Since 1 October 2004, all children, regardless of age, must obtain an individual passport in their own name.

In line with best international practice, the Passport Office ceased the practice of including children on their parents' passports since 1 October 2004. This is intended to increase the security of international travel for children and reduce the risk of kidnapping and child trafficking.

Parents’ passports issued before 1 October on which children have been included remain valid and do not need to be replaced.

Children who are included on a parent's passport issued before 1 October 2004, may continue to travel to most countries up to their 16th birthday along with that parent providing the passport is still valid. There are, however, some exceptions including the Czech Republic which requires persons aged 15 and over to carry their own passport and Estonia which requires all persons aged 7 and over to carry their own passport. Additionally, since 26 October 2004, all persons, irrespective of age, require an individual passport for entry into the United States .

If in doubt, parents should check with the Embassy or Consulate of the country concerned before they travel.

The current passport fee structure is as follows -
Up to age 3        3 year passport       Fee £14
Aged 3 to 17      5 year passport       Fee £23

For the issue of a passport to a child living abroad (first time or renewal), the application form APS2 must be submitted.

The application form includes a section for parental consent.
- Long Form Birth Certificate (in all cases) This is most important. The long form birth certificate must be submitted on all occasions for which a passport is applied for a person under 18 years of age, ie first occasion as well as subsequent renewals. If the birth certificate is not included the application will be rejected.

- Children born in Ireland on or after 1 January 2005 only – Following the entry into force of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 additional documentation is required from parents of children born in Ireland on or after 1 January 2005.

In addition to the Birth certificate of the child the Passport Office also requires the Birth Certificate or Passport of an Irish citizen parent.

In the case of non Irish citizen parents the Passport Office requires their passport  and in some cases an additional Declaration Form from the same parent. These requirements are fully set out in the Section ‘New Citizenship Changes'  section of this website and also on the passport application form. These requirements only apply to parents of children born on or after 1 January 2005.

• Previous Passport (if applicable )
• 2 Passport size photographs
• Relevant Fee

Please note – Signature - If the child is able to sign his/her signature on the application form they should do so in the signature box on the left hand side of Section 8 of the application form. If the child is unable to sign, this signature box should be left blank. In such cases, a parent/guardian should sign on the white strip at Section 8 in the presence of the Garda (or other person) who witnesses the application.

The Passport Office recommends that parents obtain individual passports for their children well in advance of any expected travel abroad.

Note that for security reasons applications for children will only be processed within normal working hours.