Written answers
Thursday, 25 January 2024
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Passport Services
Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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153. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade why there is a difference in duration in the validity of a card passport and a book passport; why both cannot run for a full ten years, which would reduce the necessity of renewal applications and the workload of the Passport Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3593/24]
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The passport card was launched in October 2015 and offers Irish citizens the convenience of travel to 31 countries including the EU/EEA member states, Great Britain and Switzerland, with a credit card sized travel document.
While passport books and cards are often applied for at the same time, they are in fact separate identification documents issued with different passport numbers. Passport cards are valid for a maximum of 5 years, compared to the usual 10-year validity period for an adult passport book. The industry standard to ensure durability and security of the card recommends that the validity should be set to no more than 5 years.
The Passport Card is fully compliant with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations concerning requirements for passports in card format. Over 718,000 passport cards have been issued since 2015 and users have found it to be a highly convenient travel document.
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