Irish citizens may now renew their passports online wherever they are in the world, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has announced.
The online passport application service will work for both passport books and cards, and is available to adult citizens over 18 who already have a passport.
Mr Flanagan said it was “one of the most significant innovations in customer service that this department has delivered over the past 15 years”.
“This new and exciting development brings considerable benefits for Irish citizens in terms of turnaround times, convenience and security,” he said.
The service has a target turnaround time of 10 working days plus postage wherever in the world the applicant is based.
Applicants will have the choice of taking their own photos or they may attend one of 150 digital ‘Photo Me’ booths located in shopping centres or other venues throughout the State.
The Minister said the streamlined service will allow applicants the convenience of submitting information, including photographs, digitally, and will avoid the need for witnessing of forms and the printing of photographs.
A new fee structure has been introduced for the online services. The fees charged will be the same as for Passport Express with a reduction of €10 for applicants who apply for a passport book and passport card at the same time.
Mr Flanagan said all children’s passports would now be valid for five years at a cost of €30, and may be applied for using Passport Express. The three-year passport for infants will no longer be available
Full details of the service are available at dfa.ie/passportonline