Irish Passport Renewal
If your Irish passport is due to expire in the next year, you can renew it from the United States of America and receive a new passport that will be valid for the next ten years.
IAS is a team of immigration lawyers who aim to provide expert and affordable legal advice to all clients. For guidance on renewing your Irish passport from the USA, contact us today at +1 844 290 6312 or use our online contact form.
Overview of Renewing an Irish Passport
Irish passports are among the most desired worldwide because of the benefits accessible to their holders. Many people living in the United States of America, either temporarily or as dual citizens, want to maintain a valid Irish passport so they can travel and work flexibly with the rights of an Irish citizen.
Thankfully, if you are currently in the USA and your Irish passport is approaching its expiry date within the next 12 months, you can apply to renew it from anywhere in the world, including the US, without travelling back to Ireland.
Choosing to renew an Irish passport is much simpler than applying for a new passport. If you allow your passport to expire by a few years, you will have to start from scratch and submit a first-time passport application. This is only necessary, though, if your previous passport was issued over 15 years ago.
How to Renew Irish Passport in USA
Overview
It is only possible to renew your passport using the online passport service for Irish citizens resident in the United States of America, although if you were to travel to Ireland, Northern Ireland, or the UK, your renewal form could be submitted by mail or in person.
Renewing your passport is much simpler than submitting a first-time passport application. When submitting an adult renewal application, you typically won’t need to submit any additional supporting documents. For the renewal, you will only need to provide a recent digital photograph, payment details, a contact email address, and your previous passport (unless it has been lost or stolen).
Online
Submitting a passport renewal application online is the fastest way to renew your Irish passport and is available to Irish citizens across the world. The Irish government reports that they prioritize their online service as the online system allows them to process passports more efficiently.
When using Ireland’s online passport services, you will submit your application online and then, if necessary, send any required documents and your old passport to the passport processing office by mail.
By Mail
If you are located in or will be staying in a country outside the United States of America, you may be able to submit your passport renewal application by mail. Although passport applications submitted by mail take significantly longer than when using the online system, this method is not recommended if you plan to travel in the next three months.
In Person
It is only possible to renew your passport urgently in person if you are in Ireland or the UK, and in this case, you would have to make an appointment to visit the Dublin, Cork or London passport office.
Photo Guidelines
When completing your application using the online passport system, you no longer have to have photographs taken and printed, and can instead use photos taken at home with a camera, phone, or tablet from within the last six months.
Any photos taken digitally at home must still adhere to strict passport photo guidance and be high quality. Incorrect photographs are reported to be the most common reason passport applications are rejected.
When taking your photo, you must meet the following guidelines:
- The photo must frame your head and shoulders, leaving some space around the edge
- There must be good, clear lighting with no shadows on a blank background
- Your hair must be brushed off your face with no accessories
- If you wear glasses, they must not obscure your eyes
- Your face must be visible and have a neutral expression
- The photo must be in color with no filters or digital enhancements
- The photo file must be saved in JPEG format, no smaller than 715 x 951 pixels
If, for whatever reason, you are having trouble taking a photo at home that meets all the requirements, it is also an option to visit a photo booth or photo provider to have someone else take the photo and provide you with a digital copy.
If you are applying by mail from a country where this is accepted, you will need to mail four identical hard-copy passport photos that meet the photo requirements. For hard-copy photos, you must ask someone else to act as a witness for your photographs.
The witness signs, stamps and writes your application form number on the back of two of these photos; by doing this, they are confirming to the passport office that these photos are a correct likeness of you.
Processing Time for Renewing Irish Passport
When using the online passport system, the renewal process takes between 10 and 15 days on average. This time is only estimated and there is a possibility it may take longer for your passport to be processed, for example, during busier times the passport office may have a higher volume of passport applications to process.
In some cases, the passport office may ask for additional documents to support your application, which can also affect the turnaround time.
You must also take into consideration the time taken for your new passport to be mailed from Ireland to your location in the USA.
Please note that there is no option to expedite your Irish passport renewal from the USA, so it is important to apply with plenty of time before you need to travel to avoid any disruption to your travel plans.
Fees to Renew Irish Passport
Applying for a new passport online costs €75 for a standard 10-year passport.
Some people prefer to apply for a larger passport because they are frequent flyers and need a larger number of pages to accommodate any travel stamps; in this case, you can pay €105 for a 66-page 10-year passport.
There is a flat rate of €15 mailing charge for people living outside of Ireland.
Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Passports
It is also possible to order a new passport before the expiry date of your current passport; if you find that you have lost your passport or it has been stolen, you must apply for a new one immediately using the online passport service.
Using this service to report your passport as lost or stolen will invalidate your current document, which will prevent anyone else from using it to travel if it has been taken or found. As you won’t have your passport anymore, you won’t have to return your previous passport when applying for a new one, as would be required for a standard renewal.
Damaged passports must also be replaced; immigration officials check the quality of a passport to ensure it has not been tampered with or modified in any way, and it is unlikely that a damaged passport would be accepted as a valid travel document. If you see that your passport has any visible signs of damage, such as tears or peeling laminate, then you should apply to renew your Irish passport.
For damaged passports, like with standard renewals, you will have to return your passport when applying for a replacement.
Emergency Travel Documents
In some very unfortunate cases, people will find that their Irish passport has been lost, stolen or damaged abroad while on vacation. In emergency cases, using the standard passport application system will not produce a valid travel document fast enough to allow return travel.
If your passport has been stolen, lost, or damaged while you are on vacation, you must contact your nearest Irish embassy or consulate as soon as possible. The immigration officials there will aim to provide you with an emergency travel document that will allow you to return home without your full Irish passport.
In other emergency situations, such as the death of an immediate family member or the need for urgent medical treatment, you can contact the passport service over the phone. In this instance, you will need verifiable proof of emergency.
How can IAS Help?
Often, when researching the requirements for passports and other immigration matters online, it can be unclear what the requirements are when submitting applications or supporting documents. For many people planning to travel abroad, immigration requirements can seem needlessly convoluted and stressful.
People applying for passports or other travel documents such as visas are especially keen to make sure their submission is correct, as rejected applications can result in lost money and delays in receiving the documents needed to travel legally.
Speaking to an immigration lawyer at IAS can ensure you are provided with clear and understandable advice that will enable you to submit the best application possible, significantly minimizing the risk of a rejected application and lost fees and time.
Call us today at +1 844 290 6312, or contact us online to learn how we can support you with your immigration concerns.
Legal Disclaimer
The information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, the law may change, and the information may not reflect the most current legal developments. No warranty is given regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information, and we do not accept liability in such cases. We recommend consulting with a qualified lawyer at Immigration Advice Service before making any decisions based on the content provided.
Last modified on May 21st, 2024 at 6:32 am
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Frequently Asked Questions
No, your photo must have been taken from within the last six months.
Irish citizens resident in the following locations must apply using the online passport service: USA (including Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia), Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands, Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Virgin Islands (US and British).
To track your Irish passport renewal application, you can use the passport tracking system on the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs website. All that is required is your Passport Application ID, which is provided to you when you submit your application.
The tracking system is only able to track your passport from the point at which it arrives at the Dublin immigration office. In cases where further supporting documentation is required, the ‘target issue date’ will not be updated until the supporting documents have also been received by the passport office.
The tracking information is updated daily based on current turnaround times and is only an estimate.
You can provide your full name, date of birth, mother’s surname, address and Irish Personal Public Service Number to the Irish passport office over the phone or online and they will locate your application details online.