Rainmaker

Hi guys and gals,

Hope all are well.

My UK passport expires in 2021, however, for certain visa purposes, I would like a new passport as soon as possible to extend far beyond that date. I currently reside in Ottawa, but am also due to be in London the last week of October. Is anybody able to provide me with insight as to the best way to approach this to ensure I get my passport at the absolute earliest, ideally from Ottawa?

Thank you all in advance for your help in this regard!

Twitcher1958

Atlantic Xpat

Yes, I did this a year or two ago while in London for the week. Appointment at passport house (near Victoria Station) in the morning, drop off forms and return in the afternoon to collect.

Rainmaker

Extremely helpful and useful to know. Thank you both for your prompt answers!

Twitcher1958

I just checked as it occurred to me that I could renew my passport when next in the UK - however it costs about £100 more. Think I’ll do it online as I have time after that trip before it requires renewal.

Rainmaker

There are no issues in renewing a passport that is 1.5yrs from expiry? Or do British passports need to be renewed within a certain time period prior to expiry?

Siouxie

According to the website...https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/renew

Renewing it when living overseas you will need this link
https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/...181.1568928940

Rainmaker

Excellent! Thank you Siouxie!

NavyBoy

I've just done the entire family passport renewal and a new one for my youngest. All online, couriered paperwork and speedy return. Painless and easy to do.

The issue about booking when in the UK is the slots can overrun so you end up wasting time or worse you don't make it to the office (traffic, parking or other) so it is all a waste of time.

We used DHL to end the stuff to the UK, the downtown collection shop was brilliant, and whilst pricier than Canada Post I trust them more.

The only downside is they dispatch the new passports when they are done so we had two, then one and then last one. I work downtown so not a big issue - we had DHL send them to their shop on Slater.

BritInParis

Renew online from Ottawa. You can expect a turnaround in under two weeks.

Correct link: https://www.gov.uk/overseas-passports

Siouxie

My link took you to that too, lol

Rainmaker

Thanks Navy Boy, really appreciate your input.

So how long did it take you from start to finish? Did you opt for any of the premium services?

MarylandNed

Online is extremely fast. I did mine recently. Took about 2 weeks total including shipping each way.

Oakvillian

What everyone else said! There's no longer a benefit to renewing early... ISTR that is used to be you could renew within some time (6 months?) of expiry and have the remaining time added on to the validity of your new passport. Now, in order to comply with international agreements on passport validity, no passport can be valid for longer than 10 years, so time can't be added on to your new passport.

It's such a quick process to do the online renewal (took me less than 2 weeks including courier transit time late last year), that I'd plan to leave it as near as you can to the expiry of your current passport and then renew through the online portal. The only circumstance I can think of where that might be different would be if you have a work permit tied to a particular passport and don't want to go through the hassle of updating your WP when you renew the passport (do you even still need to do that? I think I did back in around 2008 but could be misremembering)

yakkiebush