How to apply for your first Irish passport as an adult

This page explains how to apply for your first Irish passport if you are over 18.

If your previous passport was issued when you were a child and has not yet expired (or has only recently expired), your application is considered a renewal application and not a first-time application.

Adult passports are valid for 10 years. If your last passport was issued over 15 years ago, you will have to apply as if you were a first-time applicant.

The Passport Service strongly recommends that you apply for your passport at least 8 weeks before your travel date if you are applying by post and at least 20 days if you apply online.

The latest turnaround times are available on the Passport Service's website. If you need to send documents, the processing time will only start when the Passport Office receives them. Applying online is the quickest way to get a new passport.

You can apply for your first Irish passport:

• Online, through Passport Online
• By post, through Post Passport

You can also get more information on replacing a lost or stolen passport and how to renew your passport.

You can use the Passport Online service to apply for your first Irish passport from anywhere in the world.

You need access to a printer for your first passport application. You must give an email address. You must also be able to pay by credit or debit card. You will have to send original documents to the Passport Service after you have completed the online application form.

Digital photographs

You must include a digital photo as part of your online application.

You can do this in 3 ways:

• Have your photo taken at a participating photo provider, who will give you a unique code to include with your online application.
• Have your photo taken at a photo provider, and ask them to email it to you, or save the photo on a USB device, or another storage method. You must have access to the photo when completing your online application.
• Take a photo at home using a digital camera or smartphone. This cannot be a “selfie” and you should not use the zoom function of your camera. The photo must capture your image from the waist upwards.

You can read more about the photo requirements for the Passport Online service.

Proving your identity

• When your online application is completed, you will be asked to print an Identity Verification Form.
• If you are applying in Ireland, a member of the Garda Síochána must sign this form.
• If you are applying outside Ireland, the form can be witnessed by a person in one of the occupations listed on the Passport Online site, or on the verification form itself.

Sending documents

Once the application is completed, you will be asked to print an Application Cover Page. This will list the documents you have to send to the Passport Service. All documents sent must be original. The Passport Service recommends that you use a secure method of postage for sending your documents. A postage label is generated as part of your application (if you are applying in Ireland).

If you are applying outside Ireland, you should use a reliable postal service. In some countries, the local postal services are not reliable. In this case, you can submit your documents to your nearest Irish Embassy.

You can read more about the documents you may need to send below.

You can read Frequently Asked Questions about the extended Passport Online service.

Post Passport is a service provided by An Post.

If you are an Irish citizen living in Ireland, you should fill in form APS 1. You will find this form at Garda stations and any post office. It is not currently possible to download the paper application form.

Photographs

You must include 4 recent identical photographs of yourself with your application. Two of these photographs should be signed on the back by the person who witnesses the application. The witness should also write the form number shown in Section 9 of the application form on the two signed photographs. If you are applying for your passport in Ireland the witness must be a member of the Garda Síochána.

You can get more detailed information on passport photographs.

Post Passport abroad

There are several UK Post Office branches in Northern Ireland that provide the Post Passport service (pdf).

The following post offices in the UK also offer Post Passport:

• Cardiff Post Office, 83 - 85 Queen Street, Cardiff, CF10 2NX
• Glasgow Post Office, 140 West Nile Street, Glasgow, G1 2RD
• Liverpool Post Office, 1 – 3 South John Street, Liverpool, L1 8BNI

If you are applying abroad, the application form lists suitable categories of witnesses. The witness should enter their daytime contact number on the application form as this may need to be verified by the Passport Service or the relevant embassy or consulate.

Applying in person to the Passport Office for your first passport is not recommended. Nearly all Irish citizens can apply for their first passport online.

The counter service in the Passport Office is designed to accommodate people who need to renew their passports urgently and don’t have enough time to apply in other ways. It should not be used for first-time applications. These applications are too complex to be processed at the public counter because your right to Irish citizenship must be established and your documents must be verified. You should not book any travel until you have received your passport as these applications cannot be expedited.

If you are living abroad, in a country where Post Passport or Passport Online are not available, you can apply for an Irish passport in person or using ordinary or registered post to your nearest Irish embassy or consulate. You use form APS 2.

You cannot download the application form. You can get the application form from the Irish embassy or consulate in the country where you live (or the closest embassy or consulate).

The fees are:

Standard 34-page 10-year passport

Large 66-page 10-year passport

You should submit the following documentation with your application:

• Identity verification form
• Your full civil birth certificate
• Your civil marriage or civil partnership certificate (if you have changed your surname)
• Proof of address
• Proof of name
• Copy of your Public Services Card or original government issued photo identification document
• If resident in Northern Ireland or abroad, you must supply either an original passport, national ID card, social security card; or a certified copy of your driving licence

You may need to send additional documents as well as those listed above depending on your situation.

Additional documents

If you were born abroad to a parent born in Ireland or Northern Ireland - you should also include:

• Your Irish-born parent’s birth certificate
• Your parents’ civil marriage certificate (if applicable)

If you became an Irish citizen through naturalisation - you should also include:

• Your original naturalisation certificate
• Your original foreign passport (if available)

If you became an Irish citizen through the foreign birth register process – you should also include:

• Your foreign birth registration certificate
• Your foreign passport

If you were adopted you should include:

• Your certificate of entry in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions (If adopted abroad your adoption must be entered in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions)
• Your civil marriage or civil partnership certificate (if you have changed your surname)
• Your adoptive Irish parent’s birth certificate or Irish passport
• Your adoption certificate

If you became an Irish citizen through post-nuptial citizenship - you should include:

• Your post-nuptial certificate (this must have been issued before 30 November 2005)

If your documents are not in English you must also supply a certified English version, translated by a registered translator.

The Passport Office can request further documentation and/or interview applicants.

You can order birth, marriage, civil partnership and adoption certificates online from the HSE.

You can order a certificate of entry in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions from the Adoption Authority.

Information on how to get a foreign birth registration certificate is available on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Online applications are completed in approximately 20 working days for first-time applicants.

If you are applying by post, you should allow at least 8 weeks for your application to be processed (not including postage times). This period may be extended at certain times of the year due to increased application numbers.

First-time postal applications from the UK take at least 8 weeks.

You can check the Passport Service website for current processing times.

Tracking the progress of your application

The Passport Service provides a Passport Tracking Service. This service lets you check the status of your application online. You must have the application number from your form to use this service (this number is in the top left-hand corner of the application form).

Signing the passport

When you receive your passport, you should sign it. If it is a child’s passport, the child should sign it. If the child is not able to sign their name, it should be left blank.

You can contact the Passport Service via phone or webchat.