How to apply for a Passport

The current processing time is currently 4-5 weeks.

If you are an Irish citizen residing in Jamaica or the Bahamas and wish to apply for or renew your Irish passport you should carefully complete each of the following steps:

Obtain a an original Passport Application Form (Form APS2E). Learn how you obtain your Form APS2E here

Fully complete your Passport Application. When doing this, please carefully follow these Application Guidelines

Obtain four(4) identical photos to accompany your Application. Please ensure they comply with these Photo Guidelines.

Compile all documentation which must accompany your Application. Consult these Documentation Guidelines along with Notes accompanying the Application Form. If you require an original Birth Certificate or Marriage Certificate to accompany your Passport Application, please contact the relevant agencies noted below

Please have both your Passport Application and your Photos witnessed and stamped by an authorised person. Please refer to the Witnessing Guidelines below.

Determine the Fee applicable to your Passport Application. Consult the current Fee Schedule below.

This Fee may be paid by either Canadian bank draft or credit card. In the case of a bank draft it should be made payable to Embassy of Ireland in Canadian Dollars. Euro not accepted. Where using a credit card: please include the name on card, card number, and expiry date. Please do not include the three or four digit security code. Debit cards are not accepted.

To enable the Embassy to return your new passport and original documents to you, please include a prepaid self-addressed courier envelope with your application or submit an additional $60 CAD fee to cover this (paid by either a Canadian bank draft or a credit card).

Send your Application package (comprising of your completed, signed, dated and witnessed Passport Application Form, your current Irish passport (in the case of a renewal), your witnessed photos, all required supporting documentation and payment details) to:

Passport Officer, Embassy of Ireland, Suite 1105, 130 Albert St., Ottawa, ON, K1P 5G4, CANADA
If you submit a complete and correct Application package, you will receive your new Irish passport within approximately 4-5 weeks. If, on the other hand, your Application package is incorrect or incomplete in anyy way, it will be sent to you by return post, with a request that you attend to any errors or omissions.

The Consulate of Ireland advises that you should not make or confirm any travel arrangements until you are in receipt of a valid passport.

Please do not contact the Consulate of Ireland or the Irish Embassy in Ottawa to enquire about a passport application that has been submitted within the current processing time, unless in case of emergency.

Important Note - Processing of Passport Applications

The Embassy of Ireland in Canada together with the Passport Office in Ireland will make every effort to process your Passport Application in an expeditious manner.

In practice a significant factor contributing to delays in processing passport applications has been the high number of incorrectly or incompletely filled out application forms, the number of applications without essential supporting documentation, the number with incorrectly certified identity details or with unwitnessed or invalidly witnessed parental consents (in the case of minors), the large number of incorrect payment details and other errors and omissions.

Each of these errors required time-consuming follow-up work by our passport office team’s limited resources. We regret that this follow-up work in turn caused long processing delays for applicants, including for applicants who had correctly submitted their applications.

In light of this, the Embassy will not accept any incorrectly or incompletely submitted passport applications. All applications are pre-screened upon receipt. Any applications that are seen to be incorrect or incomplete will be sent back to the applicant by return post, indicating the error or omission and asking the applicant to resubmit the form correctly.

Before filling out an application form for an Irish passport, please take some time to read carefully what is required in completing and submitting the application.

Documentation
How to get your passport application witnessed
Fee Schedule
Birth and Marriage Certificates

Documentation

You will need to include:

A completed and witnessed APS2E application form.
4 Passport Photographs (2 signed and stamped by an approved witness) and with the Form Number entered on the back. Please take care when submitting photos that the ink does not transfer to other photographs
Previous passport - if you have had one
Original Full Civil Birth Certificate giving details of parents. This must be included for all under 18s and for adults if you have lost your passport or if applying for your first passport or if you wish to have your birth certificate name recorded on the observation page of your new passport
Civil Marriage Certificate (if you are changing your name)
Additional documents will be required for first and/or lost passport applications. See below for information.

If you are applying for an Irish passport for the first time or have lost your passport you need to include the following:

Your original Full Civil Long Form Birth Certificate giving details of parents and your original civil marriage certificate (if you've changed your surname after marriage)
If these documents are not in English or in Irish, you must also submit a certified English version of the originals, translated by a registered translator.
The original of a passport from another country and another form of photographic identification, such as your driving licence, your residence permit or your work or student ID
An original document showing proof of your name, such as a pay slip, college registration correspondence or social welfare receipts
An original document showing proof of your address, such as a utility bill, bank statement or official correspondence from a public or private sector organisation
If you have lost your current Irish passport, please provide, where available, a photocopy of the lost passport or a photocopy of a previous Irish passport.

**Please bear in mind, it is not possible to expedite any application to replace a lost/stolen passport**

Further documents are require in certain cases, please select from the option(s) below for information if:

You were born outside Ireland to a parent born on the island of Ireland
Neither of your parents were born in Ireland but you can claim Irish Citizenship by descent
You are a naturalised Irish citizen
You were born abroad and adopted under Irish Law
You are a Post-Nuptial Citizen

If you were born outside Ireland to a parent born on the island of Ireland, you will also need:

Your original Full Civil Birth Certificate giving details of parents and your original civil marriage certificate (if you've changed your surname)
The original Full Civil Birth Certificate and civil marriage certificate (if applicable) of your Irish-born parent
If the birth/marriage certificates are not in English, you must submit a certified English version of the original, translated by a registered translator.

If neither you nor your parents were born in Ireland but you can claim Irish Citizenship by descent, you will also need:

You original foreign birth registration certificate. Please see the citizenship section if you need to apply for this certificate.

If you are a naturalised Irish Citizen, you will also need:

Your original naturalisation certificate. Please see the citizenship section for more information on this certificate
Your original Full Civil Birth Certificate giving details of parents and your original civil marriage certificate (if you've changed your surname)
If the birth/marriage certificate is not in English, you must also submit certified English versions of the originals, translated by a registered translator.

Born Abroad and adopted under Irish Law

Your certificate of entry by the Adoption Authority of Ireland in the Register of Foreign Adoptions
Your original civil marriage certificate (if you've changed your surname)
A document that proves your adoptive parent was an Irish citizen at the time of your adoption, such as a long form birth certificate or an Irish passport

Post-Nuptial Citizen

Your original post-nuptial certificate
Your original Full Civil Birth Certificate giving details of parents and your original civil marriage certificate (if you've changed your surname)

Please be aware that applicants may be requested to provide further information and/or attend for interview at the Embassy.

How to get your passport application witnessed

Witnessing your Application: Sections 6, 7, 8 & 9

Section 6: If your passport has been lost or stolen:

Complete Section 6 of the application form, explaining how your previous passport was lost or stolen
Have it witnessed and stamped by the person witnessing Section 9 of your application
Report the loss to the police and include a police report of the loss
See “Documentation” for additional documents to submit with your application
Do not, under any circumstances, try to travel on a passport that has been reported as lost or stolen.

Section 7: Consent of parents or guardians

The consent of all guardians is required for all children under 18 years of age, unless the child is married. Guardianship should not be confused with custody which involves the day to day caring of the child.

Parents/guardians must:

Complete applicant’s name
Fill in own name, address and phone number
Sign in the presence of a listed witness (same as the Section 9 witness list)

The witness must:

Complete, sign, date and stamp Section 7, including a work landline telephone number - mobile telephone numbers are not acceptable
Sign each column separately if they witness both parents/guardians' signatures

If the witness does not have an official seal/stamp, please submit their business card/ a copy of their membership card for their profession’s governing body/ other confirmation from their profession’s governing body that they are a practising member of their profession.

Sections 8 and 9: Identification

Your application form is only valid for six months from the date your witness signs Section 9.

A practicing member of one of the professions listed below can witness your passport application form as long as they are satisfied as to your identify and that your four photos are a true likeness of you. Make sure you bring photo identification with you.

Honorary Consul of Ireland
Police officer
Member of clergy
Medical doctor or dentist
Lawyer
Bank manager/assistant bank manager
Elected public representative
Notary public/commissioner for oaths
Justice of the Peace
School principal/vice principal
Accountant
President of the Irish-Jamaican Society

You must:

Sign Section 8 of the form in the presence of the witness. Everyone aged seven and over must sign their own form. If an applicant under seven is unable to sign, a parent/guardian should sign their own name in the right hand box.

The witness must:

Complete, sign and stamp Section 9 of the form, including a work landline phone number - mobile phone numbers will not be accepted
Insert the form number from Section 9 on the back of two of the four photos
Sign and stamp the back of those two photos

If one parent is deceased

The living parent fills in and signs the relevant part of Section 7 in the presence of a suitable witness.

The original death certificate of the deceased parent together with a Sole Guardian Affidavit form (AFF1) must be submitted. This affidavit should be completed in the presence of a solicitor/commissioner for oaths confirming that the living parent is the sole legal guardian of the child. Print an AFF1 form.

Only mother named on child’s birth certificate

The mother of the child must fill in and sign the relevant part of Section 7 of the passport application form in the presence of a suitable witness.

She must also complete a sworn affidavit form (AFF1) in the presence of a solicitor/commissioner for oaths, confirming her as the sole legal guardian. Print an AFF1 form.

One parent is unwilling or unavailable to give their consent.

If one parent is unwilling or unavailable to give their consent for their child’s passport to be issued, a court order directing the Passport Service to dispense with that parent’s consent will be required to proceed with the child’s application.

Fee Schedule

3YR PP Age 0-3 Years - $37.50 CAD

5 YR PP Age 3-18 years - $52.50 CAD

10 YR PP Age 18 and over - $130 CAD

10 YR Large PP (66 Pages) Age 18 and over - $170 CAD

Birth and Marriage Certificates

Where to apply for certificates of birth or marriage

Original civil long form Certified Registration certificates of birth and marriage, as applicable, must be submitted with your application in all cases – photocopies or laminates are not accepted, nor are baptismal certificates or Church marriage certificates.

Original documents are those issued by the relevant civil registrar authorities for the country of your birth/ marriage. If you do not have your original certificates you can apply for new Certified Registration certificates from these locations in Ireland, Jamaica and the Bahamas:

Ireland: long form certificate

General Register Office,
Joyce House,
8-11 Lombard Street East,
Dublin 2.
Tel:+353 1 635 40 00
Website: www.groireland.ie

Northern Ireland: long form certificate

General Register Office for Northern Ireland,
Oxford House,
49-55 Chichester Street,
Belfast,
BT1 4HL.
Tel: 0300 200 7890
(028 9151 3101 if calling from outside Northern Ireland)
Website: www.nidirect.gov.uk

Jamaica

Certified Registration of Birth/Marriage Certificate
Registrar General’s Department
Twickenham Park
St. Catherine
Jamaica
Phone: 876-749-0550
www.rgd.gov.jm

Bahamas

Certified Registration of Birth/Marriage Certificate

Registrar Generals Department Shirley House
#50 Shirley Street
P. O. Box N-532
Nassau, N.P., The Bahamas
registrargeneral@bahamas.gov.bs
Phone: (242) - 397-9143-58
www.bahamas.gov.bs/rgd

If the birth or marriage took place outside of the countries listed above, please contact the relevant civil registrar authorities for that country.