Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
#391
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
i should have said disregard
#392
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
If you hold the UK in such disregard I wonder why on earth you would want to have a British passport. Yes the UK Passport Office cocked up but considering the number of passports they've had come in for renewal or new applications since they stopped the overseas embassies from doing them, it's hardly surprising there's a delay.
I am a native UK citizen but the fact that I come from the UK does not mean that I have to blindly ignore monumental Government screw ups and adopt an Ostrich-like 'head in the sand' approach, nor does it mean that its Government is immune from making significant and costly mistakes caused in this case by a basic and fairly catastrophic lack of planning. The number of countries UK passport holders can visit 'visa free' is also of no consolation to me. This is an example of a fairly monumental failure in planning that the media picked up and that drove the Home Secretary and Prime Minister to get involved and take a number of serious interventions including making available for free both fast tracking and the availability of 12 month passport extensions to help put a sticking plaster over the mess. These measures alone will have cost millions, hardly something to celebrate in the current financial climate. Is the gravity of the situation as far as the UK Government and media was concerned, not to mention the THOUSANDS who faced serious problems as result of this 'cock up', lost on you?
And to casually cite the number of increased applications, as a result of the closure of overseas regional processing centres (Embassies have not issued passports for a long time now), almost as an excuse for the delays is laughable. The Home Office should have been WELL aware of PRECISELY the numbers of applications these regional offices dealt with month on month AND ensured staffing levels were appropriate to deal with the extra workload. It's not as if they were not warned by the FCO! Where else were they going to go? It's hardly rocket science is it?
You can choose whatever approach you want when and if the HMPO debacle affects you but don't start assuming how others regard the UK merely because they are critical of an abysmal lack of planning and the resulting shambles. Stick to the facts or maybe get a course in accurate deduction!
Thankfully the freedom to criticise the Government is not banned in the UK and the objective analysis of a broad range of issues allows voters to make important decisions as to whether to re-elect the government in being or not. If they chose to just sit back and acquiesce to, or even ignore, whatever disasters the Government has orchestrated, up to them also. But I know the approach I favour, more healthy for the country in the long term!
Last edited by Atilla; Sep 6th 2014 at 2:40 am.
#393
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
do you drink or take drugs I am still british even though I hold a US passprot
#394
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
It may also help if you were to use it as an aid to people understanding what you are talking about because as it stands I have no idea who your comments are directed at and neither do I have any idea what your'e getting at?
Last edited by Atilla; Sep 6th 2014 at 6:20 am.
#395
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Atilla lets get one thing right it was not me who started you said why do I hold the UK in such disregard without knowing anything about me and the reasons we came over here or the reason we are going back, I apologise for the comments I wrote but I thought it was aimed at me
#396
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
I'm with Atilla 100%. The passport renewal service has been an absolute disaster this year. Passport renewal for non residents was moved to the UK "for better efficiency". As with most government departments, efficiency is not , and never has been, a strong point.
#397
Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
I think they should have left it the way it was.
#398
Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Atilla lets get one thing right it was not me who started you said why do I hold the UK in such disregard without knowing anything about me and the reasons we came over here or the reason we are going back, I apologise for the comments I wrote but I thought it was aimed at me
#399
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Atilla lets get one thing right it was not me who started you said why do I hold the UK in such disregard without knowing anything about me and the reasons we came over here or the reason we are going back, I apologise for the comments I wrote but I thought it was aimed at me
#400
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
50% there. New passport arrived after 5 weeks so it seems they MAY be getting the processing times down, still a FAR cry from the 3-5 days service offered by the Embassies not so long ago. Happy it's arrived though and good to see the times coming down but in some cases it's still about as much use as a chocolate fireguard if you are waiting on return of an old passport with live visas in.
Almost one week after its arrival there is still no sign of my supporting documents, in this case the old passport with a live residence visa which I pointed out in the covering letter so that it would not be defaced or cancelled AND hopefully it would be returned as fast as the new passport, allowing me to a) travel and b) get the visa transferred to the new passport. I'd read in several places that folks had got their old passports back the same day (in a separate package) or after just 1-2 days. No such luck. What makes it worse is that for overseas applicants there are no tracking details provided so you have no idea where any package might be.
What can be so hard about updating the 'Application Status' so you can see where your 2 packages might be, and at least giving you an idea of whether they might have gone astray, I don't know? Whatever it is, the beta online service is hardly ready for prime time! You might also be excused for thinking that they could distinguish between old passports with live visas in (expediting their return) and old passports that are 'dead' (and thus can be sent by the slower courier service). But that's maybe asking too much. As it is, they may as well have sent the both by the snail mail service. Or maybe they both use the same courier 3-5 day service but it's just the case that the printers are faster at dispatching than the reviewing offices.
Meantime I suppose I can sit and look at my new passport as it gathers dust and ponder when I might be able to use it! Brilliant service, just brilliant.
Almost one week after its arrival there is still no sign of my supporting documents, in this case the old passport with a live residence visa which I pointed out in the covering letter so that it would not be defaced or cancelled AND hopefully it would be returned as fast as the new passport, allowing me to a) travel and b) get the visa transferred to the new passport. I'd read in several places that folks had got their old passports back the same day (in a separate package) or after just 1-2 days. No such luck. What makes it worse is that for overseas applicants there are no tracking details provided so you have no idea where any package might be.
What can be so hard about updating the 'Application Status' so you can see where your 2 packages might be, and at least giving you an idea of whether they might have gone astray, I don't know? Whatever it is, the beta online service is hardly ready for prime time! You might also be excused for thinking that they could distinguish between old passports with live visas in (expediting their return) and old passports that are 'dead' (and thus can be sent by the slower courier service). But that's maybe asking too much. As it is, they may as well have sent the both by the snail mail service. Or maybe they both use the same courier 3-5 day service but it's just the case that the printers are faster at dispatching than the reviewing offices.
Meantime I suppose I can sit and look at my new passport as it gathers dust and ponder when I might be able to use it! Brilliant service, just brilliant.
Last edited by Atilla; Sep 11th 2014 at 5:54 am.
#401
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Just by way of an update, I filled in the online enquiry form for HMPO to ask about when I might expect to receive my old passport. I also asked for the courier tracking number. In fairness the HMPO Enquiry Team replied within a couple of days. I found it quite odd though that despite the online form requiring you to enter your full name and the application number, the email came back saying:
"In order for us to track your passport application please can you provide the following information:
The application number
Your full name and applicant’s full name if different
Your full postal address
Any further details such as when your application was submitted"
All of these details were already on the online form so why they weren't picked up from that I don't know. And if the address is important, maybe they should include that on the online form so that the full details they need are provided straight away, preventing further delays.
That, and the fact that an HMPO application seems not to be enough for HMPO to search it's own records effectively, aside, with regard to the supporting documents HMPO had this to say:
"Your supporting documents; old passport, birth certificate etc. will be returned to you separately from your passport. Her Majesty's Passport Office dispatch these by DHL for overseas applicants. They are usually delivered between 7-10 working days once the passport has been received."
I suggested that it might be useful if this information was included on the FAQ concerning return of supporting documents rather than the nebulous, and somewhat worthless, comment that merely indicates they will be returned separately.
HMPO also suggested that I could contact DHL to see if there were any outstanding deliveries for my address but didn't provide any tracking numbers despite them being requested. Again, I might have been able to contact DHL earlier had I known for CERTAIN that it was DHL that would be used. Again, FAQ anybody??? Update the website maybe???
So, for those needing the return of old passports because of live visas etc., be prepared to factor in 7-10 days (hopefully not plus) on top of the time time it takes you to get your new passport before you can use it!
6 weeks and counting
"In order for us to track your passport application please can you provide the following information:
The application number
Your full name and applicant’s full name if different
Your full postal address
Any further details such as when your application was submitted"
All of these details were already on the online form so why they weren't picked up from that I don't know. And if the address is important, maybe they should include that on the online form so that the full details they need are provided straight away, preventing further delays.
That, and the fact that an HMPO application seems not to be enough for HMPO to search it's own records effectively, aside, with regard to the supporting documents HMPO had this to say:
"Your supporting documents; old passport, birth certificate etc. will be returned to you separately from your passport. Her Majesty's Passport Office dispatch these by DHL for overseas applicants. They are usually delivered between 7-10 working days once the passport has been received."
I suggested that it might be useful if this information was included on the FAQ concerning return of supporting documents rather than the nebulous, and somewhat worthless, comment that merely indicates they will be returned separately.
HMPO also suggested that I could contact DHL to see if there were any outstanding deliveries for my address but didn't provide any tracking numbers despite them being requested. Again, I might have been able to contact DHL earlier had I known for CERTAIN that it was DHL that would be used. Again, FAQ anybody??? Update the website maybe???
So, for those needing the return of old passports because of live visas etc., be prepared to factor in 7-10 days (hopefully not plus) on top of the time time it takes you to get your new passport before you can use it!
6 weeks and counting
#402
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Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Having filled in an online complaint form I received yet another mail from the 'e-service team' today who NOW advise that the old passport can take 10-14 days to arrive from the date the new one his received. Right, which is it folks 7-10 or 10-14. 9 days now and still no sign, maybe at day 13 they'll mail to say old passports normally arrive 14-21 days after the new one. Still no DHL tracking number provided.
Good system this, set increasingly low performance standards, fail to meet them, then lower them further
Good system this, set increasingly low performance standards, fail to meet them, then lower them further
Last edited by Atilla; Sep 16th 2014 at 6:09 am.
#403
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Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 31
Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Just wondering- finally received my sons passport ( renewal) after 13 weeks but we still have not received his New Zealand passport or his expired British passport. Do these come later? And how long do they take after receiving the new passport?
#404
Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
see the posts above - sent separately, 10 - 14 days later.
#405
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3
Re: Experience of renewing UK passport from overseas
Hello,
Does anyone know when you receive a message from the DHL courier? (Applied from Germany; passport printed on 17.09.2014)
If you miss the delivery (e.g. due to work) how long does it take to arrange another delivery time?
Thanks in advance.
Edit: This is for the passport, not supporting docs
Does anyone know when you receive a message from the DHL courier? (Applied from Germany; passport printed on 17.09.2014)
If you miss the delivery (e.g. due to work) how long does it take to arrange another delivery time?
Thanks in advance.
Edit: This is for the passport, not supporting docs
Last edited by Mechta; Sep 20th 2014 at 7:40 am.