deelink

I wonder how long you waited sfr09? I called the help line two weeks ago and was put on hold....... waited for 5 hours and then my phone ran out of charge!!! So never even got through.
Today I went to the British Consulate to get an emergency travel document. This service is available if you really really need to travel and don't have your passport for whatever reason. The people there were terrific. Very helpful and did their best to get the procedure done asap. It costs $180 but when it really matters you have to just do it!

sfr09

Thanks thats good to know , i got through ok but first time could not get through to progess team so i rang again and did and they promised to email which I have just received , i also sent several other emails as per that trip advisor thread and my Mp who replied quickly saying he had called the Liverpool office , I will let you know
Good luck to you too for your trip

sfr09

Just rang again and mine now printed and with the courier so I am hoping will come next few days , i am sure that it was writing to the MP that helped so thanks so much for that advice and note to self to never send both passports off together

deelink

That's good Sfr09. I think you have been very lucky. Maybe your MP was more on the ball than mine. I have emailed mine on two occasions and have not had a response from her, let alone any intervention to help me get my passport.
As I mentioned my time ran out and I went to the British Consulate to get an Emergency Travel document. I'll be using that as my passport is still 'being assessed' It's eleven weeks plus now.

jad n rich

Get email from Passport office, in 3 weeks if I have not lodged the duplicate info they requested we lose the money for 3 passport applications!

My first application back in early march contained passports, UK and Australian, birth certs, everything. 6 weeks later "possible forgeries" is the reply, this is for totally genuine un tampered with births, passports, marriage, ID etc .

Had to send off for copy of full birth cert from UK, the one my parents were issued with not good enough Should have arrived in May, still waiting, so now we stand to lose nearly $1000.

I have been patient, there is nothing forged about any aspect of my application, not once have the documents been lost, damaged, yet the saga continues.

The date we wanted these for has been and gone, so for heavens sake apply many months before you need it!!

moo1982

Apparently there no "backlog" Thats not what this pictures show The Guardian obtained.
The old saying a picture can say thousands words still true
Passport backlog: photographs of stacked application files stoke row over delays | Politics | The Guardian
The ones in orange boxes are applications from overseas. Why on earth the they brought processing applications for overseas residents back to the UK is stupid. Another saying ring true "if it aint broke don't try to fix it".

Bikergirl

interesting article on the bbc: BBC News - Fees cut as part of emergency passport backlog measures

EvannTel

Guys

Just realised my OH's UK passport is out of date. She has an Aussie one too.
In August she will be travelling to Switzerland and UK before coming back here.

1) Now firstly if I have researched correctly, she can enter Switzerland and UK easy enough with her Aussie one - no Visas etc?

2) Secondly due to the chaos with UK renewals, she could go to the consulate in Perth and have her UK one extended by 12 months.

Normally she would use UK one in Europe and quicker queues.

The "problem" I have with 2) is Swiss Air require her advanced passenger info and they automatically issue boarding passes. But I reckon their system won't like having a UK passport with an expired date or of she goes to Consultate, do we just put in the new extended date?

Cheers

BritInParis

Go to the consulate and get an extra 12 months added. You can then renew it either when you visit the UK or on your return to Australia when the backlog is dealt with. For the API use the extended expiry date.

jad n rich

Well to update, 3 passports finally cleared to be issued, so should arriving mid to late July. Quite a haul since March 3

ghosty99

Hello all

New to this forum but not a new expat; I've been away from the UK for 12 years...
This is a long thread so hopefully someone will pick up the query, or maybe I should start a new thread?

Anyway ... I am living in Melbourne, have been for 7 years. I have dual UK/NZ citizenship; my NZ passport being my visa to live here.

I need to renew my UK passport by May 2015 and have read that it's all changed and will take ages as I have to send it back to the UK rather than renew it locally like I was able to before (I renewed it in Auckland 10 years ago and renewed my kids' UK passports through Auspost 2 years ago)

My question is this: the guidelines say that we have to send all uncancelled passports (British or otherwise) when sending the application through. Does this mean I have to send my NZ passport to the UK passport office too? I don't understand how that is feasible?

Looking at the length of time it will take to renew my UK passport I simply can not be in Australia without any passport at all .... in fact even for a day, as it would mean I am here without a visa.

Any of you with Dual nationality had to send your other passports to the UK too?

Thanks

old.sparkles

I think the best thing would be to include a copy of your NZ passport with a note saying passport needed for travel - that's the advice given elsewhere

bcworld

It wouldn't mean you are here without a visa / permission, you just wouldn't be in possession of your NZ passport. Presumably you have some other evidence of your NZ citizenship if required to show it...certificate? Your issue would of course, like anyone else, be if you needed to travel.

I sent off an application on 16th June. I wasn't prepared to send my Aus passport as I think it's unnecessary, plus I do have upcoming travel / visas to apply for. As mentioned, I included a copy of my Aus passport, not just the photo page but every page whether used or not. Others experience seems to suggest this will suffice.

ghosty99

Thanks both (bcworld and sparkles)

A copy is ok then? Would it need to be verified by a JP or anything?

It is actually the NZ passport itself that's the visa. There are no stickers stamps in it. Citizenship/birth certificates without a passport are not a visa ... I know this because when my daughter was born in NZ we didn't get an NZ passport straight away (ran out of time and being a bit clueless too) and travelled to the UK when she was a baby on her UK passport (carrying her birth certificate with us) On our return trip she was not allowed to board the plane from the UK all the way to NZ as she didn't have a proper NZ visa in her UK passport and didn't have an NZ passport. Her birth certificate was not enough. This was 10 years ago so I can't remember the details but I think we had to pay for an outward bound ticket for her (a tiny baby) from NZ to prove she wasn't going to stay there without a visa and we had to claim that ticket back after we got home. It was a nightmare. As it was, when we did arrive at Auckland we told the immigration people there and they laughed and said it was ridiculous and her birth certificate would have been fine; Singapore Airlines just doing their job I suppose?

bcworld

You're describing a travel situation, which like I said is your only issue. However you can be in Australia without your NZ passport, it does not mean you do not have permission to be here simply because your passport would be elsewhere. If your passport is lost or stolen you don't suddenly become unlawful.

They don't specify (I think) that the passport copy has to be verified, I didn't, but it's probably not a bad idea. I haven't heard anything from them yet but the application is probably still sitting piled up in a meeting room somewhere!