a judicial separation order or a divorce decree. Court documents must be certified by a solicitor or by the court.

• Foreign Birth Registration. You’re already an Irish citizen, so you apply for a passport instead.
• An apostille or legalisation on your birth certificates. The Passport Service’s document list doesn’t ask for one.
• A translation of an English-language birth certificate. Only your proof of name and proof of address need a translation into English or Irish, and only when they’re in another language.
• An apostille on your photo ID. The Passport Service asks for a copy of your foreign passport or driving licence certified by a Garda, solicitor, notary or the issuing authority. That certification is all it asks for.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Citizenship rules and document instructions can change; confirm the current requirements with the responsible government office before filing.