UK Government Gateway registration - Irish passport chip won't read

D

Dr Strangelove

Registered User
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2,098
I tried to sign up for the UK government gateway account. To verify identity basically you get to a point where an app takes a photo of your passport and then you hold up your passport to your smartphone so that it can read the chip in the passport to match it. No matter how many times and how many angles I tried it I couldn't get my phone to read the chip. It's a chip-enabled Irish passport from 2016.

Has anyone else had this problem?

There used to be a different way to register if you had a UK address but I don't see this anymore (I have relatives in London). Is this an option? Or is there another way?
 
Check a few basics first

Did you enable NFC?
Do you have a cover on yr phone - removing it often helps.

Would not recommend using an address you are not living at.
 
DannyBoyD said:
Did you enable NFC?
Click to expand...
Yes but now that you mention it there may be some restrictions as it’s a work device. I can still top up a Leap card and use Apple Pay so something is working.

DannyBoyD said:
Do you have a cover on yr phone - removing it often helps.
Click to expand...
Removed it, yes.

DannyBoyD said:
Would not recommend using an address you are not living at.
Click to expand...
I’ve a reliable relative who will forward post or take pics of it.
 
Its not the post question, its the contradiction between saying you are permanently abroad for voluntary NICs & giving a UK address.
 
Give it a day or two, restart phone, install any updates due, reboot laptop, clear cookies, wave your passport in the air (ok I made that up!)

A few folks have reported issues, but got there in the end.
 
I've tried this again with two different iphones and it still fails at the point where it reads the chip on my passport book. I removed covers on both phones and the best I can do is on one phone where it says reading 2% and then stalls. On the other phone it just won't read anything at all.

Is it potentially an issue with my passport? It's from 2015 and perhaps the chip readability fails over time.

Is there any way around this?


I know how many voluntary NICs I've made I just want to check exactly which years they were allocated against.
 
Your passport would be due for renewal this year anyway, so maybe get a new one & try that?
 
I had this issue with my passport issued in 2016 and it only worked I turned the passport back to front! Worth a try if you haven’t already.
 
Thanks folks.

I tried the passport book at every possible angle on two iPhones .

I tried to get it to read the chip on my Irish passport card (issued 2021) and it immediately rejected it. This suggests the chip was read.

Leads me to think it’s an issue on the old passport book from 2015.
 
DannyBoyD said:
I believe you have to use actual passport rather than passport card.
Click to expand...
A passports card is a passport

Just to clarify I did try to take a picture of the passport card but it was rejected. Passport book was accepted.

I only tested the passport card at the next step to see if the NFC on my iPhone was working. Given that it rejected the passport card, I think NFC reader is not the issue but passport book is.
 
I have been trying to confirm my identity the last week with my irish passport on gov.uk id check app.
every time i get to the stage to scan my biometric chip on passport, it says
"Connection Lost Automatically restarting ..." and scanning never begins.
My internet connection is fine, passport was renewed with last 2 weeks.
Have tried for about 4 of 5 days now at different times and on several different areas of passport.

I went on the HMRC site webchat for support and after answering a bunch of questions
i told them i had my passport renewed in the last 2 weeks.

Then the bot told me ..........

"Unfortunately if you have updated your documents within the last 3 months we will not be able to prove your identity. You'll need to contact HMRC directly for other ways. Would you like me to send you their contact information?"

So not sure what to do now. Will probably have to phone and try to get to speak to a human being.

Has anyone else had anyting similar like this recently ?
 
I tried to register for the Government ID today - the app read my passport OK but it would not verify my identity - it just said I'd failed. I tried 2 out of 5 attempts and am afraid to try again in case I run out of goes! Has anyone else experienced this?

My work history is from the 80s and my name includes apostrophes and another unusual (Scandinavian) letter that might not have appeared on my UK record all those years ago- perhaps this is the problem but I am not sure what the solution is... does anyone have any advice?
 
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