stubbzj12

Hi! My passport has expired and I need to get it renewed. I'm a resident living in the US, so I'll have to do the process through the UK government website.

After the trouble of finding a place where they offer UK sized passport photos, I finally got them and I now need to complete the online process.

It says for the requirements I need to send my passport, photos and a copy of any other passports issued by other countries. The problem is, I don't have any other passports apart from my green card. So does this mean I need to send a copy of my green card?

Secondly, will it hurt to send any additional documents (birth certificate)? Or, is that not recommended?

Lastly, how does postage work?

I appreciate your time reading this.

*Edit*
Can I track the progress? I don't mean shipping tracking.

kimilseung

Your green card is not a passport so no.
If they dont ask, dont send it. They will probably put it in the return envelope, but there is a chance of it going astray, so I see no benefit and slight risk.
You decide what kind of postage you want for it going out, and return post is included in the cost you pay. I forget about tracking, someone else is bound to remember. There will probably be two envelopes. The new passport and another for returned documents (cancelled old passport).

BritInParis

No. If you do not hold a passport of another country then you have nothing to send.

You can but unless your passport expired more than ten years ago then there's little point.

Return postage is included with your fee. One packet will contain your new passport, another your old passport.

No but turnaround times are approximately two weeks.

quiltman

you can track the progress internally with HMPO. Once you have completed the application online, you are given a reference number. you can use this to log on to HMPO and see what's happening - i.e docs received,in progress, passport printed. Last time (Dec 2016) I did this for my sons passport it took 48hrs from receipt to printing! total 10 days from going into DHL here to DHL delivering new passport!
On the application page https://passportapplication.service.gov.uk/ips-olc/ you'll see on bottom left a LOGIN button. You use this and the user name given you by HMPO to check on your application progress.

stubbzj12

Perfect. Thank you for your replies!

quiltman

you're welcome. Just make sure you send the docs via courier!

Brandy07

Sorry to jump in on this - do they send the old passport back via courier too? Don't want the passport with my visa in to go astray on its way back

BritInParis

Yes, but in a separate packet.

petitefrancaise

UK passport renewals are very easy.
online, walgreens etc for photo, send off and wait .

My french friends have to go to their nearest consulat to apply for a renewal with appropriate documents and photos ( this bit brings back horrible memories from my days in France when bureaucrats seemed to do their best to find the one document you don't have) then they have to go back to the consulat to pick it up whenever it has arrived back from LaFrance..

The french government are figuring out if sending the new passport by courier to a person'shome is secure enough and are starting to do it later in the autumn. Still have to apply at the consulat though. Which can be an expensive undertaking if you need to fly to one from the middle of the US.
just thought I'd put that out there to let you know how lucky we are!

sherbert

It's very quick and easy: my new one and old one with the visa in it was returned within a week. Make sure you use DHL or Fedex tracked and signed for (not the regular postal service). It will cost around $60.

sherbert

Not accurate: on the website you can see when your package was received, when it is being processed and when it has been shipped back to you. It took less than a week for me.

durham_lad

I helped my son through this last year, applying from the USA and since his old passport had expired more than 10 years ago he needed birth certificate and more.

It took over 4 weeks to process so it was really good to be able to log on and check progress, knowing that it was still with HMPO rather than lost in transit was good to know.

BritInParis

Yes, my mistake. This is a relatively new improvement.

Brandy07

I thought they came back separately but wasn't sure if the old one was sent back by courier too

Brandy07

I've just done my form and I was able to upload a digital photo - it said it was a new system they're testing. Meant I didn't have to go and get photos done to send.