Supernoodles

Hi everyone,

I'm renewing my passport and the C1 form is asking me for details of my parents. I've asked my father for them but he is taking a very long time and really I am in a bit of a hurry to do it ASAP as I want to go away for my birthday (luckily not booked yet).

So my question is, as a British citizen who was born in the UK with no other passport (I have a PR HKID card for Hong Kong only), do I need to answer the questions about my parents ? It is a simple renewal after all !

Also, my mother is deceased and it is her information that is taking my dad a while to find, would it be best to fill in my father's details and write 'deceased' in the mother's section ?

I have tried emailing IPS but they wouldn't help me as I'm applying from abroad (wasn't sure if the same question was in the normal application form) and when going to ring the number on the British HK consulate website, they charge you 82p per minute on top of my phone costs! (and the fee itself is like 150 pounds from here!).

I am hoping some experts on here can help !

Supernoodles

In reading the notes, I quote

'You need not complete this section if you obtained your citizenship by naturalisation or registration at the Home Office in the United Kingdom or through the Governor's Office of a British Overseas Territory'

I don't really know if that applies to me?! My passport was obtained in the UK by UKPA

bakedbean

Hi Super and welcome to BE.

I'm a bit confused. You say you are 'abroad' but not saying where. Presume you are in Asia somewhere since you have posted in this section??

Just on a personal level, I applied for new UK passport a couple of years ago from here (malaysia) and sent evefything off to HK. Like you, i had some questions and i contacted the honorary uk consul in Penang who gave me the answers i needed. Any consulate or embassy where you are?

Supernoodles

Hi Baked bean,
I'm in Hong Kong, the HK British consulate website has a number for Passport enquiries which directs to the UK at a premium cost! Asides from that, it also asks for a credit card for this information which I do not have.
Hope that clears any confusion. My dad thinks that as it is a straight renewal, I shouldn't need my deceased mother's details (nor details such as their marriage date/place).

bakedbean

Forgive me if thjs sounds stupid, but can't you just go along to the embassy?

I'll see if we can get this thread shifted to HK forum. Might get better response

hong_konger

We don't have an embassy we have a consulate

For a simple renewal you will not need to complete this part of the form so I would not worry. If you already have a passport then they must all the info they need on your parents.

PeteinHongKong

I renewed my UK passport in HK last October and I don't recall having to complete these details on the form. Service was extremely efficient - I think 10 days from submission to receipt of new passport.

Supernoodles

Thanks guys, I sent it off today with the parents section half completed (left the mother's details out) so hopefully the photo & everything else will be fine!
I also didn't get the photograph countersigned as I read (on these forums) that they only require a counter signature if your appearance has changed a lot and mine hasn't so fingers crossed !
Baked beans - The British consulate website for Hong Kong discourages walk ins and there is no passport enquiry number (only the UK one which charges!)....I think it is a bit of a joke they charge 80p pm when the passport renewel itself is costing around 150 pounds !

PeteinHongKong

I get the distinct impression that what you see on the website and what actually happens in practice are two different things. When I applied for my new passport in HK I went in person as I was intending to try to get my old passport back as I am a frequent traveller and the processing time indicated on the website would have had me stuck in HK for up to a month. Anyway, the person dealing with me went off to talk to the supervisor and then told me that a second passport was not appropriate for me at that time but that in any case it would only take about two weeks, maybe less, to get a new one. I decided there and then to submit my application and surrender my old passport - something that was not required when I previously renewed in 2006 - and as I mentioned in my earlier post the new one was duly delivered very quickly.

More recently, my Filipina wife applied for a UK visa and while it says on the website that applicants should not be accompanied, when I went with her I asked politely if I could wait with her and was admitted without any problems at all. The local Chinese staff at the Consulate are generally very friendly and helpful. The UK staff are polite enough and businesslike in their dealings with "customers" (which I am sure is how we are now viewed) but one gets the impression that that they have been trained to deal with people with a certain degree of detachment.

I do however find it remarkable that the Consulate itself will not respond to queries concerning passport or visa applications as personally I consider this to be part of the service that should be provided. In the case of my wife's visa application on which we spent a great deal of time compiling all the information "that the applicant might wish to provide in support of the application" (or words to that effect) it turned out that the local staff member dealing with her, who was extremely helpful, returned about 50% of the supporting information she provided saying it wasn't required. She got her visa in 5-6 days!

hong_konger

They seem to operate on a "when can you prove you need it" basis. A friend once turned up at the airport to fly somewhere not realising there was < 6 months left. Called up the consulate and went straight there. They got a new passport the following morning ! Another friend of mine had about 8 months left and decided to renew about a week before a trip. was told it would not be ready in time and told to return after the trip ! When I renewed my passport I asked nicely if they could have it ready a couple of days earlier than the date they said it would be ready, because I had to get a chinese visa and did not want everything running to the last minute. They actually gave me a local number to call the day before my requested date to check if it was ready. It wasn't but they said it would be ready the following day so still got it a day earlier.

I think if you are really in need they can work pretty fast but you have to prove it with a good story and documentary proof.

tobysmama

Supernoodles ... Can i ask what happened? Was your passport renewed with no delays? I am currently having the same problem as i am a british citizen with a british passport, my mother is also british with a british passport, but my father actually has an irish passport and was born in Germany (his father was in the army). Therefore i cannot fill out his passport details. Will this delay my passport as i am travelling in 7 weeks! Eeek!

Supernoodles

tobysmama - I can confirm my new passport application went without any problems! If I remember correctly, it took 5-6 weeks in the end. Good luck with your application !

BritInParis

If you were born overseas or in the UK after 1st Jan 1983, then you will need to complete your parents' details. If your father doesn't hold a British passport, then that doesn't matter so long as you can list his nationality at the time of your birth (Irish, British, etc..) as that's the important bit. Also don't forget to include your parents' marriage details (if any).

kwchan

Can C1 form be filled by pdf filler?

BritInParis

Use the Smart OL form - it's designed to be filled in and printed as a PDF.