** ALL ** Passport Related Questions in here! Please Read Post#1 first!

stlant

I'm going away at the end of the week but the target date on the website is the middle of next week and it's stuck on stage 2 - what options do I have at this stage? I can't get through on the enquiry line since it's too busy.

CiniO

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

Did you include any documents helping to prove how long you've been in Ireland Before you're child's birth? P60s etc. You will have to have done a Form A as well.

Yes, included everything that possibly could be needed.

damianmcr

stlant wrote: »

I'm going away at the end of the week but the target date on the website is the middle of next week and it's stuck on stage 2 - what options do I have at this stage? I can't get through on the enquiry line since it's too busy.

What type of application is it? Contact them on Twitter.

JohnMearsheimer

CiniO wrote: »

Yes, included everything that possibly could be needed.

You should be ok if everything is fine with the residency calculation. That's the main thing that causes these types of applications to be rejected.

CiniO

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

You should be ok if everything is fine with the residency calculation. That's the main thing that causes these types of applications to be rejected.

I'm not affraid to be rejected, as I know my son is entitled to Irish passport as I and my wife fulfil residency requirements.
What I'm affraid though is that application will be delayed which will stop us from travelling - and this travel is very important for us.

It should be clearly stated how long it can take, and it should be prescribed by law how long such application can be dealt with.

I feel extremely mislead as DFA website says passport application takes on average 10 working days, with 15 being rather maximum, so I applied 2 months in advance being sure that's plenty.
And only later I find out that my application can virtually take as long as they wish and there isn't any time limits prescribed by law, which is absolutely ridiculous and I don't believe anything like that applies in any other country.

stlant

damianmcr wrote: »

What type of application is it? Contact them on Twitter.

It's a renewal - I'll send them a DM on twitter and see what they say.

JohnMearsheimer

CiniO wrote: »

I'm not affraid to be rejected, as I know my son is entitled to Irish passport as I and my wife fulfil residency requirements.
What I'm affraid though is that application will be delayed which will stop us from travelling - and this travel is very important for us.

It should be clearly stated how long it can take, and it should be prescribed by law how long such application can be dealt with.

I feel extremely mislead as DFA website says passport application takes on average 10 working days, with 15 being rather maximum, so I applied 2 months in advance being sure that's plenty.
And only later I find out that my application can virtually take as long as they wish and there isn't any time limits prescribed by law, which is absolutely ridiculous and I don't believe anything like that applies in any other country.

It isn't up to you to determine if your child is entitled to an Irish passport. It's up to the passport service. The passport service can take however long they want to determine if someone is entitled to hold a passport.

I believe most other countries wouldn't give out a passport until they are completely satisfied that the applicant is entitled to hold one. If countries were handing them out all over the place with no checks being carried out I'd be very worried.

Malee

CiniO wrote: »

I'm not affraid to be rejected, as I know my son is entitled to Irish passport as I and my wife fulfil residency requirements.
What I'm affraid though is that application will be delayed which will stop us from travelling - and this travel is very important for us.

It should be clearly stated how long it can take, and it should be prescribed by law how long such application can be dealt with.

I feel extremely mislead as DFA website says passport application takes on average 10 working days, with 15 being rather maximum, so I applied 2 months in advance being sure that's plenty.
And only later I find out that my application can virtually take as long as they wish and there isn't any time limits prescribed by law, which is absolutely ridiculous and I don't believe anything like that applies in any other country.

The problem is that there is only so much the Passport Service can anticipate.
When there are Naturalisation Ceremonies (usually 3000 people are Naturalised at one time) extra staff is allocated to deal with the extra amount of passport applications.
When the summer months are looming Temporary Staff is hired to help deal with the extra amount of passport applications.
But with children born in Ireland to parents who were not born in Ireland they can never anticipate how many applications they will get at any given day. There are only a specific number of staff trained in handling these applications, so there is not much capacity that can be used if there are suddenly many applications arriving.

Send them an e-mail, contact them on Twitter, wait on the phone until you speak to someone, and let them know when you are planning to travel.
Their Customer Service can then manually move it along.

athtrasna

CiniO wrote: »

It should be clearly stated how long it can take, and it should be prescribed by law how long such application can be dealt with.

I feel extremely mislead as DFA website says passport application takes on average 10 working days, with 15 being rather maximum, so I applied 2 months in advance being sure that's plenty.
And only later I find out that my application can virtually take as long as they wish and there isn't any time limits prescribed by law, which is absolutely ridiculous and I don't believe anything like that applies in any other country.

You cannot write a law for this, it takes a long as it takes. It's not ridiculous, it's to protect the security of our passports. If you have provided all the information you say you have and it's all in order you need to calm down, you still have time. The passport express turnaround of 10ish working days is clearly marked on the website as applying to renewals only.

CiniO

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

It isn't up to you to determine if your child is entitled to an Irish passport. It's up to the passport service.

Well, the law is clear about it, so if someone fulfills conditions, that enought to be entitled to it.
Of course fact that I know that my son is entitled to passport is no good for anyone except from myself, and therefore it's obvious passport service must verify this entitlement.

The passport service can take however long they want to determine if someone is entitled to hold a passport.

See, and that's the tricky bit - because it shouldn't be the case.
It should be clearly said, that they have 10 days, or a month, or 3 months, or whatever it is, but it should be specified. And in that time they should be obliged to give an anser - either "yes, you are entitled" or "no, you are not entitled".
Situation where they can just take as long as they want is IMO ridiculous. It's not any rocket science - it's only certain amount of documents to be verified.

I believe most other countries wouldn't give out a passport until they are completely satisfied that the applicant is entitled to hold one. If countries were handing them out all over the place with no checks being carried out I'd be very worried.

Of course they are not giving out passports.
But nearly everywhere else, if you apply for something, you get a specific period of time in which your answer is going to come - either positive or refusal answer, but you will get it.

CiniO

Malee wrote: »

The problem is that there is only so much the Passport Service can anticipate.
When there are Naturalisation Ceremonies (usually 3000 people are Naturalised at one time) extra staff is allocated to deal with the extra amount of passport applications.
When the summer months are looming Temporary Staff is hired to help deal with the extra amount of passport applications.
But with children born in Ireland to parents who were not born in Ireland they can never anticipate how many applications they will get at any given day. There are only a specific number of staff trained in handling these applications, so there is not much capacity that can be used if there are suddenly many applications arriving.

Send them an e-mail, contact them on Twitter, wait on the phone until you speak to someone, and let them know when you are planning to travel.
Their Customer Service can then manually move it along.

It explains the reasons, but I still thing it should be clearly stated on their website, what are the waiting times, and it should clearly say that fact that parents are not Irish citizens is going to greatly prelong waiting time.
That's something I was completely not aware of, as such information is not provided anywhere.

I send them an email, but was only replied with info that my query was handed to person dealing with my case - nothing more.

I tried to call, and upon trying for couple of hours a day for few days I eventually managed to get hold of someone, but person was only able to tell me that someone is assigned to my case, that's it. No more info.

I still have some time before travel, but I have a feeling it's not going to work out, and I'll be stock here, even though there's very imporant reason (especially for my son) to go.

Obviously I could have applied for Polish passport for him, but this takes up to 3 months, so it's too late now.

CiniO

athtrasna wrote: »

You cannot write a law for this, it takes a long as it takes. It's not ridiculous, it's to protect the security of our passports. If you have provided all the information you say you have and it's all in order you need to calm down, you still have time. The passport express turnaround of 10ish working days is clearly marked on the website as applying to renewals only.

Yes, but there's nothing on the website to indicate, that first time applications have no time frame and can take whatever is needed.
I though that if normally it's 10 days, so if I apply 2 months in advance it will be early enough.

Malee

CiniO wrote: »

It explains the reasons, but I still thing it should be clearly stated on their website, what are the waiting times, and it should clearly say that fact that parents are not Irish citizens is going to greatly prelong waiting time.
That's something I was completely not aware of, as such information is not provided anywhere.

I send them an email, but was only replied with info that my query was handed to person dealing with my case - nothing more.

I tried to call, and upon trying for couple of hours a day for few days I eventually managed to get hold of someone, but person was only able to tell me that someone is assigned to my case, that's it. No more info.

I still have some time before travel, but I have a feeling it's not going to work out, and I'll be stock here, even though there's very imporant reason (especially for my son) to go.

Obviously I could have applied for Polish passport for him, but this takes up to 3 months, so it's too late now.

If someone is assigned to the application that means that it is actually on somebody's desk who will either already be looking into it, or will be looking into it within a day or so.
The wait is over, so to speak!

mazzybabsxx

Hi,
I'm sorry if this has been asked before, Am looking to go for a last minute holiday, anywhere sunny and soon,
anyone know where to get the best deals for 7 nights away , anywhere that has a pool and ill be happy.
Any help will be appreciated,
Thanks in advance.

snoreborewhore

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but does anyone know why the new passports require you to sign it once you've received it? My last two passports have had the signature I gave on the application just transferred onto the hard plastic sheet with my info on it, so signing it on a flimsy page seems a bit strange?

JohnMearsheimer

snoreborewhore wrote: »

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but does anyone know why the new passports require you to sign it once you've received it? My last two passports have had the signature I gave on the application just transferred onto the hard plastic sheet with my info on it, so signing it on a flimsy page seems a bit strange?

it was decided to drop printing signatures on passports because to was too troublesome. People were having one name on their passport and signing a different name completely (a lot of people in Ireland are christened one thing and called another).

Also, the signature had to be signed in the exact spot on the form where people were asked to sign for the scanners to pick it up but people were signing over the signature line, under the signature line, too far right of the line, too far left of the line etc

snoreborewhore

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

it was decided to drop printing signatures on passports because to was too troublesome. People were having one name on their passport and signing a different name completely (a lot of people in Ireland are christened one thing and called another).

Also, the signature had to be signed in the exact spot on the form where people were asked to sign for the scanners to pick it up but people were signing over the signature line, under the signature line, too far right of the line, too far left of the line etc

Ah that makes a lot of sense, I just got my new one there and was wondering why it asked me to sign! A lot of countries don't even have the plastic part like we do, my boyfriend is Australian and all his info is just printed on normal passport paper! Very strange.

fxotoole

CiniO wrote: »

I'm not affraid to be rejected, as I know my son is entitled to Irish passport as I and my wife fulfil residency requirements.
What I'm affraid though is that application will be delayed which will stop us from travelling - and this travel is very important for us.

It should be clearly stated how long it can take, and it should be prescribed by law how long such application can be dealt with.

I feel extremely mislead as DFA website says passport application takes on average 10 working days, with 15 being rather maximum, so I applied 2 months in advance being sure that's plenty.
And only later I find out that my application can virtually take as long as they wish and there isn't any time limits prescribed by law, which is absolutely ridiculous and I don't believe anything like that applies in any other country.

Why did you book travel without a valid passport?

CiniO

CiniO wrote: »

Yes, but there's nothing on the website to indicate, that first time applications have no time frame and can take whatever is needed.
I though that if normally it's 10 days, so if I apply 2 months in advance it will be early enough.

Call the customer service number and arrange to send in your proof of travel. There is normally a lot of documents and residency checks to do on this type of application. There is only one designated team that deals with these applications. If everything was submitted and the Form A filled out correctly i dont see any problem in you getting it before you travel. As i said its best to send in your proof of travel.

damianmcr

Me and the girlfriends passports were issues yesterday on our target date. It was her first and mines was replacing a lost one. My friend didn't get one phone call to confirm if he signed them.

damianmcr

damianmcr wrote: »

Me and the girlfriends passports were issues yesterday on our target date. It was her first and mines was replacing a lost one. My friend didn't get one phone call to confirm if he signed them.

Calls are not always made when all the docs check out, drivers license ect.

damianmcr

Oh I see. Thanks.

CiniO

fxotoole wrote: »

Why did you book travel without a valid passport?

I had to book it early enough to get better price.
And I couldn't apply for son's passport earlier, as son wasn't born yet then...

Besides, I applied for passport 2 months before travel date, so while it says on passport website that first time application take about 15 working days, how on earth could I expect that I might not get it within 2 months?

MojoRisinnnn

Hi All, I am looking to apply for a US passport as my dad is an American Citizen currently living in New York. My dad is not on my birth cert at the moment, I was wondering does anyone know the process for applying in this regard?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

SHOVELLER

CiniO wrote: »

I had to book it early enough to get better price.
And I couldn't apply for son's passport earlier, as son wasn't born yet then...

Besides, I applied for passport 2 months before travel date, so while it says on passport website that first time application take about 15 working days, how on earth could I expect that I might not get it within 2 months?

It has already been explained to you the reasons for the delay.

I dont think you have any idea how busy they are in there.

Referring to the process as a joke and ridiculous does not help really.

You could have applied for a polish passport.

CiniO

SHOVELLER wrote: »

It has already been explained to you the reasons for the delay.

Yes, it has been explained to me (in here - not by passport office) that delays are due to fact that citizens ship must be established, and this can take indefinite amount of time. IMHO this is not normal, as it's just simple checking of documents and there should be clear time limit prescribed for it.
Additionally, it should be explained on passport website, that such process takes longer, as currently passport webiste only says that average waiting time for new passport takes around 15 working days.
How could I expect it's going to take longer in my case?

I dont think you have any idea how busy they are in there.

No I don't, and it's not really my problem neither should be any of my interest.
If there is extra demand for passports, there should be more workers employed to deal with it - that's how things normally work.
Passport office is a facility which is provided by government to it's citizens, and it should be run efficiently which clearly isn't the case.

Referring to the process as a joke and ridiculous does not help really.

That's just my opinion. There nothing I can do about anyway so all I can do is to express my opinion.

You could have applied for a polish passport.

I could have, if I known there will be problems with Irish passport. However I foolishly believed what official passport website says that it takes on average 15 working days for new passport application.

But now, when I ended up with huge problem as Irish passport might not be ready on time, I contacted Polish embassy and they helped, and even though they clearly say to obtain passport takes 2.5 months, they will do it for me within 3 week which will let me to travel - so at least I'm sorted, but very disappointed with Irish passport service.

JohnMearsheimer

CiniO wrote: »

Yes, it has been explained to me (in here - not by passport office) that delays are due to fact that citizens ship must be established, and this can take indefinite amount of time. IMHO this is not normal, as it's just simple checking of documents and there should be clear time limit prescribed for it.
Additionally, it should be explained on passport website, that such process takes longer, as currently passport webiste only says that average waiting time for new passport takes around 15 working days.
How could I expect it's going to take longer in my case?


No I don't, and it's not really my problem neither should be any of my interest.
If there is extra demand for passports, there should be more workers employed to deal with it - that's how things normally work.
Passport office is a facility which is provided by government to it's citizens, and it should be run efficiently which clearly isn't the case.


That's just my opinion. There nothing I can do about anyway so all I can do is to express my opinion.


I could have, if I known there will be problems with Irish passport. However I foolishly believed what official passport website says that it takes on average 15 working days for new passport application.

But now, when I ended up with huge problem as Irish passport might not be ready on time, I contacted Polish embassy and they helped, and even though they clearly say to obtain passport takes 2.5 months, they will do it for me within 3 week which will let me to travel - so at least I'm sorted, but very disappointed with Irish passport service.

A lot of applications involving children of parents not from Ireland get rejected. You have to prove your residency here for 3 years out of the 4 years prior to your child's birth. These types of application can be rejected multiple times before being approved. For example, a couple could be short 5 weeks residency to get their child an Irish passport. They send in 2 more weeks of proof of residency. The application is rejected again because there's 3 more weeks of residency required. These types of applications can go back and forth for months and months, sometimes even years. That is why no time limit can be put on dealing with these types of applications. Applications such as these are amongst the more complicated and work intensive applications received by the passport service.

A lot more work goes into an application like that than that of a child born of Irish parents. An Irish passport is their birthright so there isn't much work or checking documentation required to get them a passport. A child born of Irish parents only needs their birth cert and one parent's passport or birth certificate and the application will be approved. Very straightftorward and not a whole lot of work involved.

You seem very confident that you've done everything correctly so there's no need to worry.

For your information as well, more staff are hired to deal with passport applications to meet demand at this time of year. The passport office is run very efficiently and does meet the majority of people's needs. Your problem is you booked a trip without a passport for your child and the system isn't bending over backwards to accommodate you.

I'm not surprised the Polish embassy can accommodate your child getting a passport. A Polish passport is his birthright and there shouldn't be any trouble getting him one. If I lived in Poland and tried to get a Polish passport for my child I'm sure it would not be as straightforward than if I were a Polish person getting a passport for my child. The Polish authorities would take many of the same steps the Irish passport service will take with your child's passport application (proving residency etc)

CiniO

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

A lot of applications involving children of parents not from Ireland get rejected. You have to prove your residency here for 3 years out of the 4 years prior to your child's birth. These types of application can be rejected multiple times before being approved. For example, a couple could be short 5 weeks residency to get their child an Irish passport. They send in 2 more weeks of proof of residency. The application is rejected again because there's 3 more weeks of residency required. These types of applications can go back and forth for months and months, sometimes even years. That is why no time limit can be put on dealing with these types of applications. Applications such as these are amongst the more complicated and work intensive applications received by the passport service.

I understand all that.
What I don't understand are two things though.
1. Why they say on their website it takes 15 days, if in my case it's way more? It should be clearly stated it takes more that 15 days if citizenship entitlements need to be established. At the moment that's all what their website says:
What’s the best way to apply for my passport?
Passport Express is the fastest and easiest way to apply for your passport. Apply through your local post office, in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the Passport Service will aim to have passports back in 10 working days from the day we receive it (this is subject to the demand at the time). For first time applicants or those who are replacing lost or stolen books, the processing time can take up to 15 working days.

Please tell me, how after reading that, I could expect it's going to take much longer than 15 days? Do you really think it's not misleading?

2. And no time frame is still mad idea. I perfectly understand what you are saying about missing few weeks of residency, and being refused for that. But there still should be time frame for that and it should be clearly explained on their website. F.e. if such case, they have 6 weeks to reply either with positive decision, or with rejection and request of proof of 3 more weeks of residency. That would be perfectly fair. Person who knows they send enough proof of residency, would be confident they will get their passport within 6 weeks.

A lot more work goes into an application like that than that of a child born of Irish parents. An Irish passport is their birthright so there isn't much work or checking documentation required to get them a passport. A child born of Irish parents only needs their birth cert and one parent's passport or birth certificate and the application will be approved. Very straightftorward and not a whole lot of work involved.

Of course I understand it's more work. And that's why there wouldn't be a problem if it took longer if it was clearly stated on their website.

You seem very confident that you've done everything correctly so there's no need to worry.

Well, I know I was resident here for more than 3 years out of last 4 and that I sent them a proof of it, so I don't have any doubts that my son is entitled to Irish citizenship and Irish passport.
But a reason to worry about is that passport won't be ready on time.

For your information as well, more staff are hired to deal with passport applications to meet demand at this time of year. The passport office is run very efficiently and does meet the majority of people's needs.

If it was really run very efficiently, it would meet all people's need (not just majority) - obviously refer to those people who are entitled to obtain passport.

Your problem is you booked a trip without a passport for your child and the system isn't bending over backwards to accommodate you.

I booked because it seemed obvious that if passport application takes 15 days, then 2 months will be more than enough.

I'm not surprised the Polish embassy can accommodate your child getting a passport. A Polish passport is his birthright and there shouldn't be any trouble getting him one.

And there isn't but it takes time normally, as I said it's about 2.5 months.
They agreed to do it withing 3 weeks, so I'm very glad.

If I lived in Poland and tried to get a Polish passport for my child I'm sure it would not be as straightforward than if I were a Polish person getting a passport for my child. The Polish authorities would take many of the same steps the Irish passport service will take with your child's passport application (proving residency etc)

That's very interesting matter, and I'll investigate further about that and come back to report.

SHOVELLER

Cant wait for your report.

Let it go.