Urgent travel warning as thousands of Irish passports recalled

Thousands of Irish passports are being recalled due to a printing error, which means the documents may not comply with international travel standards.

Passports which were applied for and processed by the Passport Office in December 2025 and January 2026 are now having to be recalled due to a printing error, which may cause issues for prospective travellers at eboarding gates and border control.

The Passport Service at the Department of Foreign Affairs says it is aware of an issue affecting passports issued between 23 December 2025 and 6 January 2026 and has emailed affected customers.

A spokesperson told Extra.ie: ‘The Passport Service is aware of an issue affecting passports issued between 23 December 2025 and 6 January 2026.

‘Due to a technical issue with a software update, passports issued between 23 December 2025 and 6 January 2026 inclusive are not fully compliant with international travel standards and there is a possibility that some passport holders may have an issue at eGates and Border Control when travelling.’

It appears that due to a technical issue with a software update, passports issued between those dates mentioned are not fully compliant with international travel standards, and there is a possibility that some passport holders may have an issue trying to get through departure gates and Border Control when travelling.

2

A printing error on recently-issued Irish passports may cause issues for prospective travellers at eboarding gates and border control. (iStock)

The Passport Service says it sincerely regrets this issue and apologises to affected citizens for the inconvenience caused.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has notified border authorities worldwide through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) as well as Irish Border Management.

Earlier this week the Department of Foreign Affairs said it intends to spend €13.6million to redesign Irish passports and says that it’s necessary to strengthen security and combat fraud. It said the new documents would have enhanced security features to make counterfeiting and identity switching even more difficult.

But for now, if you applied for a new passport between December 23 2025, and January 6 2026, you may have an issue travelling with the document as it does not fully comply with standards set out internationally.

The Passport Service has contacted affected customers by email to inform them of the issue and will be reissuing passports to them in the coming days and weeks.

Affected customers can find more information at https://www.ireland.ie/en/passport-returns/.

*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.