Passport delays: ‘It has been nothing but a terrible experience’

An Indian couple living in Ireland have been unable to get home to a sick family member because they have been waiting half a year for word on their son's Irish passport application.

Keshav Bhagwati and Pooja Sawant’s son, Nevaan, was born last September but since handing over their own passports as part of the application process they say they have been unable to get any clear information on progress.

In the meantime, Mr Bhagwati has been unable to return home as planned to support his mother who, he explained, had survived cancer and undergone a recent bone marrow transplant in Mumbai.

The Passport Service explained that while the average turnaround time for first-time passport applications has recently been reduced from 40 to 35 days, in cases where parents are both non-European Economic Area residents, it can take longer.

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However, Mr Bhagwati explained that, anticipating his mother’s surgery, they had applied early last October, giving them what they thought would be ample lead-in time. They still cannot get any information on when the document might come through, he said, although they recently had their own passports returned.

No communication

“The thing that’s most frustrating for us is that there is no mode of communication or channel to reach out to,” he said.

“It [was] also concerning that both of our passports [had] been with the Passport Office for over five months. In case something happened with my mother.”

The Passport Office has been attempting to cope with large volumes of applications generally this year following lulls during Covid-19 and associated travel restrictions.

Earlier this week, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said numbers had gone "off the charts" in the last three months – there were 137,000 applications to the Passport Service in January, more than 150,000 in February and over 100,000 in March.

Officials rejects the term “backlog”, stating simply that as applications are processed new ones come in.

However, for Mr Bhagwati and Ms Sawant, who are permanent residents for over four years and plan to apply for citizenship, the delays and lack of information continue to be a source of stress.

“It has been nothing but a terrible experience for me as a new mum and it’s not something I’d want anyone else to go through,” said Ms Sawant.

The couple have no family in Ireland, meaning it would be difficult for one to return to India, leaving the other alone with their infant son. This week, however, with no sign of a breakthrough, Mr Bhagwati feels he has no option but to travel alone to see his mother who remains in recovery.

“There is no way to reach out to anyone [in the Passport Service]. Any question you ask anyone you just get the same answer: it’s in process,” Ms Sawant explained.

“I don’t know when I can go home. I don’t know when my child will see his grandparents and I don’t know when I will see my parents.”

Tracker system

A spokeswoman for the Passport Service said in cases of children whose parents are not Irish citizens, “the process can sometimes take longer due to the need to ensure that all of the required supporting documentation to prove the child’s entitlement to Irish citizenship is submitted and correct.

“Due to the high level of complexity with these particular applications, further documentation is often required which can add to the processing time.”

The service also says its Passport Tracker system, which has experienced technical problems, is currently working. This normally allows people access an approximate issue date.

“While it has not been possible to immediately update all affected applications on the tracker, this will happen automatically as these applications reach the next stage of the process,” the spokeswoman explained.

Mr Bhagwati and Ms Sawant say the tracker system has not worked for them and the only repeated information they can get through online engagement is that their son’s application remains in process.