TheLostPhotographer

What happened?

I am in a predicatment after being robbed in Barcelona. Everything gone. F*** the laptop, camera, cash etc etc etc, but they got all my paperwork - passport included. Bank cards gone. Everything! I am quite literally down to a single photocopy of my passport (and hoping my birth certificate is still in a safe place).

Last time this happened I simply went to the embassy in Madrid with all relevant forms and the cash. They sent the passport quickly to my home address. Pretty easy.

Friday I went to the embassy (no longer an embassy apparently) in Madrid. For those who don't know it is possibly the swankiest office space in Spain. Tallest of Los Cuatro Torres and home to the US, Canadian and other embassies. Today the UK consulate employs just a single person and a security guy. I am guessing the space alone costs around €200,000 a year. They can no longer deal with passports. You can get an emergency travel document which will cost more than a full 10 year passport from the passport office.

I was due to fly to the US within days of being robbed in Barcelona. The best advice from the consulate was emergency travel documents plus a visa from the US embassy. That would work, but I didn't want to end up in LA without bank cards and full ID.

What excatly are the consular offices in Spain for these days? What do they offer British ex-pats?

The website is a nightmare BTW. All looks very smart and reads well until you actually need to use it. All overseas passport renewals now have to be completed online. You have to pay with a bank card before you even start the process (great - my bank cards were stolen and I need a new passport to get new bank cards). You cannot download application forms to 'practice'. I am no form buster and always like to do a practice run before submitting the final application for anything.

The links from the 'overseas passport appilcation' immediately direct you to the offices of the UK passport office with totally irrelevant information. You would not be aware of this without reading the URL and enquiry string in your browser address bar. It is stupid. Like ridiculously stupid.

So, the advice from the only person at the Madrid consulate was to pay for emergency travel documents (€120) to get back to London and pay for a fast track application, or do it online and wait a minimum of 8 weeks. "Can I ask someone else to pay with their bank cards?" I asked. She had no answer. The only answers she had were recited from memory from the website. She then told me I could use the computer.

Why do they bother to maintain these places? Has anyone any useful experience of a new consulates office?


Oh, and... what the F*** is stopping me getting to London from Spain overland and over sea on a photocopy? Surely Calais customs aren't going to waste their time?

whitelinen

Sorry to hear of your horrible experiences.

Its of little consequence now but you might consider having 2 passports if you travel in your business.

If you leave a couple of cards somewhere safe you can always cancel the stolen ones and shift funds to the safe ones for example. American Express will get a replacement card couriered to you within 24 hours and maybe other banks do as well.

spainrico

I recently interviewed Paul Rodwell, British Consulate Alicante, this is an extract from my article:-

'...Paul Rodwell recently invited the press to review the consulate offices, which are indeed more modern and better equipped to deal with the high volume of visits made by residents, non-residents, and tourists. The Alicante Consulate is one of the busiest in the world and deals with a variety of issues including:
Assistance Cases – 2,500 (1)
Detainees – 550 (1)
Bereavements – 580 (2)
Emergency passports - 1,250 (3)
Vulnerable people - 130 (5)
The numbers are cases dealt with giving the world ranking in brackets based on 2012 statistics.
Alicante Consulate covers Valencia, Murcia and Albacete regions, which is a large area with a considerable number of British expats and many tourists.'

also:

'....It should be noted that the Consulate is no longer directly involved in passport renewals as the forms can be downloaded from the internet and sent directly for processing to the new passport administration in Belfast. However, they can issue emergency passports when people either lose or have them stolen – there is a fee for this service.'...

I cannot comment on Madrid because I have no experience but the Alicante consulate I am sure provides a good service.

The passport service is controlled from the UK and consulates follow their instructions from their masters.

Good luck with your problems.

TheLostPhotographer

Seriously? Two passports! Two British passports, or do you mean dual nationallity?

BritInParis

Both the British Embassy and the British Consulate in Madrid are in the Torre Espacio.

Whilst I appreciate being robbed isn't a pleasant experience they are offering you a same day travel document with which you can return to the UK and arrange to replace what you have lost with your insurance company and banks. What else were you expecting to be offered? Your work commitments are not their responsibility.

As for going overland via Calais or Eurostar then if you can try it by all means. It can be done. It'll be up to you whether you want to risk it or not. Either way once back in the UK you can then make a Fast Track passport application will take up to a week. You'll also need a new ESTA or visa for the US.

HMPO will issue you with two concurrent passports if you can prove a need. Usually this is frequent business travel or travel to 'incompatible' countries, i.e. Israel and members of the Arab League. This is not publicised however.

TheLostPhotographer

Good to know everything is modern now.



The forms cannot be downloaded from the internet. Try it yourself. The consulates cannot even accept payment in cash for a passport. They no longer have anything to do with issuing passports (a big chunk of their business as your figures suggest). Hence, just a single person is now employed in Madrid.

There is no such thing as an emergency passport. You can obtain an emergency travel document for single use at the cost of €125 plus passport 'style' photographs. I see no reason why I would need an emergency travel document to get back to London and pay much less for a fast track full 10 year passport.



Thank you.

whitelinen

Googling can I have 2 british passports is surely enough publicity for anyone.

I know several people who have 2 and no they never travel to Israel or Africa

37100

Hi, I had the same happen to us a few months ago here in Italy. We lost all our docs including birth certs. The on-line form is quite simple, you don't need your birth cert, but you do need to get your photos signed preferably by a UK citizen otherwise a copy of the signees passport photo page needs to be included. You also need proof ID and of residency all translated if not in English. You can use someone else's credit card for a new passport. It clearly state that in the instructions. Hope that helps. You are not the only one who wonders what consulate are for.

37100

And no, the form cannot be downloaded.

TheLostPhotographer

I was sort of expecting the same I got 5 years ago. Pay my cash. Hand over all completed forms, and wait for delivery of a new FOC issued passport.

TheLostPhotographer

Anyway...

I am heading back home to Granada. Doing the online application and waiting 8 weeks plus if necessary. My client in California is understanding. Airline tickets have been rearranged for a small fee. All is OK.

I am not a stupid person, but this stuff is seriously beyond me without help. I don't know why, but I just go into irrational panic at the sight of forms and stuff. It was much easier for me to practice filling the forms out before submitting the final correctly filled out form.

Hope my bad experiences and questions provide useful onfo' for others.

Thanks for all the replies.

BritInParis

Replace the word 'passport' with 'ETD' and that's exactly what you still get. Providing the US Embassy will do you a visa then you can still get there and back again. More costly and less convenient for you in the long run but then HMG doesn't do customer service any more.

37100

One more thing. It doesn't say anything in the instruction, but HMPO like a copy of the lost/stolen passport form.

MikeJ

Actually, these days all the passport is is a Travel Document - in fact an MRTD - Machine Readable Travel Document - no more no less. It is not a proof of ID as you have discovered, it can be used as supporting evidence of an assertion or claim of identity. In fact we Brits do not have a definitive proof of ID since the plans for an ID card were scrapped - you have, like many before you, found out the downside of that decision.

BritInParis

Not sure what you're referring to as I've never had a problem with using my passport as proof of identity and it is no less proof of identity as any proposed ID card would have been.