vikki85

My UK passport is up for renewal next year. Can I get this renewed here, or do I need to travel back to UK to do it?

anuny

No need. Go to the High Commission in Bridgetown.

http://ukinbarbados.fco.gov.uk/en/he.../uk-passports/

shines

You can no longer renew your British Passport in Barbados, it has to be sent to Washington DC.

anuny

One has to schlep over all the way to DC ?

shines

You have to fed ex it all there, such a bore.

If anyone is visiting the UK with an nearly out of date passport you should get it done whilst there.

vikki85

Thanks for the info. I may visit the UK again before my passport runs out so will renew it there. If not, at least I know what to do now.

Thanks guys

Serendipidy

Hey Vikki been a while how is married life?

Just a quick note to say that many airlines from UK wont carry you without 6 months left on your passport - they are always asking me when im booking my flights to Bim but not sure if its an issue en route to UK. Best to check it out with Virgin there you dont wanna get stuck and not be able to travel

vikki85

Yep, it has been a while since I have been on here Dips - been really busy. Married life is good thanks - can't believe it has been 9 months already!! Scary how fast the time goes.

Thanks for the tip. My passport runs out Nov 2011, and I will prob go back to UK some time next summer so will ask the airlines if it is ok for me to travel as I will have less than 6 mths on my p/port when/if I fly.

cartoon

I renewed my UK passport on my last trip to UK in May. I only took 10 days to get it back. The do have an express option.
I had about a year left to go but needed to make sure I had more than 6 months as a lot of countries have this as a requierment.
It's a lot easier to renew if your new photo looks like your old one. Poor old me thought I looked the same as 10 years ago but when I put them side by side I had a shock.......lol
They carry forward up to 9 months onto the new passport. The only trouble I have now is that some US web sites can't cope with an expiry date in 2021 as the only do 10 years. (American Airlines is a real pain).

vikki85

I sent off for a new passport at the end of Feb and was advised it would take 6, possibly as little as 4 weeks to get my passport back (I had to send it to Washington). Well, that was nearly 8 weeks ago and still no passport. When I called to chase it, I was told that the 6 weeks starts from the day they take the payment for the passport, not when they receive it. They received my passport on 1st March but didnt take payment until 25th March. Therefore I should have it back within 6 weeks of the 25th March. This is a total pain as now means I will prob need to change my flights which are already booked. I assumed that I had plenty of time for a new passport and was even advised by the High Commission that I had enough time. Just a warning to anyone wanting to renew their passports via Washington - allow more time than you are advised!

Serendipidy

Was this your english passport Vicki?? No idea why they are sending everything re england over to Washington who must have loads of processing of their own government passports to consider!!

Will your passport have expired by the time of your flight then or did you have to send your original off? Surely someone should be able to help you with this thats what the British High Comission is supposed to be for

sueffun

My Mothers passport expired in March and because she was born in 1924 she is entitled to a free War Veterans passport, but what a mission to organise this from South Africa.

I do not know how anyone who is entitled to one is actually able to do it themselves as firstly all the information is on the Internet, (how many over 80 have a computer or can use it).

I live in Durban and now there is no consulate here, so I tried to phone them in Pretoria but there is no phone service, if you need to ask anything you have to phone the careline in the UK, but you have to pay for the call using a credit card ( don't know why if i called them) I then managed to email them and had to send an SAE for them to send a special passport application form as it cannot be downloaded on the British Consulate website.

I eventually got the form but its a standard British passport form for someone living in the UK, so i didn't know what to do about the address parts as the covering letter was vague and conflicted with the information on their website, so I just filled in all of her South African details and sent it with FEDX back to Pretoria. They then send it to the UK and you then pray that you have filled it in correctly and the photographs are acceptable.

Apparantly it takes 12 weeks, my estimate is we may have it back by Christmas in which case she may not need it as she is 87 next month.

What a lousey service. I feel really sorry if the War Vets have nobody to help them.

Sunniebgi

Vikki I 'm confused.. when you put in your application for your passport, didn't you give them the payment right then?!?!?! so, wouldn't that be from when the payment was received.. or.. is this the UK Office in Washington.. when they actually receive it!?!?! and I know they don't process anything here in Barbados anymore, but if they assist you can you then send the passport renewal info, or must you have them do it.. (cause to me, you could have paid the UPS/FedEx charges and gotten it there 2 days later).. just wondering..

my daughters US Passport expired sometime this past week. We took her into the US Consolute here maybe the 2nd week of April (while they were out on school term break). happened to be the Friday that the news was saying there would be a government shut down. (which it didn't). Got a call on Wednesday.. and went yesterday to collect it.. Very Very Lucky she is.. I expected 4 weeks not 2..

vikki85

My passport was stolen back in Feb, hence why I am applying for a new one. There are only 5 locations in the world now that can issue UK passports, our closet one being in Washington. I had to send them the application and a credit card form plus other paperwork. The credit card form states my credit card details and it is from this card that they will take the payment. They signed for my Fed Ex on March 1st but didnt take payment from my card until end of March The British High Commission will send them an email (thats all they can do), but with the Bank Hols they prob wont receive it until Tuesday. They were aware of my travel date as I have to state this on the application. I also sent them a copy of my ticket to back it up.

Pistolpete2

http://ukinbarbados.fco.gov.uk/en/he...als/passports/