Close to 13,000 Irish Passports Are Being Recalled Due to ‘Technical Glitch’
Nearly 13,000 Irish passports that were recently issued are being recalled after a failure to meet international travel regulations, according to Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Irish citizens utilizing a passport issued between December 23 and January 6 may face issues at border checkpoints due to a “technical glitch related to a software upgrade,” the department stated on its website. A total of 12,904 passports have been impacted, a spokesperson for the government confirmed on Saturday. The department did not specify what rendered the recalled passports non-compliant, but The Irish Times noted that they lacked the letters “IRL.” “The Passport Service deeply regrets this situation and extends its apologies to the affected individuals for the disruption caused,” the department stated. “The Passport Service has informed global border authorities about this matter.” Officials encouraged those impacted to request a reissuance of their passports as soon as possible to prevent complications while traveling. Once the flawed passports are returned to the Passport Service, a new passport will be provided within 10 working days, the foreign affairs department indicated. It wasn’t immediately clear how many American citizens with Irish passports might be affected. The government spokesperson mentioned that the Passport Service does not maintain records of passport applicants who possess citizenship from other nations. Americans not born in Ireland can become Irish citizens via the Foreign Births Register if one of their grandparents was born in Ireland or if a parent held Irish citizenship at the time of their birth. In 2021, nearly one in 10 residents in the U.S. claimed Irish heritage, and approximately 120,000 individuals reported being born in Ireland, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. There were over 11,600 foreign birth registrations recorded from the United States in 2024, marking a 50 percent rise from the prior year, as reported by RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster. Once an individual is documented in the Foreign Births Register, they are regarded as an Irish citizen and can apply for an Irish passport.
Published: 2026-01-10 22:11:00
source: www.nytimes.com
