double post…
But I’ll add, it costs about 40 bucks for 3-5 day service.
You can easily order your birth certificate online. I did so and it took a week or so. I would imagine they’d ship it to you in Europe.
They seem to do this.
To my surprise, when I went through the passport control in Dublin in September I was surprised when I was only asked one question, “How long will you be in Ireland?”. That was it. You can’t get any easier than that.
Oh rats. I forgot about that leg of the trip. Yeah, been there, needed a passport.
Sorry Jolly Roger, but you probably will not be able to get there without a passport. I hope I’m wrong because Ireland is absolutely fantastic, even if I did get food poisoning in Dublin.
Good luck with your phone call. I would heartily recommend that you give it a good try to get a passport before the trip. Between Merkwurdigliebe’s link and jjimm’s comment about the US Embassy and PSB, I’d say there’s a good chance. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, having a full passport will always be useful. I really hope it works out well for you.
Pints are on me if you and your wife make it here Jolly Roger.
Well, using the site that Merk linked to, I’ve ordered a new birth certificate. They say 3-5 days and express delivery, but since I’m overseas I expect it to be more like 6 to ten. As soon as it gets here I’ll try to get a rush thing done at the embassy. Wish me luck. I’ll let you know how it goes, guys.
Good Luck!
Ireland is more restrictive than it used to be, due to the influx of illegal persons. The last time I was on a bus from Belfast to Dublin we got stopped and everyone had to present ID or passports and visas if necessary. An African lady was taken off the bus at the border- her visa was for the UK, she didn’t have an Irish one. I only had my Northern Irish driver’s licence with me, but that shows my place of birth as Belfast, so it was cool. The Americans on the bus had to show their passports.
When I worked in an office with students from outside the EU, we always had to warn them about the Gardai on the buses cross border. There was always someone who insisted on heading across border without the proper papers or came to us days before a conference in Dublin to ask if they could get a visa by tomorrow :rolleyes:
Just a quick update…unbelievably (to me) I managed to get a new birth certificate and passport in like, a month. The Birth certificate got here within 3 days of my ordering it, which is really shocking to me, considering that I’m not in the US right now.
I expected the passport to be ready maybe within a day or so of my needing it, if I was lucky. There was a mixup at the Consulate General wich required me to take an afternoon off to fix, which made me think the process would take ecen longer. But surprise…I got the passport last week, which means it took them about 14 days to make it. I am truly amazed. I’ve never had that kind of luck with paperwork before.
So, yeah, I’m goin’ to Ireland next month. I’m looking forward to it, though other than the blarney stone, leprechauns, The Crying Game and a little James Joyce I read in college I don’t know much about it. Anyone know of some good sights and hangouts in dublin? I’ll be my wife and two friends.
Congratulations! I’m glad it worked out for you. It’s nice when things happen better than feared or expected.
I didn’t do anything too organized in Dublin, mainly just walked along the streets and enjoyed the atmosphere and stopped into a pub or two. I did stumble upon a sign along a back alleyway that mentioned it was the location of a building (since torn down) where the first performance of Handel’s Messiah happened. I thought that was pretty cool.
I regret not having stopped into Trinity College Library to look at The Book of Kells or spent some time at the National Gallery viewing the artwork. You might want to look into those locations as possibilities.
Thanks for the update.
**Book Of Kells **is worth a look and it’s central so even if you think it’s crap you won’t waste much time. The National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks is really nice. You can get the luas down there or walk.
For trad music and “craic” try the Cobblestone, Smithfield which isn’t too far off the main drag. Nice pubs in the centre of town include Grogan’s on South William St. where you can admire local painting talent, eat a nice toasted cheese sandwich and sup on a nice pint of guinness. If I keep listing nice pubs I’ll run out of electronic ink, wandering around you’ll find plenty, especially if you’re here around Paddy’s day.
The double decker bus tours that go around the city are worth it, stop at lots of spots and also is good for helping you get your barings/bearings?