Irish passport renewal reminder service to begin next year

Plans for the new service were revealed just weeks after the unveiling of Ireland's next-generation passports which will include world-first security features. Cillian Sherlock/PA

The passport office is set to roll out a reminder service to let people know when they need to renew their passports.

The service will come into place next year for people applying for both first-time passports and those seeking renewals. 

However, due to data protection rules, the change will only apply to passports issued from 2027 and not passports due to expire in the coming years.

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee confirmed the news in response to a parliamentary question from her Fine Gael colleague Naoise Ó Muirí.

There is currently no system in place to notify people that their passport or is due to expire, with travellers expected to monitor the documents themselves.

Ms McEntee said the passport service “takes every opportunity to remind citizens to check their passport validity” and runs “extensive public communications campaign to encourage citizens to apply, through passport online, in plenty of time for their passport prior to travel”.

“Along with other upgrades to the passport service’s systems, in 2027 citizens applying for a passport for the first time or renewing their passport will be able to opt in to receive electronic communications, including passport expiry reminder notices,” she said.

“This service will be opt-in for several reasons. 

"My department has a statutory obligation from a data protection perspective to only use personal data, which may include home addresses or email addresses, where it is satisfied the data is accurate and up-to-date and would, therefore, be precluded from automatically using addresses used for the dispatch of passports 10 years ago.

“Unlike car tax or travel insurance, adult passports expire every 10 years and individuals’ circumstances or contact details may have changed in the interim.”

New passport design

The move comes just weeks after the Government unveiled a newly designed passport and passport card, which contains security features and techniques used for the first time in the world.

It spent nearly €8m on new security techniques, printing machines, and designs, with the data page and blank visa pages completely overhauled.

The hand-drawn art includes a red fox, hare, puffin, pine martin, badger, blue tit, otter, red squirrel, and robin, amongst others.

The pages all light up under the UV light and contain additional security features. 

The Irish wolfhound appears inside the cover page and is printed in tactile raised ink.

• Louise Burne, Political Correspondent