Tweedpipe

With the holiday season approaching, I thought the following may be of interest to those who may have a UK passport nearing expiry.
I realised back in March that my 10 year passport would expire in May this year.
i) 14th March I applied for a new passport on-line.
ii) Application confirmation received the same day.
iii) 15th March passport (still valid) returned to Passport Office, Durham.
iv) 7th April notification of passport application approved.
v) 13th April notification new passport printed and dispatched. (Advised that return of cancelled expired passport takes up to 3 weeks).
vi) 20th April new passport received.
Imho a very smooth procedure, 38 days from start to finish.
For those in a near-expiry situation and planning for holidays in June/July , I'd advise to 'get your skates on', as there will be a greater rush as the height of the season approaches and renewal could well take longer.

dmu

Well done!
How much does a renewed Passport cost nowadays? A French one costs 86€ and is applied for at the nearest Mairie which has the necessary equipment, although you must buy the Timbre Fiscal on-line (and can download the form beforehand to save time at the Mairie). I'll renew mine next year when it expires and decide in 2026 whether I really need to renew my British one. By then I probably won't be able to travel so far, and will certainly still be suffering from illectronism....

Tweedpipe

Renewal was £105,86 total using previously available passport photos which I then digitalised.
Be aware that if you try to photoshop your passport photo to look like one of the Kardashians, it could be rejected.
Especially if it resembles Robert.....

I hope you still have some visit stamina remaining for future travel, with or without your DD's.

JJulia

Have you received your old passport back? I am still waiting for my old passport, it has been almost three weeks now since I've received my new passport.

Tweedpipe

No not yet. And I'm not really expecting it before mid May. Plus it will only be archived when received as I no longer have any valid visa or other need for it.

JJulia

I see. I have a visa stamp in my old passport, fingers crossed that I will receive mine soon.

Tweedpipe

Please let us know when it's received and the time taken since passport application/acceptance, as that could assist others who have still-valid visas in their 'cancelled' passports.
For those who have left passport renewal rather late for their summer holidays, have a read of THIS.

Tweedpipe

Fwiw, we like to make a trip to Andorra twice a year for short weekend breaks, which is a 3.5hr drive with a leisurely stop-off for lunch. We plan a 3 day stopover there next month which is what motivated me to renew my passport.
The trip before last, it wasn't until after arrival and settled into the hotel that I realised I'd forgotten to take my passport! At hotel check-in they didn't ask for passports as their system automatically showed that we'd stayed there before. I spent some uncomfortable moments worrying about if I was stopped by passport control on re-entering France from Andorra. Mme TP has French nationality and identity card so doesn't strictly need a passport for that travel - unlike myself. As luck would have it, we weren't stopped on the return trip but I certainly heaved a sigh of relief driving back down the Pyrenees and homeward bound.

For those across-the-pond or elsewhere who've possibly never heard of Andorra: (Not our blog)......










Tweedpipe

Did you receive your old cancelled passport?
Mine was received today 16May, i.e. 2 months after sending it on 15March.

G-J-B

Ah, so you can scan your passport photos and then submit those? I didn't think it was possible, firstly because by the time you scan them they're not the highest resolution or really sharp, but also because they do not show the chest area which the photo guide said it requires. I'll have to give it a shot as mine expired about a month ago. I have all my holidays in France though, so it's not quite so urgent.