Passport Update
News
13 April 2021On 29 April, 2021, Passport Online expanded its services and is now open to all applicants of all ages resident in Canada. This means, in addition to renewals, first time applicants can apply for their first Irish passport online. As such, the Embassy will no longer be accepting paper applications from Canadian residents. Paper applications received on or after 3 May, 2021 will be returned to applicants as they will be able to apply online. To begin your application, please see: passportonline.dfa.ie. First time applicants should click 'No' in response to the question 'My most recent passport was issued less than 15 years ago.’
We will continue to accept paper application re-submissions that were returned due to missing documentation. If you submitted a paper application, please do not use the online service as your payment has been taken and your application will be processed in time.
Processing of existing paper passport applications submitted to us will not resume in Ireland until Level 3 of the COVID response framework. Unfortunately, the Embassy cannot currently provide an estimated time for passport processing. This will depend on the pace of re-opening in Ireland. All paper applications submitted to us with documentation are held securely at our offices but production of passports from paper applications will not resume until restrictions are moved to Level 3. Your documents will continue to be held securely at the Embassy. Upon return to Level 3 or lower, applications will be dealt with in the order they were received. Please note that paper applications submitted to the Embassy will not appear in the Passport Service's tracking system until they are picked up for processing once restrictions are moved to Level 3.
Online passport processing has now resumed. The Passport Service is continuing to processing Passport Online applications and aims to clear all of the current online applications within 6-8 weeks.
We will no longer be sending out paper application forms, as it will be faster to use the Passport Online system. If you currently have a paper application form and have not sent it to us, please use the online service. For more information please see: www.dfa.ie/passportonline.
Passport Online is a faster and simpler way to apply for your passport. Once you upload a photograph, it takes about 10 minutes to complete the online application form and pay with a credit card. If you are an adult renewing your passport with the same information, you normally won’t need to submit any supporting documents. If you are a first time applicant, renewing for a child or changing the information on your passport, Passport Online will e-mail you a list of documents which you need to submit directly to the Passport Service in Ireland. When your passport is printed, it will be posted back to you directly.