CALLS have been made for the Irish passport office to accept Northern electoral ID cards as a valid form of ID when applying for a passport.

Current rules for people living in the North when applying for an Irish passport stipulate that you must provide the folliowing:

  • An identity verification form.
  • A full original civil birth certificate (version that includes the name(s) of the parent(s)).
  • An original Civil marriage or Civil Partnership certificate (if applying for a passport in your married name).
  • Proof of address such as government correspondence such as letter from the NHS, Social Welfare or HM Revenue and Customs. Original utility bills, or bank statements will also be considered.
  • Proof of name from government correspondence such as letter from the NHS, Social Welfare or HM Revenue and Customs. Original utility bills and bank statements will also be considered.
  • One document as proof of name and one document as proof of address. It cannot be the same document.
  • Photographic identification. You can submit an original government issued photographic identification. This can be an original passport from another country or a certified copy of your driver’s licence.

Despite these recommendations the Irish passport office do not currently accept electoral ID cards which are used in the North for voting. The office does however accept electoral ID cards which are used in the Republic for voting.

Sinn Féin councillor Caoimhín McCann said this needed to be changed and called on the Irish Passport Office to accept Electoral ID cards for applications from the North and has launched a petition to draw attention to the issue.

Councillor McCann said: "The Irish Passport Office should accept photographic Electoral ID for passport applications from the North.

“I have written to the Tánaiste making case for this form of ID to be accepted when applying for an Irish passport.  

“Given that this is the only ID that many people hold, not accepting these cards creates an unnecessary barrier for people in the north wishing to access their right to an Irish passport.

"I would urge people to make the case to the Tánaiste to accept these cards by getting behind the online petition calling for a change to this policy.” 

The petition to accept Northern electoral ID cards can be found here.