Today, January 16, has long been known as Blue Monday - a day that was earmarked as the most depressing of the year as many people return to work and routine after the first run back since Christmas.
To make the day a little brighter, many people will be looking to book a break away so that they can have something nice to look forward to.
If you haven’t been away in a while, because of Covid, work, or the ongoing cost of living crisis, you should check your passport immediately to ensure it’s in date.
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Each year, officials warn those heading away for the first time in a few years of a lesser-known rule that could see your new passport application take much longer to be processed.
Simple adult and child renewals have the quickest turnaround and despite the constant high volume of applications, there have been no major delays reported.
However, passengers are warned that if they haven’t travelled in a long time - and therefore have not looked at or used their passport - they need to check how long ago it expired.
You can renew online from anywhere in the world, as long as your previous Irish passport is no more than 5 years out of date.
If it expired longer than five years ago, you will be treated as a first-time applicant and will see your wait time jump from 10 to 35 working days.
You should also check the condition of your official travel document before heading to the airport.
According to citizens’ information, if your passport is in any way damaged, you can be turned away at the airport - this includes water damage, severe scratching on the identity card page, faded pages, loose binding, tearing on the cover, and so on.
Anything that can hinder identifying the passport as legitimate and belonging to the holder is considered enough damage to be turned away by airport staff.
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