Passport History

dominiquecruz

Bear with me, this is a bit convoluted/complicated;

- I lost my passport many years ago, reported it, and ordered a new one
- New one arrives, and I subsequently find my old one; meaning I have 2
- Obviously, this 'lost' passport is meant to be handed into the Passport Office, but I put it somewhere and completely forgot about it
- Proceeded to misplace the 2nd, newer passport just last year (:rolleyes: I know I've been ridiculously careless, but I've vowed to never let this happen again)

Anyway, I am going away this Summer and after searching the house high and low, I found a passport. Only thing is, I'm not 100% sure which one it actually is. Going by the dates, I think it may be the first, reported lost passport.

Either way, its out of date the end of this month, so I'll need to get a new one as I cant find the other anywhere (which is potentially in date). So what I'd like to know is, would it be possible to hand in this old passport and avoid the first-time applicant/lost process? Or would this just cause problems? Furthermore, if I have to go through the lost process, I'd like to hand in this old passport now so I don't have a history of losing them. Or would it just be better not to?

Lastly, is there any way I can check my passport history or validate my passport number online or something? As theres a slim chance that this could be the newer one; its difficult to tell as theres the same set of photos in both, similar dates etc.

Thanks to anyone who made it this far

mikedragon32

You'll need to fess up. Your old passport would have been cancelled when you got the new one.

They may or may not issue you a new ten year passport. They might only give you a three year one.

dominiquecruz

Yeah I thought as much. Should I just say it to the Gardai down at the station when I'm gettin the new forms stamped or do you think I'll need to go into the passport office to sort it out?

mikedragon32

Say it to the Gardaí, they may be able to advise. Should be something on the passport office website too...

undo

Turning in that old passport will certainly work in your favor. The penalty of shorter validity is imposed on those who lose their passport for several reasons. One reason certainly is that you have proven to be careless and thus cannot be trusted with an important document valid 10 years. But another reason is that there is always the suspicion you may have sold your passport on the black market and are now getting a fresh one. Returning a long lost passport rules out that second possibility. So it will help with your future applications if you can show that your old passport was just lost around the house and has now resurfaced rather than being sold on the black market.

Dodge

You'll have to report the 2nd one as missing either way. Guards will just fill in new loss form, and stamp photos etc. Telling them that you found your old one won't make a difference to them

When you send in new application, you could mention it, but honestly i don't think it'd help a bit. Their system will show a previous cancelled passport, and will now record another one.

dominiquecruz

Thanks for the advice guys. I went into the passport office this morning; sure enough, I have to do a statement of loss for my most recent passport, but I also have to submit my old one with my new application so it can be recorded as retrieved. Hopefully, this will enhance my chances for a 10-year. Note to self: passport in a secure place at all times.