Anyone who has had to renew their passport knows only too well what an almighty pain in the arse the process can be.
The most cumbersome part is having to find the time to queue in person at the Passport Office or the post office to have your application verified, or, if you're living overseas, having to deal with local embassies to get the job done.
This caused most of us who have gone through the ordeal to complain that there had to be an easier way of doing things in 2016.
Well, very soon there will be.
The Irish Times has confirmed that from early next year, you will be able to apply for a passport renewal entirely online.
AT LAST!
The move towards digital processing of applications is due in large part
to the recent surge in applications for passports from people living outside of Ireland. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Joe McHugh
said earlier this month that applications for passports were up 11% on last year.
https://twitter.com/IrelandEmbGB/status/747340215484719104
The online renewal process comes as part of an €18.6m allocation given to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Budget 2016. Some €4m is being made available to the Passport Office, which will fund the move to online passport applications. The service is expected to be up and running in the first quarter of 2017.
FYI, if you're living in the UK and think you might be eligible for an Irish passport,
here's our guide to how you can qualify and apply.
