[News] The National Embarrassment That Is . . . HM Passport Office.

[KZNSeagull]

My MP has posted this re the passport issues:

the overwhelming majority of issues we’ve seen is with:
1.) paper applications which were not checked at the Post Office
2.) when people need them very quickly for specific things
3.) paper applications where there are minor errors so need to be re-submitted

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

That, squire, is because you look like a pissed off drug dealer


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Fair point. I'll get my coat.

And my gun.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

You are indeed misunderstanding what I said. Loads of people held back renewing their passports that were about to expire because of lockdown. You could still renew but these same people are now complaining of delaysa because all of them want to get a renewal at the same time. Shock horror ..... there's now delays. Moral ? Start your application process six months before your current passport expires - hardly rocket science.

Whenever I looked online to renew my passport it said do not do so unless in an emergency, so I guess myself and many others followed the guidelines and are now being punished for it. I posted my applications over 10 weeks ago, at the time we were advised that their was a 10 week turnaround, it took them 17 days to receive/acknowledge our applications. We applied 3 months before our holiday date which should be more than adequate, alas there is a very definite moving of the goal posts going on. After 6 weeks I was told I could pay for the Express Service but we had to wait until week 8. I called again at the start of week 8 to be told it’s now 14 days before departure, at this point I can pay upwards of a further £150 which doesn’t guarantee that they will arrive in time. We’ve done nothing wrong, we’ve followed the guidelines and are staring down the barrel of paying over £300 for two passports to not arrive within a 3 month window and losing our holiday entirely through no fault of our own.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

In theory yes, that's the Prestige service, and would be my preferred method, but just try getting an appointment, none are available.

I did after many days trying finally manage to obtain one in Belfast, but l'm not going there!

[emoji1303] other than “As Glenn Murray” I’m out of ideas

Good luck with it though


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[portlock seagull]

I am in the position, along with millions of others, who need to renew their passport urgently. I would like to travel to Kefalonia before the season ends there at the end of September, and to the States in the autumn too.

Click and Collect which l would normally use via my local Post Office will now entail a wait of 10/12 weeks! Shambolic in the extreme.

Their Prestige service, which would entail a personal application to a Passport Office and where l could collect the new passport on the same day needs to be booked online via their website, easy enough you might say, but try getting an appointment! I thought at the beginning of the week that l had found one, having refreshed the page repeatedly. However my excitement turned to instant dismay when l realised that the appointment was in . . . Belfast.

So basically l am left with a straightforward choice, either bite the bullet and take my completed application form along to the Post Office, and hope that a new passport drops through my letter box early and in time to take my holiday, or take a chance and just hope beyond hope that an appointment becomes available where l can obtain said passport on te same day. However how long would l have to wait for that to happen? It's Catch 22 as l see it.

Has anyone else got, or had, the same dilemma?

You are going to hate me, but I renewed my passport couple weeks ago and couldn’t speak highly enough of the office. After hearing all the bad stories we decided better do now for Sept. No dramas. No fuss. Followed process and without paying premium a new one arrived within 10 days. Was kept alerted by emails all the way through from receipt to despatch.

11/10 for the Passport Office in my experience!!

 

[usernamed]

You are going to hate me, but I renewed my passport couple weeks ago and couldn’t speak highly enough of the office. After hearing all the bad stories we decided better do now for Sept. No dramas. No fuss. Followed process and without paying premium a new one arrived within 10ish seconds. Was kept alerted by emails all the way through from receipt to despatch.

11/10 for the Passport Office in my experience!!

You are Priti Patel and I claim my £10.

10 seconds, eh?

 

[portlock seagull]

You are Priti Patel and I claim my £10.

10 seconds, eh?

Damn auto completion. See above correction. Honestly, ten days. Same happened to us both re: driving licences earlier this year. Less than 10 days, worker like clockwork despite all the horror stories and negative press. I guess these days 1 bad experience and everyone piles in creating a situation that’s not actually true for everyone. Or even remotely so.

 

[Superphil]

I renewed my passport last month, had my brand new one back to me within 10 days.

The wife had much the same experience

 

[Gazwag]

Next door neighbours have tried to renew their sons for a holiday in August, they did the renewal in April and have now been told the old passport is lost and they have to start again, another holiday ruined by the government

 

[Springal]

Next door neighbours have tried to renew their sons for a holiday in August, they did the renewal in April and have now been told the old passport is lost and they have to start again, another holiday ruined by the government

Surprised they didn’t help with a fast track. Earlier this year I received my new passport but it was damaged (front cover wasn’t stuck to the pages.) I told them, had a named contact at one of their offices contact me and take ownership to resolve it- admittedly had to fill in a paper-form which went directly to the person, have photos done etc (which they reimbursed) - but received a replacement very quickly

 

[Yoda]

Start your application process six months before your current passport expires - hardly rocket science.

But then don't moan when you cannot travel to the EU when your passport is more than 10 years old but still has a few months left to expire.

 

[Gazwag]

Surprised they didn’t help with a fast track. Earlier this year I received my new passport but it was damaged (front cover wasn’t stuck to the pages.) I told them, had a named contact at one of their offices contact me and take ownership to resolve it- admittedly had to fill in a paper-form which went directly to the person, have photos done etc (which they reimbursed) - but received a replacement very quickly

They have had so much trouble speaking to anybody, call rings and then cuts off, got through to a call centre who said they would put them through immediately and when they did it cuts off. Its been a nightmare for them

 

[Westdene Seagull]

But then don't moan when you cannot travel to the EU when your passport is more than 10 years old but still has a few months left to expire.

Not entirely sure the point you're trying to make ?

 

[Berty23]

I am coming towards the end of a very stressful few months trying to get a first passport for one of my twin daughters. Applied for both on 31st March. One of them turned up a few weeks later. The other was stuck on the system with no update since mid April. I have been chasing for almost 2 months asking for an update. Spoken to lots of agency staff who have no power and offer contradictory advice. To cut a very long and boring story short. The computer had rejected the photo but it did not tell me or get a human to confirm it their end. They moved to a new system and the application was basically just sitting on the old system and would never have been picked up.

I eventually managed to speak to a passport office rather than agency staff and they could see the application and accessed the photo and said it looked fine to them (it was the same background as her twin sister’s which was accepted). They asked if I was travelling soon and could prove it. I told them I was waiting to book until passport in hand (as per the guidance) only to be told that meant they could not do anything despite this all being their fault. This was Monday.

On Tuesday I got to Newport (2 hours away from me) and joined the queue. I eventually spoke to someone and was promised a call to go back later that day. It got to 3 and no call so I went back. As I was waiting for a manager to help me (all others were out of ideas) I took an incredible phone call. One of the promised “call backs” from weeks ago happened and they told me to hurry it up I could send a hard copy of the photo to the specialist office. They then started to read out the address. It was the building I was sitting on the wall in front of. I was told to drive home and send the photo I had in my hand to the building I was sitting outside. I could have cried.

Eventually I saw someone who was full of apologies and promised I would be upgraded and sorted out. I got a call today to say it has been approved and will be posted so I can book the holiday next week.

Almost 16 weeks and it would have just sat there because of a computer error. Amazing.

 

[Bodian]

Whenever I looked online to renew my passport it said do not do so unless in an emergency, so I guess myself and many others followed the guidelines and are now being punished for it. I posted my applications over 10 weeks ago, at the time we were advised that their was a 10 week turnaround, it took them 17 days to receive/acknowledge our applications. We applied 3 months before our holiday date which should be more than adequate, alas there is a very definite moving of the goal posts going on. After 6 weeks I was told I could pay for the Express Service but we had to wait until week 8. I called again at the start of week 8 to be told it’s now 14 days before departure, at this point I can pay upwards of a further £150 which doesn’t guarantee that they will arrive in time. We’ve done nothing wrong, we’ve followed the guidelines and are staring down the barrel of paying over £300 for two passports to not arrive within a 3 month window and losing our holiday entirely through no fault of our own.

That's where you went wrong. As Johnson has so blatantly proved, guidelines (and even laws) are not there to be followed - but ignored! Good luckthough.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Last "used" a passport back in 2013 for a charity trip to Uganda/Kenya/South Africa and it expired in Feb 2020

Does anyone know how long a passport can be expired before a renewal is not an option and it becomes a new application?
e.g. I'm now >2 years past expiry so do I have to apply for a new passport or does a renewal option still exists?

 

[dazzer6666]

Last "used" a passport back in 2013 for a charity trip to Uganda/Kenya/South Africa and it expired in Feb 2020

Does anyone know how long a passport can be expired before a renewal is not an option and it becomes a new application?
e.g. I'm now >2 years past expiry so do I have to apply for a new passport or does a renewal option still exists?

10 years

https://www.ukabroad.net/british-passport-renewal-requirements/#renewals

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I am getting tempted to fly to Belfast if l can get an appointment at the Passport Office there, the odd appointment comes up on line, whereas l can't find any at all at mainland Passport Offices in the UK.

Does anyone know if l have to show a valid passport at any stage enroute? I know Northern Ireland is part of the UK but often it's necessary to carry one for security checks etc.

 

[The_Viper]

As a British Citizen about to have my US wife apply to move to the UK with me, let me assure you it is this entire area of the government that is utterly ****ed. What used to be a maximum 12 week process but quite often much less, is now going to take us SIX MONTHS to get approval on. Thousands of us are suffering the same fate, children separated from parents for indeterminate amounts of time, people possibly going homeless, jobless, it's a disaster.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I am getting tempted to fly to Belfast if l can get an appointment at the Passport Office there, the odd appointment comes up on line, whereas l can't find any at all at mainland Passport Offices in the UK.

Does anyone know if l have to show a valid passport at any stage enroute? I know Northern Ireland is part of the UK but often it's necessary to carry one for security checks etc.

Technically no - as NI is in the common travel area - but they advise taking a passport and you should have some form of photo I'd so the plane company can validate who you are. I used to travel regularly to NI with just my driving licence but that was a long while ago. Guidance below.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ireland/entry-requirements