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

BeardyFunzo

Very quick question

When submitting 'documentary evidence to show use of name...' would any know if printouts of electronic bank statements or bills be acceptable or do they have to be originals issued by the bank or utility?

Fred Swanson

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Gatica

BeardyFunzo wrote: »

Very quick question

When submitting 'documentary evidence to show use of name...' would any know if printouts of electronic bank statements or bills be acceptable or do they have to be originals issued by the bank or utility?

Not sure for use of name, but for proof of address it had to be an original. Just call your bank and ask for a single page of your most recent bank statement. They charge 3.50 a sheet these days or something like that, so you don't want a whole lot of pages sent to you.

Video

I've been trying to report my lost passport for the past 2 weeks now ... yes 2 WEEKS!!!!! everytime i ring i just get this automatic message "unfortunately due to the high volume of calls" crap and then it just hangs up. What an absolute joke. Anyone any idea of what to do? I've rang every day for 2 weeks

kkontour

Hi,
I want to travel from Dublin to Lithuania from July 2nd to 4th. My passport expires July 14th. Will this be an issue?
I am an Irish citizen
Thanks
KK

Fred Swanson

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kkontour

Fred Swanson wrote: »

NO, no issue at all.

Thanks
Irish embassy in Lithuania says it must have 3 months on it, but I think they are wrong.
K

Miaireland

I would send a registered letter informing them of the passport loss, mention that you have tried and failed to ring them for two weeks. You probably should report its loss to the Gardai as well.

brianw1

Yeah I had to get an emergency passport from them a month ago, getting through on the phone was a nightmare. The system they have doesn't even put you into a rotation, it just hangs up after playing a busy message. Anyway I kept calling and calling for about an hour before finally getting through to someone. So it is possible, just keep dialing !

ComputerKing

They never answer the phones even though now since they introduced an appointment system which means they aren't busy most of the time but yet still refuse to answer the phones claiming that they are busy.

Fred Swanson

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AGC

kkontour wrote: »

Thanks
Irish embassy in Lithuania says it must have 3 months on it, but I think they are wrong.
K

Were you told that over the phone?

As Fred Swansan said, no need at all for 3 months validity

kkontour

AGC wrote: »

Were you told that over the phone?

As Fred Swansan said, no need at all for 3 months validity

Via email.
Thanks for replies.
Hope the Lithuanian immigration know the rules!

JohnMearsheimer

ComputerKing wrote: »

They never answer the phones even though now since they introduced an appointment system which means they aren't busy most of the time but yet still refuse to answer the phones claiming that they are busy.

If only that was true about not being busy most of the time! I worked 60 plus hours last week and I'm looking at the same this week.

CarrickMcJoe

Video wrote: »

I've been trying to report my lost passport for the past 2 weeks now ... yes 2 WEEKS!!!!! everytime i ring i just get this automatic message "unfortunately due to the high volume of calls" crap and then it just hangs up. What an absolute joke. Anyone any idea of what to do? I've rang every day for 2 weeks

My son went to garda barracks to report his passport lost. Guard handed him a new form and told him to fill it in.

killbillvol2

Video wrote: »

I've been trying to report my lost passport for the past 2 weeks now ... yes 2 WEEKS!!!!! everytime i ring i just get this automatic message "unfortunately due to the high volume of calls" crap and then it just hangs up. What an absolute joke. Anyone any idea of what to do? I've rang every day for 2 weeks

You report a lost passport to a garda station, not over the phone.

killbillvol2

ComputerKing wrote: »

They never answer the phones even though now since they introduced an appointment system which means they aren't busy most of the time but yet still refuse to answer the phones claiming that they are busy.

They're busy all the time with muppets who discover that they urgently need a passport only after they've booked a flight. And if they answered the phone all the time I really can't imagine the number of stupid questions they'd have to answer for every important query.

Aquagakka

Aquagakka wrote: »

Hello folks,

I have a big problem. I applied for a renewal passport for my daughter on
the 14th of May using the N.I Post Office Express.

As a widower I had to include a sworn oath form along with my wife's
Death Certificate. I got a letter on the 9th of June from the Passport Office
stating the Death Certificate had not been sent by the Post Office.

I looked in my documents folder and sure enough there it was. I posted the
certificate straight away. It now looks like the application has been was
put into the start of the system and the online tracking says the issue date is
26 June - the same date as my daughter is due to fly to Lourdes from Belfast on a school trip.

I tried making an appointment online but the earliest I can get is the day before
at 3:40 pm. Surely there wouldn't be enough time to get it processed?

I have tried phoning but it's impossible to get through.

So my question is, would it be worthwhile me travelling from Derry to Dublin
on Monday morning, unannounced to try and get it sorted?

My daughter is very worried, plus it will be £600 down the drain.

Any advice would be appreciated.

R.

Just an update on this. Travelled to Dublin this morning and got to the office first thing. Was seen after about 45 minutes and was told there was a possibility. I think they soon realised the delay was none of my doing.

After numerous other talks I was told the passport was being printed in Balbriggan and I was to call back at around 3:45 ish. I was then told the passport was left behind in Balbriggan. They then told me to call back at 4:30
to collect a temporary passport which was duly handed over.:)

The place was very busy and very hot.
The whole process seems interminably slow but I should point out that the members of staff who dealt with me were very understanding and helpful.

I reckon the whole system needs a complete overhaul. I should also say for anyone in a similar situation to bring as much documentation as possible.
The staff seemed particularly interested in the Post Office receipt for the express service.

It was a long, long day.

acbar

FYI current turnaround for passport applications is approx 14 working days.
It says 11/12 working days on their website but this is untrue. Sent mine on 17 May received it on 9th June (even taking into a/c the bank holiday.
Gud luck

?Cee?view

killbillvol2 wrote: »

They're busy all the time with muppets who discover that they urgently need a passport only after they've booked a flight. And if they answered the phone all the time I really can't imagine the number of stupid questions they'd have to answer for every important query.

The same "muppets" who cause a rush every year seasonally at the same time in a completely predictable pattern? Most services have the foresight and professionalism to plan for when they know they will be busy. Who are the real "muppets" here?

I applied on 6th June, issue date 20th June. Status finally updated today to ‘being checked’. Fingers crossed.

AGC

?Cee?view wrote: »

The same "muppets" who cause a rush every year seasonally at the same time in a completely predictable pattern? Most services have the foresight and professionalism to plan for when they know they will be busy. Who are the real "muppets" here?

Yes it is mainly the same people that book trips without knowledge. What can the passport office do? They take on additional staff to try and clear the backlog. Why are these additional staff not required during October-March?

If people just gave a quick look at their passport before booking a flight/holiday or if you had to provide passport details when booking it would make things a lot easier.

Fred Swanson

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?Cee?view

AGC wrote: »

What can the passport office do?

They can plan ahead and staff appropriately. They know there will be a rush every year. There's no point blaming people for causing the rush.

AGC wrote: »

Why are these additional staff not required during October-March?

Although presumably this is a rhetorical question, I would suggest that October to March is not summer holiday season.

AGC wrote: »

If people just gave a quick look at their passport before booking a flight/holiday or if you had to provide passport details when booking it would make things a lot easier.

Have a glance back over this thread. Not all cases are people who simply forgot. Many are genuine and are being unnecessarily frustrated by a process which clearly needs to be engineered and which is staffed by people who clearly can't cope under the current process.

mel.b

acbar wrote: »

FYI current turnaround for passport applications is approx 14 working days.
It says 11/12 working days on their website but this is untrue. Sent mine on 17 May received it on 9th June (even taking into a/c the bank holiday.
Gud luck

Mine was back in my hand 11 days from recipet of application at the passport office and that is for a first time (nautralised irish) application. App received 6th june back in my hand on the 19th. If you dig around a bit on the passport webiste there is actually a breakdown of the past 4 weeks or so of turnaround times.

?Cee?view

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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Agreed. If passport is (for instance) issued between 10- 15 working days, apply a discount e.g. 10%. If 15-20 days, 25%. If more than 20, full refund. It would soon get the process fixed.

Fred Swanson

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?Cee?view

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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I know you did

However, the cost of applying with the three day over the counter method is significant, so that penalty already de facto exists.

What about people who apply through the "Express" method. If they have to wait more than 10 working days, where should the penalty lie?

This is notionally a "service" which should comply with service levels. For a service intimately linked with travel to argue that entirely predicable travel patterns are a justifiable reason for the service to suffer is farcical.

?Cee?view

AGC wrote: »

What I can't understand is the number of people willing to shell out a lot of money on a holiday and not be sure they have the 1 document they actually require to travel.

Agree completely, but the service can't control other people's behaviour. It can only plan effectively by acknowledging the behaviour which behaviour is entirely predictable.

?Cee?view

AGC wrote: »

I fully understand that there can be genuine cases and they are 99% of the time accommodated.

How can you know this to be the case? It's not possible to phone the office, they don't respond to emails and appointments are not available within a number of days.