recently renewed their uk passport***timeframes needed***

[Melbelle]

Hi has anyone recently submitted and received a British passport renewal?

 

i submitted mine 17th March, received 21st March. They have now had it one month and it has not been 'assessed' yet. Slight concern is I fly sydney to uk on 6th May (2weeks). I asked them to note on my file my travel dates but they said that's all they can do.

 

i am freaking out a little now-any experience stories would be appreciated!

 

thanks

[bell123321]

Hi

 

Do not have any personal experience but just had a look at the UK government website and it says

 

"Your application will take at least 4 weeks from when your declaration form is received by Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK.Applications may take longer if:

 

 

• HM Passport Office need to ask you for more information or documents
  
• the photographs you send are rejected
  

 

Don’t book any travel until you have a valid passport. If you need to travel more urgently, apply for an Emergency Travel Document"

 

So fingers crossed it should come soon if there is no problems with the information or photographs. Otherwise could you apply for an emergency travel document?

 

Hope it arrives soon for you!

 

P.S it may be taking longer due to Easter holidays and more applications around this time of year.

[kellyv]

Hi. I recently renewed my two childrens passports and they were back within 3 weeks. They didn't text me to say they were processing the application as stated on the form so I was a little concerned they hadn't started processing them but they arrived no problems. They probably are taking a little longer with the Easter hols though. Fingers crossed they arrive soon. You could phone to check.

[Melbelle]

Hi Ladies,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Just thought I would provide an update on my situation in case other people are going through a similar thing.

 

NB as of January 2014 - all overseas passport applications are now being processed in the UK

 

I completed the on-line application for passport renewal 17/03/14 - then printed and posted documents

Passport application received in Liverpool, UK 21/03/14

HRH website advises a minimum processing time of 3-4 weeks

I have written a letter with my application advising of my travel plans

I phoned the passport office every day once the 4 weeks were reached - eventually spoke to a very helpful man and he said he would send an email requesting processing ASAP

My passport was printed 25/04/14

Passport received in Sydney 5/05/14

 

Old and new passports are sent separately so I wont have my old passport with me when i fly tomorrow so am now trying to contact DIAC to link my new passport to my 457 visa!

 

All good though - happy I am not having to fork out $180 for an emergency travel document!

[James Cheverton]

Hi Ladies,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Just thought I would provide an update on my situation in case other people are going through a similar thing.

 

NB as of January 2014 - all overseas passport applications are now being processed in the UK

 

I completed the on-line application for passport renewal 17/03/14 - then printed and posted documents

Passport application received in Liverpool, UK 21/03/14

HRH website advises a minimum processing time of 3-4 weeks

I have written a letter with my application advising of my travel plans

I phoned the passport office every day once the 4 weeks were reached - eventually spoke to a very helpful man and he said he would send an email requesting processing ASAP

My passport was printed 25/04/14

Passport received in Sydney 5/05/14

 

Old and new passports are sent separately so I wont have my old passport with me when i fly tomorrow so am now trying to contact DIAC to link my new passport to my 457 visa!

 

All good though - happy I am not having to fork out $180 for an emergency travel document!

 

Hi Melbelle,

 

I am in a similar situation but would love any tips you have for when you were on the phone to them. They are very short with me and I got no where with knowing how much longer.

 

I applied for a first time UK passport from Australia. It has been just over 6 weeks and still hasn't been examined.

 

Thanks

[ozkathy]

Hi all - I am just replying with a general warning. My partner sent his passport for renewal on late March, via International Priority Courier. It arrived on April 3. He also applied on-line. Money has been taken from his account. Because we are 'dual', he also sent his Australian Passport (as is now required). Since the three weeks minimum time was up we have been phoning and phoning the customer call centre (who I privately refer to as the 'gatekeeping centre') and have just received rebuffs. Emails sent are simply responded to my an automated system that asks for further details (they are then ignored when these are sent). Our travel date is in mid June. Yesterday we were informed that they 'could not find his application number in their system' (WHAT does this mean?). I am now nearly frantic. Bear in mind that we have now lost his Aussie Passport as well. Today I phoned DFAT re what we can do re his Aussie passport (pay a huge amount for a new one, it seems). I needed to phone them twice to check up on a detail ... and both operators told me they were inundated with calls from stressed people re similar incidents with the UK (Liverpool) office. I also phoned the British High Commission in Canberra and was told the same thing - many duals have been phoning because they now have NO passports. The new system may work for some, but it seems it has holes in it the size of craters on the moon. Be very, very careful when using it and expect to have to wait ages and troubleshoot, based on not only our experience, but what we were told by both DFAT and the British High Commission.

 

This was just a general warning, but any advice re dealing with the travesty that is the Liverpool office would be highly appreciated.

[Guest ellieday]

Hi everyone. I'm in a very similar situation , my daughters passport applications were sent off mid march, one was first time and another a renewal. I was told 4-6 weeks, still not got them and we travel June 24th. I am absolutely panicking and actually loosing sleep over it. I know I am a fool and should have done the passports when the youngest was born, but all the info said 4-6 weeks so I wasn't worried. My eldest is 5, and has been looking forward to this trip for as long as she can remember. I phoned the passport office on 17th May and they said call back at the end of May or 1st week in June, and that the application hadn't even been looked at, but hopefully would be done in time. I have been on hold tonight for 24 minutes on an Aussie Mobile and can't get through, so emailed through an online form. I will email every day from now, and TRY and call - but what if I can't get through? James and ozkathy have you had any luck? The people on the phone were really nice, but said there is absolutely no way of speeding it up. Next step is to try for emergency travel documents - has anyone done this and how long do they take?

[ozkathy]

Hah. The British Passport is in Australia (Oz Post are taking their sweet time about it). BUT the Aussie passport is still in the UK. They still have not sent it. As duals we can't leave without it. They are absolutely freaking useless. They also have the complaints system sewn up - it is a closed system. I even phoned the home office and they just directed me back to complain to the same numbers that I wanted to complain about. Here is some advice from another forum (Cut and Pasted). I can also advise you to get a relative in the UK to call their MP on your behalf if you can. The only way to escalate a compliant is via an MP - and of course expats and others don't have MPs!

 

1) Be aware that you do not need to send other passports. BEFORE you send anything (birth certs, etc.) Photocopies can be accepted (read the fine print)

 

2) Local agents are not well versed in the process. Make sure you are (we were not told we didn't have to send our Aussie PP).

 

3) The 'minimum of four weeks' is misleading. Applying the reasonable person formula we doubled this to eight weeks. If we had not hassled we'd still be waiting. Make sure you apply at least three months in advance.

 

4) Alternatively, apply in person, in the UK, if you can.

 

5) As soon as the minimum time is up hassle, hassle and hassle. Phone every night (yes, this adds to the cost). We found that the only way to get attention was to call. When you call if you get put through to someone who is not helpful, call again. Some call centre staff are better than others (I feel for them - they are just doing their job in a system that is borked).

 

6) Email complaints and also fill out the on-line form. It won't get you anywhere, but you will then have the opportunity to complain (this is what we did) when we got nowhere. We sent a complaint to the complaints email (cc'd to the Home Office) and we also registered a complaint by phone. This is useful anyway, because if people don't complain the system won't be fixed.

 

7) Ask the call centre staff to email the progress team to request that your application is expedited (you may need to give departure details). This isn't about paying more. They can do this. In fact, we figured that unless you ask, they will let your application gather dust.

 

8) Ask to speak to the progress team. Keep calling until you are put through.

 

9) You will be told at some point that your application has been 'sent for examination'. It ain't over yet. Keep calling until it is 'in the mail'.

 

10) This did not work for us, but it is worth pursuing. We asked that all substantiating docs be sent back as soon as the PP application was approved.

 

11) It is worth contacting your local Embassy / Consulate and complaining.

 

12) The on-line status thing is useless. Don't rely on it.

 

Hope that this helps.

[Guest ellieday]

Thanks Kathy. Will continue to fill in the online form and email daily....but embassy tomorrow I think. We have to fly on 24th!!

[ozkathy]

Honestly the on-line form is useless. The only way we have got anything done was to call, hold and complain. If you tell them you have filled in on-line complaints forms then you have legitimate grounds to do a phone-complaint and also to ask to be put through to the progress team who are the only ones who DO anything. Good luck with the Embassy. They can arrange emergency travel for some, but I don't know about infants / children without existing passports. You will have to ask.

[LuckyPom]

MY STORY: I managed to get my renewal from Australia in 4 weeks door-2-door. I phoned the call centre twice - first occasion they were nice but just told me it would not arrive in time. After some head rubbing, we decided the best plan was to get an emergency travel doc (ETD), travel to UK and pick it up there (the issue being that we had greece as one of our destinations and they don't accept ETD's). This lead to the second call to enquire if they would send it to a UK address. They emailed Liverpool for me and 4 hours later I got a phone call from liverpool (3AM my time) telling me it was possible but i would need to sign a form and post it back to them. Then the processor offered to just process my application at that point - which I obviously said YES PLEASE. New passport arrived 7 days later.

 

Hope this helps. Melbelle's posts were very helpful in my hair pulling phase when I realised I had made a terrible mistake trying to get passport renewed 7 weeks before flying.

[Londongal76]

Hi Guys - just a heads up, we have stories all over the news about delays within the passport office at the moment, and i'm sure foreign applications are realistically not high up on the list. So expect some delays.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/11/passport-processing-delays-q-and-a

[NickH]

On the subject of submitting your UK passport renewal application from Australia, I received mine this afternoon via DHL – the whole process took a little over eight weeks from when I sent my old one back to holding a fresh one in my hands. Here’s my timeline, posted so that it may help others in the same situation and serve as a guide to how it all operates…

 

 

• I filled out the online form, paid my money, and send the documents to them Express Courier International (cost of $53 or so) on 16/06/2014
  
• It arrived and was signed for at Liverpool on 19/06/2014
  
• The online status was updated as received on 24/06/2014 (this is when my documents officially entered the system)
  
• I called them on 0300 222 0000 (this is the only number you can ring) on 24/07/2014 to check on progress, and was advised that everything was in the system and my application was working its way through. No more information could be provided, but it was suggested that I call back at the six week mark to enquire of the current status as nothing could be done until that point
  
• I rang back on 04/08/2014 and asked what the status was. They could only tell me what the online status told me, so after doing a lot of Internet research, including on here, I asked to speak to a member of the progress team. Spoke to them, and advised the lady on the other end that I was flying out on 23/08/2014, we’ve spent nearly $10,000 on flights alone, the turnaround time is not acceptable, etc; wasn’t rude, but I was very clear about the fact that if my new passport was not in the post to me by the end of that week, I would be holding them responsible and liable for the loss of flights, money, time and so on. They said they could send a message to Liverpool with those details in it, and I could expect a reply within 72 hours. She also mentioned that according to her system information, my passport had not yet been examined. I know – that’s 7 whole weeks, and apparently it was still sitting in a box waiting for someone to get to it…
  
• I was a bit panicked by now, and rang them again the next day (05/08/2014) – I almost lost my temper, have to admit. They advised that they could send another message to Liverpool, and I asked (again, having read lots of info on here) whether this message would overwrite the existing one – I was advised that it might, so it would be best to leave the existing one there, and was assured that they would get back to me within the 72 hour period. At this stage I was thinking I would have to send the wife and kids off to the UK to visit MY family, without me…
  
• I got an email that night, which I got the morning of 07/08/2014 advising me that my passport was printed, and had been despatched. I guess I will never know whether this was due to the message the call centre sent on my behalf, or whether I just got lucky with the timing
  
• Further, I received a text message on 09/08/2014 advising me of the DHL tracking number
  
• The passport was delivered half an hour ago 11/08/2014 via DHL. I have no idea how long it will take to receive my old expired passport, although with a fresh one in my hand, I no longer care. The DHL package was lodged in London on 09/08/2014, so it does take less than a week to arrive from when they give it to the courier
  

 

 

I hope this helps someone losing sleep over when they might get theirs back.

[Que Sera Sera]

Mine took 8 weeks for my sons ( child ) renewell .

[NickH]

And just to follow up, I got my old passport in the mail (also DHL) today 18/08/2014 along with one of the photos I submitted.

[bcworld]

Similar to other recent timelines. Sent docs on 16th June by Auspost registered (not express). Passport available for collection at DHL office on 18th August. It was dispatched from the passport office about 5 days before that.

[Worriedtraveller]

Hah. The British Passport is in Australia (Oz Post are taking their sweet time about it). BUT the Aussie passport is still in the UK. They still have not sent it. As duals we can't leave without it. They are absolutely freaking useless. They also have the complaints system sewn up - it is a closed system. I even phoned the home office and they just directed me back to complain to the same numbers that I wanted to complain about. Here is some advice from another forum (Cut and Pasted). I can also advise you to get a relative in the UK to call their MP on your behalf if you can. The only way to escalate a compliant is via an MP - and of course expats and others don't have MPs!

 

1) Be aware that you do not need to send other passports. BEFORE you send anything (birth certs, etc.) Photocopies can be accepted (read the fine print)

 

2) Local agents are not well versed in the process. Make sure you are (we were not told we didn't have to send our Aussie PP).

 

3) The 'minimum of four weeks' is misleading. Applying the reasonable person formula we doubled this to eight weeks. If we had not hassled we'd still be waiting. Make sure you apply at least three months in advance.

 

4) Alternatively, apply in person, in the UK, if you can.

 

5) As soon as the minimum time is up hassle, hassle and hassle. Phone every night (yes, this adds to the cost). We found that the only way to get attention was to call. When you call if you get put through to someone who is not helpful, call again. Some call centre staff are better than others (I feel for them - they are just doing their job in a system that is borked).

 

6) Email complaints and also fill out the on-line form. It won't get you anywhere, but you will then have the opportunity to complain (this is what we did) when we got nowhere. We sent a complaint to the complaints email (cc'd to the Home Office) and we also registered a complaint by phone. This is useful anyway, because if people don't complain the system won't be fixed.

 

7) Ask the call centre staff to email the progress team to request that your application is expedited (you may need to give departure details). This isn't about paying more. They can do this. In fact, we figured that unless you ask, they will let your application gather dust.

 

8) Ask to speak to the progress team. Keep calling until you are put through.

 

9) You will be told at some point that your application has been 'sent for examination'. It ain't over yet. Keep calling until it is 'in the mail'.

 

10) This did not work for us, but it is worth pursuing. We asked that all substantiating docs be sent back as soon as the PP application was approved.

 

11) It is worth contacting your local Embassy / Consulate and complaining.

 

12) The on-line status thing is useless. Don't rely on it.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I am about to go through this seeing as I am just about to apply and have 3 months until I travel. Is there any chance that certified copies will be accepted as it seems to say originals are required? Does anyone have experience with this as I don't want to delay my application?

Unfortunately I booked the flights in my maiden name and I think I have to provide my original birth certificate etc as well.

[eliza61]

So here is my story.

 

Just a bit of background, back in 2012 my passport had expired, I wasn't planning on going anywhere in the next year so hadn't got around to renewing. My mum was holidaying with her family in Ireland when she was diagnosed with Pneumonia and ended up in hospital for a week or so. Her insurance covered a family member flying out to escort her back, panic stations no passport. To cut a long story short, I'm in Adelaide so I had to fly to Melbourne where I was issued with an Emergency Travel Document and my expired passport was cancelled. All good, mum was better by the time I arrived in Ireland and I got to spend 10 days with the family.

 

Back in July my daughter and I decided to go to China in November to attend the Cup of China an International Figure Skating Competition (she is a judge) I thought great, plenty f time to apply for a passport so after a bit of googling I realised the system had changed and I now had to apply for my passport online. I went through the process, sent off my declaration form and the Emergency Travel Document via express mail on the 30th July. It was processed in Liverpool on the 4th of August.

 

Last week I received an email from them saying they could not progress any further as I had not included my last passport.:shocked: I rang them to say that I had presented that passport at the consulate in Melbourne when I got the EMD, they said they still wanted it so I sent it via Aust Post Express Platinum delivery at a cost of $89.20. I rang 3 days later to confirm they had received it and they had, the guy advised me that the passport had been sent to the printers. Yesterday (16/9) I checked online it showed as "Dispatched". So it's 7 weeks since I sent the documents and it will probably be another week before it gets here. I need to apply for a Chinese Visa which takes about 4 weeks apparently so I wish they'd hurry up.

 

Does anyone know which courier it is? I need to give them the instructions to contact me in my apartment. Couriers often never even bother to get out of their vans when they see it's an apartment.

[bcworld]

Does anyone know which courier it is? I need to give them the instructions to contact me in my apartment. Couriers often never even bother to get out of their vans when they see it's an apartment.

 

Mine came via DHL. I got an SMS from them prior to the passport arriving in Australia so I could redirect it to a collection office / give them delivery details rather than getting a 'we called but you weren't home' card.