Obtaining new Irish passport - how long?

I have a British passport and want to replace it with an Irish one. I am resident and working in Ireland for over 10 years and my parents are Irish born.

I have some travel plans this year and need to be sure I am not without a passport.

It should be a formality for me to get an Irish passport, but does anybody know how long this process is likely to take?

I know there are backlogs but I am assuming that there would be high volume of certain application types causing this backlog, whereas mine should be straight forward.

Also, during the application process, will I have to surrender my British passport and be without one for a period of time?

AndroidMan said:

It should be a formality for me to get an Irish passport, but does anybody know how long this process is likely to take?

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It's a first-time application for an adult for which advice is that it takes 20 days once documents are in order, see here. You'll need:

What documents do I need?​

You should submit the following documentation with your application:

• Your full civil birth certificate
• Your civil marriage or civil partnership certificate (if you have changed your surname)
• Proof of address
• Proof of name
• Copy of your Public Services Card or original government issued photo identification document
• If resident in Northern Ireland or abroad, you must supply either an original passport, national ID card, social security card; or a certified copy of your driving licence

You may be required to send additional documents as well as those listed above depending on your particular situation.

Additional documents​

If you were born abroad to a parent born in Ireland or Northern Ireland - you should also include:

• Your Irish-born parent’s birth certificate

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In your shoes and with travel plans I would apply for a British passport renewal in parallel in case the Irish application takes longer than expected.

You can hold both passports simultaneously.

My husband had to send off his British passport when he applied for a first time Irish passport, but it was returned to him fairly fast, no more than two or three weeks. He was a naturalised Irish citizen if that makes any difference

As @NoRegretsCoyote said, you can hold both passports. It's quite useful having two as long as they don't run out at the same time.

Thanks both.
@mct1 - what is the value in having both UK and Irish passports? Its additional costs for a start and travelling between UK and Ireland is not an issue. Not sure what I would gain in retaining a valid UK passport.

AndroidMan said:

what is the value in having both UK and Irish passports?

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If you lose one you can travel on the other.

If you're travelling to far-flung places you're more likely to get consular assistance as a UK citizen as there are many more embassies.

I don't think you need both as a default, but I wouldn't risk being without a passport at all for the sake of £82.50.

I prefer to have two passports, but it depends how much you travel. There can be different visa and time restraints for UK or Irish passport holders.

For example an Irish passport holder can stay in New Zealand for up to 3months. For a UK passport holder it is 6 months.

UK passport holders can visit Vietnam for up to 15 days without a visa. Irish passport holders need to apply for a Visa.

Never give up a passport. Far easier to keep them than have to reapply from scratch in the future.