If you need a first-time passport, particularly if you’re traveling soon and need to make sure your passport is processed quickly, it can be tricky to know how to get someone to witness your passport photos, to avoid the dreaded application return.
Passport photos
With an Irish passport, you need four passport photos. There are very specific rules for these, so make sure you check these before you have the photos taken. There are more tips here
Two of these photos will need to be witnessed as a true likeness of yourself by someone either who knows you or who can verify you are the person in the photo, and who fits the required criteria. Be prepared to take additional ID if you’re asking someone who doesn’t know you to sign your passport photos.
Who can sign an Irish passport application?
There are a number of people in different professions who can sign your photos. These are:
- Members of the police
- Medical doctor
- A member of the clergy
- Lawyer/Solicitor
- School principal/vice principal
- Bank manager/assistant bank manager
- Justice of the Peace
- Elected public representative
- Notary public/ commissioner for oaths
- Peace commissioner
- Accountant
- Teacher
- Lecturer
- Vet
- Dentist
- Nurse
- Speech Therapist
- Physiotherapist
- Pharmacist
- Post Master
- Chartered Engineer
- Social Worker
- Credit Union manager
If you don’t know any people in these professions personally then you can pay a solicitor to verify your photos, although this may be costly.
Signing your passport form
You must also sign section eight of the form in the presence of your witness. Be advised that everyone over seven needs to sign their own passport form.
What else the witness must do
The witness also needs to complete section nine of the form. Their telephone number must be a landline number, the passport office will not accept mobile numbers.
They must insert the number of the form in section nine onto the back of the photos they have witnessed.
They then need to sign and stamp the back of those two photos. If they have no stamp they must sign and date the back of the passport photos, add the eight-digit form number from section nine and then sign and date section nine of the application form.
If they don’t have a stamp but they do have a business card, this can be included as an alternative, but it’s probably best to get them to complete the signature as well, to ensure you don’t have any delays.
Read More: Who Can Countersign Passport Application Photo?
