Your child's first Irish passport

This page explains how to apply for your child’s first Irish passport.

Your child must be an Irish citizen to apply for an Irish passport. If you are not sure whether your child qualifies as an Irish citizen, you can read our pages on citizenship.

A child must have their own passport and cannot be included on their parent’s passport. A child’s passport is valid for 5 years.

In most cases, the Passport Service must get consent from all the child’s guardians before it can issue a child’s passport.

You can apply for your child’s first Irish passport:

• Online, through Passport Online
• By post, through Post Passport

You can use the Passport Online service to apply for your child's first Irish passport from anywhere in the world.

You need access to a printer for your first passport application. You must also be able to pay by credit or debit card. You need to send original documents to the Passport Service after you finish your online application.

Digital photographs

You must include a digital photo as part of your application. You can do this in 3 ways:

• Have your child’s photo taken at a participating photo provider, who will give you a unique code to include with your online application.
• Have your child’s photo taken at a photo provider, and ask them to email it to you, or save the photo on a USB device, or other storage methods. You must have access to the photo when completing your online application.
• Take a photo at home using a digital camera or smartphone. The photo must capture your child’s image from the waist upwards.

You can read more about the photo requirements for the Passport Online service.

Proving your child’s identity

• When your online application is completed, you will be asked to print a Child Passport Identity and Consent Form
• If you are applying in Ireland, this form must be signed by an "appropriate witness". A member of the Garda Síochána must complete the Identity Verification Form for a child's first passport. Remember to bring your child’s birth certificate with you to the Garda station.
• If you are applying outside Ireland, the form can be witnessed by a person in one of the occupations listed on the Passport Online site, or on the verification form itself.
• The Passport Service must get consent from all the child’s guardians before it can issue a child’s passport. See "Guardian Consent" below for how guardian consent works.
• Your child's other guardian (if there is one) can ask another appropriate witness to witness their consent separately if they wish.
• If your child is 7 years old or above, your child will sign the form in the presence of the witness (you can sign the form on your child’s behalf for younger children).
• The guardian who completes the online application and declaration must accompany the child when their identity is being verified. This guardian will be identified as ‘Guardian A’ on the Child Passport Identity and Consent Form. You (Guardian A) MUST use the same witness to verify the child’s identity and witness your consent. If you are applying in Ireland, this must be a member of the Garda Síochána for a child's first passport. The second guardian ‘Guardian B’ can use the same witness, or a different witness, to give their consent.

Sending documents

Once the application is completed, you will be asked to print an Application Cover Page. This will list the documents you have to send to the Passport Service. The Passport Service recommends that you use a secure method of postage for sending your documents. A postage label is generated as part of your application (if you are applying in Ireland).

If you are applying outside Ireland, you should use a reliable postal service. In some countries, the local postal services are not reliable. In this case, you can submit your documents to your nearest Irish Embassy.

You can read more about the documents you may need to send below.

You can read Frequently Asked Questions about the extended Passport Online service.

Post Passport is a service provided by An Post.

If your child is an Irish citizen living in Ireland, you should fill in form APS 1. You will find this form at Garda stations and any Post Office. It is not currently possible to download the paper application form.

Photographs

You must include 4 recent identical photographs of your child with your application. Two of these photographs should be signed on the back by the person who witnesses the application. The witness should also write the form number shown in Section 9 of the application form on the two signed photographs. If your child is 7 years old or above, your child must sign the form in the presence of the witness.

More detailed information on passport photographs is available.

Post Passport abroad

A number of UK Post Office branches in Northern Ireland provide the Post Passport service (pdf).

The following post offices in the UK also offer Post Passport:

• Cardiff Post Office, 83 - 85 Queen Street, Cardiff, CF10 2NX
• Glasgow Post Office, 140 West Nile Street, Glasgow, G1 2RD
• Liverpool Post Office, 1 – 3 South John Street, Liverpool, L1 8BN

If you are applying abroad, suitable categories of witnesses are listed on the application form. The witness should enter their daytime contact number on the application form as this may need to be verified by the Passport Service or the relevant embassy or consulate.

Applying in person to the Passport Office for your child’s first passport is not recommended. Nearly all Irish citizens, including children, can apply for their first passport online.

The counter service in the Passport Office is designed to accommodate people who need to renew their passports urgently, and don’t have enough time to apply in other ways. It should not be used for first time applications. These applications are too complex to process at the public counter because your right to Irish citizenship must be established and your documents must be verified. You should not book any travel until you have received your child’s passport as these applications cannot be expedited.

If you are living in a country where Post Passport or Passport Online are not available, you can apply for an Irish passport in person or using ordinary or registered post to your nearest Irish embassy or consulate. You use form APS 2.

You cannot download the application form. You can get the application form from the Irish embassy or consulate in the country where you live (or the closest embassy or consulate).

The Passport Service must get consent from all the child’s guardians (unless the child is married) before it can issue a child’s passport.

Joint guardians

If you are or were married to the other parent of your child, and the other parent is still alive, both parents or guardians must give guardian consent.

If you are a joint guardian of the child, both parents or guardians must give guardian consent.

If you are applying online, after you complete the online form you must print out the Child Passport Identity and Consent Form which the guardians must sign.

If you are applying or renewing by post or in person both guardians must sign the parental consent section (Section 7) of the passport application form.

If you are not in touch with your child's other parent/guardian, or if that parent/guardian refuses to give consent, you can apply to the District Court for a court order, which will allow the Passport Service to issue the passport without that consent.

Sole guardians

The situation is different if you are the sole guardian of a child. This can happen if you are a single mother and the father has not arranged to become a joint guardian. It also happens if the other parent/guardian is deceased. If you are the sole guardian you will have to provide an affidavit (AFF 1) stating that you are the sole guardian. This should be completed in the presence of a solicitor or Commissioner for Oaths.

If the other parent/guardian is deceased, you will also have to provide a death certificate. If a death certificate is not yet available as the coroner has to hold an inquest into the death, you should provide an Interim Certificate of the Fact of Death which is issued by the coroner.

Babies born in the UK: If the birth was jointly registered by both parents in Northern Ireland or Great Britain, the father may have joint guardianship even if the parents never married.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has more information on parental consent on its website. These tables summarise guardian consent rules and the different documents that you must provide with your application.

For first time applications, the fees are:

You must submit the following with your completed application form when you are applying for a child’s passport for the first time:

• Four passport photographs of the child, 2 of which have been signed by a witness as per instructions provided with the application form (or a digital photo if applying online)
• Child's birth certificate
• Appropriate fee
• PPS number (if the child is resident in Ireland)
• Additional documentation to confirm the child’s Irish citizenship. The documents you need to provide depend on how the child became an Irish citizen – see below.

Additional documentation

The additional documentation you need to send depends on how your child obtained their Irish citizenship. Original documents cannot be returned while the application is being processed. Any documents submitted will be returned within 20 working days of the passport issue. You should not book any travel until you have all travel documents. You can get details from the DFA website.

My child was born in Ireland before 1 January 2005

Your child is an Irish citizen by birth. You only need to show that the child was born in Ireland to prove citizenship. You should send your child's birth certificate.

I am an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen, and my child was born in Ireland after 1 January 2005.

You will have to show that either parent has lived in Ireland for 3 out of the 4 years before your child was born. You should send:

• Declaration Form A (pdf) if you are the parent of the child
• Declaration Form B (pdf) if you are acting in loco parentis (because the parents are unable to make the declaration)

To prove your residency, either parent can send:

• Tax records, including P60, P45 and P35L certificates
• Records of any social welfare benefits or a statement from the Department of Social Protection confirming that the parent received benefits and giving exact dates
• Other documents to fill any gaps in periods of residency, such as, pay slips, utility bills, an official rent/lease agreement, a rent book or bank statements showing local transactions

I am an Irish citizen and my child was born in Ireland after 1 January 2005.

You should include:

• Your child’s civil birth certificate
• Your original Irish birth certificate or a photocopy of your passport (Proof of parent’s citizenship). Do not send your original Irish passport.

You must have been an Irish citizen at the time of the child’s birth. For example, if you are an Irish citizen by naturalisation, you must have been naturalised before your child’s birth.

I am a citizen of a country outside the EEA/Switzerland and my child was born in Ireland.

You will have to show that you (or the child's other parent) have lived legally in Ireland for 3 out of the 4 years before your child was born. Time spent waiting for an International Protection decision or living in Ireland on a student visa does not count towards the residence requirements. You should send the following documents for either parent of the child:

• Original passport with permission stamps to reside in Ireland and/or your Irish Residence Permit Card (IRP)
• Letters from the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) granting you permission to remain in the State. Not every residence permission is granted by letter, so this will depend on the type of residency you have in Ireland.
• A written summary statement. The summary should be signed, and include:

1. Your passport number
2. Name of passport holder
3. Description of the stamp(s) (for example, Stamp 4)
4. Dates of the permission

I have refugee status and my child was born in Ireland.

• Your original travel document
• The letter from the Department of Justice confirming that you have been granted refugee status
• Your Irish Residence Permit Card

I have indefinite leave to remain in the UK and lived in Northern Ireland for at least three years before the birth of my child

You must apply for a certificate of nationality from the Immigration Service Delivery. To apply, complete Declaration Form C (or (Declaration Form D if you are acting in loco parentis)

I am an Irish citizen by birth and my child was born abroad.

• Your child is an Irish citizen by birth because you (or the child’s other parent) was born on the island of Ireland. The child is Irish regardless of where they were born. You should send:
• Your child's full birth certificate,
• Your full birth certificate
• Your marriage certificate (if applicable)

I am an Irish citizen, but I was not born in Ireland. My child was born abroad.

You must register the child’s birth on the Foreign Births Register before you can apply for an Irish passport for your child. Once this has been completed you should send:

• The child's certificate of entry in the Foreign Births Register, which was issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs
• The child's birth certificate

I am an Irish citizen by naturalisation, and my child was born abroad

You must register the child’s birth on the Foreign Births Register before you can apply for an Irish passport for your child. Once this has been completed you should send:

• The child's certificate of entry in the Foreign Births Register, which was issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs
• The child's birth certificate.

If you are an Irish citizen and your child was born abroad and adopted under Irish law, the certificate of entry in the Irish Adoption Authority's Register of Intercountry Adoptions as well as your passport or birth certificate is required. (If you are living abroad and adopted your child abroad, you should apply for the adoption to be entered in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions.)

I am an Irish citizen and I adopted my child abroad

You should include:

• Your certificate of entry in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions
• Your birth certificate or Irish passport
• Your child’s adoption certificate

Online applications are completed in approximately 20 working days for first-time applicants.

If you are applying by post, you should allow at least 8 weeks for your application to be processed (not including postage times). This period may be extended at certain times of the year due to increased application numbers. First-time postal applications from the UK take at least 8 weeks.

You can check the Passport Service website for current processing times.

You can order birth, marriage, civil partnership and adoption certificates online from the HSE.

You can order a certificate of entry in the Register of Intercountry Adoptions from the Adoption Authority.

Information on how to get a foreign birth registration certificate is available on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Treoir provides information on passports for children of unmarried parents on its website.

You can contact the Passport Service by phone or webchat.