Passport renewal online tips?

J

jan

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I have to renew my passport online.. so I see I have to upload a photo digitally.. any tips on how best to do this as I envisage problems in that regard.. TIA
 
If you have trouble with acceptable background... drape a neutral sheet over back of a door.
 
I spent two miserable hours trying to take a photo of my and of my son which the online passport system would accept. But it simply would not. I finally went to my local FUJIFILM shop in Dublin and they took the photo and checked the online passport system would accept it before I left the shop and provided me with paper and e-copies. Well worth €10 a photo and just took 5 min. They have shops in Dublin and Kildare but I am sure many others provide the same service.
 
I just did my application online...surprised how straightforward it was.Re the photo, it was just a matter of having a plain background and taking note of the guidelines...
 
If I'm reading it correctly I think the OP's problem is how to upload the photo which already has been taken. I had the the same problem and got my son to sort it for me. 2 minutes, job done.
Sorry I can't remember what he did.
 
Credit where credit is due...I posted my online application on Monday and was pleasantly surprised to receive the passport in the letterbox today!
 
My 20 yr old daughter was faffing about in the kitchen taking her own passport photo last Sunday. Despite offers of help, suggesting different plain walls she was insistent she could do it herself. Passport arrived Wednesday, no issues. So a plain background, eyes open, head straight, and hair off the face and you are good to go.
 
You can check that the photo is acceptable before you upload it. When my son had to get his passport renewed, we just went to Fuji and they did it. They check it and you get a code to enter into the passport application.

For adults, it takes about 2 days to get your passport. It's a brilliant system. For children, it can take months.
 
The website is crap. Lodged application for child’s passport in January. During March and April, after hearing nothing from the Passport Office (other than the usual message that “your application is being processed” on the tracking area of their website) I had to sit on the phone over several weeks to finally get through and identify the issue - there was an issue with the Garda witness signature. Which I only leaned of after contacting them. Had to reprint off Consent Form and re-execute with more witnessing etc. and resubmit.

That was six weeks ago. Now the issue is with the photo. The dfa website cut off the top portion of the top of her head when I resubmitted the uploaded pic and “there needs to be space between the borders of the photo” and her head. Clicked the resubmission link and after several error messages (you need to be precise with spaces between surnames, apostrophes and maiden names etc, otherwise you get an error message), and eventually got to re-upload pic. The same issue arises, in that there is no space between the top of her head and the border of the photo. Tried to opt for another photo but there is no “back” button on the site to allow you to do that. So I clicked the back button on the screen which scraps the whole process and I had to apply for another resubmission link. Which will take 5 days to come to me.

I’m going to the chemist to get an old style hard original photo of the child and send it by post.

Good job I’m not going anywhere abroad in the next while!
 
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Steven Barrett said:
You can check that the photo is acceptable before you upload it. When my son had to get his passport renewed, we just went to Fuji and they did it. They check it and you get a code to enter into the passport application.

For adults, it takes about 2 days to get your passport. It's a brilliant system. For children, it can take months.
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The website deemed the photo I submitted as acceptable. The person in the passport office deemed it unacceptable when processing the application. Farce.
 
Johnno75 said:
The website deemed the photo I submitted as acceptable. The person in the passport office deemed it unacceptable when processing the application. Farce.
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The website deems it meets the minimum criteria for submission, but does not assess it on all criteria detailed in the 'Pose & Visuals' instructions.
 
Leo said:
The website deems it meets the minimum criteria for submission, but does not assess it on all criteria detailed in the 'Pose & Visuals' instructions.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. But it’s a pity this wasn’t brought to my attention earlier ie when they spotted the other issue concerning the Garda witnessing of signatures. (And this was only alerted to me when I chased them and managed to get through to them on the phone). It’s like they spot one issue, reject it and when remedied, go on to identify any other issues with the application. It’s clear they’re not doing a “once and done” review. Which only adds more work and delay to the application process on all sides. Little wonder there are people experiencing significant delays in the Passport Office.
 
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Johnno75 said:
The website is crap. Lodged application for child’s passport in January. During March and April, after hearing nothing from the Passport Office (other than the usual message that “your application is being processed” on the tracking area of their website) I had to sit on the phone over several weeks to finally get through and identify the issue - there was an issue with the Garda witness signature. Which I only leaned of after contacting them. Had to reprint off Consent Form and re-execute with more witnessing etc. and resubmit.

That was six weeks ago. Now the issue is with the photo. The dfa website cut off the top portion of the top of her head when I resubmitted the uploaded pic and “there needs to be space between the borders of the photo” and her head. Clicked the resubmission link and after several error messages (you need to be precise with spaces between surnames, apostrophes and maiden names etc, otherwise you get an error message), and eventually got to re-upload pic. The same issue arises, in that there is no space between the top of her head and the border of the photo. Tried to opt for another photo but there is no “back” button on the site to allow you to do that. So I clicked the back button on the screen which scraps the whole process and I had to apply for another resubmission link. Which will take 5 days to come to me.

I’m going to the chemist to get an old style hard original photo of the child and send it by post.

Good job I’m not going anywhere abroad in the next while!
Click to expand...
sorry to hear that... I had success on the 3rd go taking the pic myself with my phone and submitting it online..
 
Johnno75 said:
It’s clear they’re not doing a “once and done” review. Which only adds more work and delay to the application process on all sides.
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Yeah, perhaps in the pressure to meet an average response time they're being told to stop processing as soon as they hit an issue.
 
jan said:
sorry to hear that... I had success on the 3rd go taking the pic myself with my phone and submitting it online..
Click to expand...
That's why going to somewhere like a Fuji centre takes all of the hassle out. They have the white background, correct lighting and the equipment to get it right first time. I haven't heard of anyone with issues that had their photo done "professionally".


Johnno75 said:
Fair enough. But it’s a pity this wasn’t brought to my attention earlier ie when they spotted the other issue concerning the Garda witnessing of signatures. (And this was only alerted to me when I chased them and managed to get through to them on the phone). It’s like they spot one issue, reject it and when remedied, go on to identify any other issues with the application. It’s clear they’re not doing a “once and done” review. Which only adds more work and delay to the application process on all sides. Little wonder there are people experiencing significant delays in the Passport Office.
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As someone who spends a large part of my working life filling out forms, having them completed properly the first time saves a lot of time. I've lost count of the amount of times that people decide that they just don't need to fill out part of the form. Anti money laundering documentation is the worst. If it isn't filled out properly, the process can't be started until everything is in order.
 
Leo said:
Yeah, perhaps in the pressure to meet an average response time they're being told to stop processing as soon as they hit an issue.
Click to expand...
100%. This isn't just in the passport office. If everything isn't in order, don't even start processing the application. They are too busy to be wasting time on applications that can't be completed. They are put aside and someone else has to get back to the applicant.
 
Steven Barrett said:
If everything isn't in order, don't even start processing the application
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What a great and efficient system! Customer-focused and user friendly!

(Passport holders are, after all, charged a fee for their passport, so a more customer-friendly approach is warranted perhaps?)

In the end, because of this slack approach, the Passport Office just ends up adding more layers of administration, and all just to spare themselves a small bit of work up front. People (applicants and witnesses) will make mistakes in form-filling. It’s part of the process. Punitive delays shouldn’t form part of that process.
 
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