When do I get my passport back?

I applied for Irish citizenship on 18th February 2019. I had to send in my current British passport as part of the application process and the website said I would get it back in about 6 weeks. Still no sign of getting it back and I need it soon for travel. I emailed them last week and got no response. The phone line is only open for a couple of hours on Tues and Thurs mornings when I am at work and can't call them. Is this normal? What would I do if I needed to travel in an emergency? Has anyone who applied around the same time as me got their passport back yet? Thanks for any advice.

It is not the norm normally, but it is becoming the norm now due to Brexit.

Their website states that their phone lines are down for the whole of this month, but someone on this forum stated that they were able to get through the call. This is the fastest way of getting through them.

As calling is not an option, if you need your passport urgently, you should write them a letter, preferably using registered mail.

littlerr wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:53 pm

It is not the norm normally, but it is becoming the norm now due to Brexit.

Their website states that their phone lines are down for the whole of this month, but someone on this forum stated that they were able to get through the call. This is the fastest way of getting through them.

As calling is not an option, if you need your passport urgently, you should write them a letter, preferably using registered mail.

I was on their website and it doesn't say the lines are down. But I just called them several times this morning (Thursday) and it was always busy or just disconnected. Is this for all of April?

Wish I could just stop answering work calls for a month

niccim wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:36 pm

littlerr wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:53 pm

It is not the norm normally, but it is becoming the norm now due to Brexit.

Their website states that their phone lines are down for the whole of this month, but someone on this forum stated that they were able to get through the call. This is the fastest way of getting through them.

As calling is not an option, if you need your passport urgently, you should write them a letter, preferably using registered mail.

I was on their website and it doesn't say the lines are down. But I just called them several times this morning (Thursday) and it was always busy or just disconnected. Is this for all of April?

Wish I could just stop answering work calls for a month

Their phone lines are back now. But it is expected that you would need to keep calling to get through unfortunately.
In two occasions, I kept calling for 2.5 hours and couldn't get through.

littlerr wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 25, 2019 3:07 pm

niccim wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 25, 2019 2:36 pm

littlerr wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:53 pm

It is not the norm normally, but it is becoming the norm now due to Brexit.

Their website states that their phone lines are down for the whole of this month, but someone on this forum stated that they were able to get through the call. This is the fastest way of getting through them.

As calling is not an option, if you need your passport urgently, you should write them a letter, preferably using registered mail.

I was on their website and it doesn't say the lines are down. But I just called them several times this morning (Thursday) and it was always busy or just disconnected. Is this for all of April?

Wish I could just stop answering work calls for a month

Their phone lines are back now. But it is expected that you would need to keep calling to get through unfortunately.
In two occasions, I kept calling for 2.5 hours and couldn't get through.

Yeah, I literally tried to call them 45 times in this morning and never got through. Usually the line was busy, but when it wasn't busy, it was like they just hung up on me. No connection, just ringing until the line disconnected again