The Irish Passport Office has announced that nearly 13,000 recently issued passports are being replaced due to a technical fault that may prevent them from working at international border controls.
The issue affects 12,904 passport books and cards issued between December 23rd 2025, and January 6th 2026. According to the Passport Office, the problem was caused by a software update and means affected documents may not be fully compliant with border regulations or electronic gates (eGates).
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has already notified border authorities worldwide of the situation to mitigate travel disruptions.
Affected citizens do not need to submit a new application. The Passport Service confirmed it has emailed those impacted and will issue replacement documents within a maximum of 10 working days.
“The Passport Service regrets this issue and apologises to affected citizens for the inconvenience caused,” the agency said in a statement.
Holders of passports issued during the specified window are advised to check their date of issue. Those affected are asked to return their passport book or card to: Passport Return – Customer Care, Passport Service, 42–47 Lower Mount St, Dublin 2, D02 TN83, Ireland.
Travelers with imminent departure dates have been advised to contact the Customer Services Team immediately at passportreturn@dfa.ie or +353 01 613 1780.
Notably, passport recalls are considered a significant issue which the State has shied away from doing lightly in the past.
In 2010, eight forged Irish passports were found to have been used by Israeli spies in the assassinated of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai.
At the time, the Government briefly considered a mass recall of Irish passports, but ultimately dismissed this plan, concluding that it would required the recall of 2.5 million passports, costing tens of millions of euros, and would lead to significant administration issues for the passport office, which lacked the manpower to process that many replacements.
Notably, British, French and Australian passports were also used in that Israeli operation, and none of those countries opted to recall passports over the scandal at the time.