Travellers delayed by using passports reported as lost

By Paul O’Brien Political Correspondent

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

A GROWING number of Irish people are being stopped at international airports and other border controls because they attempt to use passports which have been reported lost or stolen.

The incidents are increasing in frequency because the Department of Foreign Affairs supplies Interpol, the international policing agency, with a list of lost and stolen Irish passports on a daily basis.

The aim of providing daily lists is to prevent criminals from using fraudulent passports.

The missing passports are placed on a watch list circulated to police forces worldwide.

But an unintended consequence is that a number of innocent citizens are being delayed because they attempt to reuse passports which they had reported lost or stolen but subsequently found.

When completing the statement of loss as part of their new passport application, applicants undertake not to travel on a missing passport if subsequently found.

However, some individuals either unknowingly or mistakenly use their previously reported lost or stolen passports, according to the department.

It believes these unintentional errors may account for the increasing number of citizens who have been delayed at border controls because of the lost or stolen status of their passports.

This year, 121 Irish people have been stopped for this reason, an increase of 40% on the 87 stopped last year. The delays can result in missed flights and other disruptions to travel plans.

"There has been an increase in these incidents which is due in part to heightened security at international ports and airports and an increase in the number of border stations worldwide that are electronically reading passports," Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin said yesterday.

"It is important for people to note that even if they find a passport that has been previously reported as missing, they should not attempt to re-use it," he added.

Figures from the department show that 28,602 passports have been reported lost or mislaid so far this year with another 4,612 reported stolen.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, December 16, 2009