mark_w

I'm a British citizen living in Budapest. My passport expires in May 2015. In June (2014) I sent in a renewal application. Printed the documents, filled everything in, included photos etc. The only thing I didn't do was send my old passport.

In the application it said that you don't have to send in the old on if you provide a reason for this AND you submit a full colour photocopy of every page. I did this.

6 weeks after my application, I get an email saying that I didn't include the original and I should have included it or explained why. So I reiterated what I said in my original application about having to travel for work in the mean time. I got no response.

4 weeks after that, I get the same email letter from them. I reply again and this time call up the office. Someone at the office also sends an email.

1 week after that, I get no response (they are supposed to respond in 72 hours). I call them again, and another person from the call center sends them an email. I also send another email.

1 week after that, STILL no response. So I call up and another person does the same - sends them an email. I put extra phone numbers one there just in case.

1 week after that, STILL no response. I'm really not sure what to do now.

I have travel booked every month until April 2015. I need my new passport before December as I need to have 6 months on it in order to travel to some of the places I'm going.

However, every time I call the call center, all they say is that all they can do is email the passport office. They say that the passport office are supposed to respond to me in 72 hours but never do. I feel like I'm in an infinite loop here and really am at a bit of a loss.

I don't have any other passports so absolutely need to get this renewed before December (I thought for sure I would have it in 1-3 months from June, even with the backlogs).

Please help, what can I do??

37100

Did you send your application to Durham? If so, I can send you the number of a direct line. It was active 3mnths ago, but I don't know if it still is.

mark_w

It was the Liverpool office.