Parents and witnesses signing forms on different dates and uncontactable witnesses are the two biggest hold-ups in securing a child’s passport, it has emerged.
A TD revealed the news following a summer of hell when many families missed holidays because new passports didn’t arrive on time due to mistakes unwittingly made on application forms
Cavan-Monaghan TD Niamh Smyth said Oireachtas members are inundated with hundreds of complaints, queries and requests for help from the public every year in relation to passport applications, reports Irish Mirror.
Read more: Call for Irish passport office in Belfast gains support in Republic
But she said the general feedback from the Passport Office is they aren’t issued in time because certain documents are not adequate.
She stated: “The common issue I am seeing is on the consent form for a child’s first time passport. The main issue here is that the parents are signing it on one date and the Garda or relevant witness is signing it on a different date.
“This will not be accepted by the Passport Office and will be returned to you.
“This can delay your application substantially as you need to complete a second consent form and get it witnessed again and submit it to the Passport Office. They need to be on the same date.
“The second issue is that your chosen witness needs to be accessible on the phone to verify the consent form when your application is being checked.
“Unfortunately during the summer months I saw principals of schools who witnessed forms being uncontactable as they are not in the school when the Passport Office rang. These are issues that need highlighting.”.
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