British passport renewal questions

[Jibba]

Hi folks,

I'm travelling to the UK, Spain and Finland for roughly 5.5 weeks in mid July until mid August this year. My British passport expires on the 22nd August, which is only 1 day after we'd land back to Australia from this trip. I haven't allowed for the full 11 weeks it may take to have my new passport delivered and even though it's a good 6 weeks, I don't like the idea of sending my current passport away and then my new one not returning in time before I have to fly. I do have PR though, so would Border Force be able to access my visa and allow me to fly if I also got an emergency travel document? 

Is it worth me applying for an emergency travel document anyway or am I correct in thinking that will only last 21 days (less time than the holiday)? Should I just fly outbound with my current passport and organise a new passport in London in the embassy and if so can this process be expedited as I'd be applying for a simple renewal onshore in England?

Can I just turn up at the British embassy in Melbourne? I tried calling them but the number provided and the website both ended up being dead ends.

Any tips or other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Edited June 5, 2022 by Jibba

[paulhand]

Your issue may be more around getting into the EU than getting back to Aus, as Brexit is a gift that just keeps on giving:
From gov.uk:
“Passport validity

If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must follow the Schengen area passport requirements.

Your passport must be:

issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)

valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.”

 

[NicF]

10 hours ago, Jibba said:

Hi folks,

I'm travelling to the UK, Spain and Finland for roughly 5.5 weeks in mid July until mid August this year. My British passport expires on the 22nd August, which is only 1 day after we'd land back to Australia from this trip. I haven't allowed for the full 11 weeks it may take to have my new passport delivered and even though it's a good 6 weeks, I don't like the idea of sending my current passport away and then my new one not returning in time before I have to fly. I do have PR though, so would Border Force be able to access my visa and allow me to fly if I also got an emergency travel document? 

Is it worth me applying for an emergency travel document anyway or am I correct in thinking that will only last 21 days (less time than the holiday)? Should I just fly outbound with my current passport and organise a new passport in London in the embassy and if so can this process be expedited as I'd be applying for a simple renewal onshore in England?

Can I just turn up at the British embassy in Melbourne? I tried calling them but the number provided and the website both ended up being dead ends.

Any tips or other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

I had to apply passport recently after my mum died and my passport was still being renewed in the UK.  I'm not sure it would cover you for a trip around Europe even if you didn't have the visa issues described by Paul above - you have to give them the route you are taking and it only covers you for that route.  If you get an emergency British passport you will need to link your Australian visa to it via the VEVO system. 

There is no point in you turning up to the Embassy in Melbourne.  They do not issue passports but you can pick up an emergency passport from there.  You will also not be able to talk to anyone in Melbourne.  When I was getting my emergency passport the nearest person I actually got to speak to was in Singapore and they called me.

[Jibba]

3 hours ago, NicF said:

I had to apply passport recently after my mum died and my passport was still being renewed in the UK.  I'm not sure it would cover you for a trip around Europe even if you didn't have the visa issues described by Paul above - you have to give them the route you are taking and it only covers you for that route.  If you get an emergency British passport you will need to link your Australian visa to it via the VEVO system. 

There is no point in you turning up to the Embassy in Melbourne.  They do not issue passports but you can pick up an emergency passport from there.  You will also not be able to talk to anyone in Melbourne.  When I was getting my emergency passport the nearest person I actually got to speak to was in Singapore and they called me.

Thanks for the reply. Does the emergency passport extend beyond 21 days? And can I use an emergency document for a route which is already booked? I have the main return flight from Melbourne to London and seperate flights between London - Finland and then Finland - Spain one way then one way back from Spain to England.

I’m thinking if I can get my Mum to attend an appointment in the London embassy to get a new passport for me before I arrive then I won’t need to worry about onward trips within Europe.

The big problem is trying to actually book a passport renewal appt at the embassy in London. Currently there are no available appointments and not even a calendar showing - just an automated response saying there’s nothing available!

Does anyone know how I can actually speak with someone from the embassy in Melbourne? I tried calling with no joy and emailed - australia.enquiries@fcdo.gov.uk though I’m not sure they’re the right department.

Thanks.

 

[Jibba]

https://www.ukabroad.net/british-passport-emergency-travel-documents-requirements/

According to this site, I could also apply for a standard renewal now then apply for an emergency document if I don’t get my passport back in time. That would cover me for a year. I’d just need to not change any travel plans for my current trip.

Costly but manageable.

Edited June 6, 2022 by Jibba

[NicF]

Official site with what you need to know about emergency passports.  Never rely on third party sites.

https://www.gov.uk/emergency-travel-document

Oh, and you can't talk to anyone at the Melbourne embassy.  Believe me we tried.  There is a help line that is based in the UK I think that can answer all your questions and all the numbers we tried were directed to this helpline.

[NicF]

Email address for enquiries about emergency passports - etd.centre1@fcdo.gov.uk 

[Ausvisitor]

3 hours ago, Jibba said:

Thanks for the reply. Does the emergency passport extend beyond 21 days? And can I use an emergency document for a route which is already booked? I have the main return flight from Melbourne to London and seperate flights between London - Finland and then Finland - Spain one way then one way back from Spain to England.

I’m thinking if I can get my Mum to attend an appointment in the London embassy to get a new passport for me before I arrive then I won’t need to worry about onward trips within Europe.

The big problem is trying to actually book a passport renewal appt at the embassy in London. Currently there are no available appointments and not even a calendar showing - just an automated response saying there’s nothing available!

Does anyone know how I can actually speak with someone from the embassy in Melbourne? I tried calling with no joy and emailed - australia.enquiries@fcdo.gov.uk though I’m not sure they’re the right department.

Thanks.

 

Your mum can't attend the appointment for you, it has to be the applicant 

[DrDougster]

Some appointments are apparently reappearing. You'll need to look every day. Your only "good" option is to arrange an appointment - Peterborough or Victoria - and go to UK first otherwise travelling in Schengen area isn't going to be possible I don't think. 

My wife's passport has been printed and awaiting posting. I'll let you know exact dates later but I think it will be around the seven week mark rather than the >10 weeks that has been recent experience.

[Jibba]

Thanks to all the replies, especially for the email from NicF.

They replied very quickly and sent this:

So I think my best option is to apply for a standard renewal. Hopefully it arrives by mid July. If not I’ll apply for an emergency travel document which will cover me for this trip.

Am I correct in thinking that the ETD is issued from the Melbourne embassy and gets organised within days of the application?

[NicF]

10 hours ago, Jibba said:

Thanks to all the replies, especially for the email from NicF.

They replied very quickly and sent this:

So I think my best option is to apply for a standard renewal. Hopefully it arrives by mid July. If not I’ll apply for an emergency travel document which will cover me for this trip.

Am I correct in thinking that the ETD is issued from the Melbourne embassy and gets organised within days of the application?

 

When I applied for my ETD it was done in Singapore.  It takes up to two days for them to process the application and you can then have it couriered, which takes up to 6 six days because it's coming from Singapore, or you can arrange to pick it up from Melbourne as soon as it's ready (apparently, although living in Adelaide I wasn't able to actually test this).  Why they can't courier them from Melbourne I don't know.

[DrDougster]

Here's some breaking news: (No, still a sociopath as PM in UK)

My wife's UK passport is arriving today! Applied via website, standard format, in UK on 8th May and arriving in UK today. - 4 week turnaround.