Almost 13,000 Irish passports recalled over tech error

People who have been recently issued an Irish passport have been advised that the passport may not be fully compliant due to a technical issue.

A total of 12,904 passports issued between 23 December 2025 and 6 January may not be fully compliant with Border Control regulations or eGates, due to a problem with a software update, according to the Passport Office.

Anyone who received a passport within the affected period does not need to reapply for a new one, but will be re-issued with one.

The office said that a new passport will be issued "within a maximum of ten working days".

The Department of Foreign Affairs has said that border authorities worldwide have been notified about the issue.

In a statement, it said that the "Passport Service sincerely regrets this issue and apologises to affected citizens for the inconvenience caused".

People who recently received a passport are advised to check the date of issue.

The Passport Service has said that it has emailed affected customers.

Those impacted have been advised to return their passport book and/or card to:

Passport Return - Customer Care
Passport Service
42-47 Lower Mount St
Dublin 2 - D02 TN83
Ireland

The Passport Office has said that anyone travelling imminently should contact their Customer Services Team on passportreturn@dfa.ie or 016131780 (+35316131780 from overseas).