Covid Certificate N Ireland.

[sandyRoe]

I applied for a covid certificate on the 9th August and told them I'd a flight booked for the 25th. Nearly a month has passed and I still haven't recieved it yet. I'm starting to think I may have made some mistake filling the application form.
Would it be wise to apply again using a different e-mail address?

[Hopkirk]

Don't you just get what you need using the NHS mobile phone app?

[sandyRoe]

Hopkirk,
N Ireland has its own way of working.
I think there may be just one civil servant sitting in Stormont using a quill and parchment to process all the applications.

[Hopkirk]

Oh, I see. Good luck.

[elliemay1]

Can you email them and ask for an update?

[bookbinder]

Be careful. It might not be your e-mail address that's causing the problem. Wait until the quill-pen users send a runner with a cleft stick before you do anything.

[sandyRoe]

Elliemay1,
I haven't tried
e-mailing them but I will.

[Mamyalynne]

They are experiencing delays, info here.

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/services/coronavirus-covid-19-covid-certificate-ni-residents

[sandyRoe]

The entire population of N Ireland is less than 2 million. I can't imagine a quarter of that number looking for the covid certificate to enable them to go abroad on holiday.
Whatever the number it looks like there's just a handful of scriviners dealing with our applications.
It's particularly galling because if you don't have the certificate you need to get a PCR test within 72 hours of travel which costs £100.

[elliemay1]

Let us know if you get a reply when you email, sandy

[bookbinder]

sandyRoe, this is the way things are in our modern, electronic, hi-fi, up-to-the-minute world. I waited 9 weeks for my driving licence to be renewed, and I firmly believe that the same quill-pen scriveners as yours were active in the DVLA. Of course, the covid has proven to be a good excuse for not doing a proper job, and so has the lack of HGV drivers. This way of working will, no doubt, be enshrined in our customs and ways now for æons to come. I wish you well in your attempt to get a certificate.

[sandyRoe]

I did e-mail them and they replied fairly promptly that they had no record of my application.
I went through the process again and now I've got the certificate.
For some reason it only lasts for 3 months.