Sir John

Hi all,

My uk 10 year passport is going to shortly run out end april 2011,i have been on the passport site and downloaded the C1 Forms,couple of questions maybe some that i am sure people here have had experience with this procedure can help with?.

1/ has anyone gone through the procedure of applying for a new 10 year passport living here permantly in spain as i do?,did it go smoothly without problems?,if not what happened?.
2/ using DHL EXPRESS experience?
3/About how long did passport take to come from sending off application?,it says 4 weeks?.
4/is it nescessary to provide 2 new passport photos,not changed much since 10 years ago.
5/where is the best place to get passport photo from if needed?.
6/Any useful tips before sending away everything
7/credit card details asked for on form downloaded seems a bit risky to send by post?,does not seem to be any other method to pay?,any comments on
this?.

Regards

paris

gandia,valencia.

jdr

Easy job apart from paying the excessive cost. :curse::curse:
Send it registered, it will be couriered back to you, mine took just over a week.
Pay attention to the photo requirements or they will refuse them and you will have to redo them.
I am sure you can pay on the website by card.

Sir John

Thanks for the quick reply back,much appreciated!!,a week that was quick!,did you have to supply new photos,was it nescessary/


paris

Fred James

You do have to produce recent photos. The photo standards are very important, as JDR pointed out. They use the photo to take measurements of your face which are encoded onto the new built in chip.

When you go through passport control the CCTV cameras read your facial details and compare it to the details on the passport chip.

You can download the exact requirements at

http://ukinspain.fco.gov.uk/resource...hotographs.pdf

I took my own photos and printed them to these standards and had no problems. Any local photography shop should be able to do them if you give them a copy of the guidelines.

My passport took about a week.

Sir John

Thanks Fred,very helpful.

paris

ps did you make a copy of you passport before sending it off,just in case it got lost ,god forbid,might seem lik ebit overkilll but never know?.

Fred James

I always have a certified copy of my passport for ID reasons, but yes, make sure you have a copy.

The system for renewal, even though it is expensive, does seem to work perfectly.

Sir John

Thanks again fred!-yes now i think of it when i first came to spain my abogado gave me a certified copy of my passport,just now need to locate it in my mass of paperwork that we seem to all acrue here in sunny spain,never without paperwork and comes in useful for the stove when required!
very
paris

anonimouse

I think it is changing this year to be centralised in UK, probably more cost to pay?

Fred James

If it was centralised it would be much cheaper as everyone would pay the same.

The justification the FCO make for increased charges for renewal through the Embassy is that the income has to fund all the services they supply to British citizens living or visiting Spain.

In other words we are paying to repatriate lager louts who lose their passports or get arrested in Ibiza!

Mataroni

I renewed mine a while back. I went to the British consulate in Barcelona, i believe they have one in Valencia, and did it through them. It took a couple of weeks as it has to go through various channels but I didn't have any problems. the only thing was that it doesn't come cheap! But then again, you don't mind paying if it all goes smoothly, do you?

Fred James

I don't think that is an option anymore - it all has to go to Madrid.

lynnxa

you're right

the 'local' consulates can issue temp. emergency ones, but not proper ones

JulianWard

Just a note in passing.

Although we usually get away with producing a copy of almost anything to 'prove' our ID, the only legal ID is a national ID card, a photo Residencia card, a valid Passport or a copy of it certified by the British Consulate.

So when you send off to renew your passport be sure to avoid any appointments with Notaries, the police or other official bodies.

jdr

A lot of gov offices here will not accept a copy, offically stamped or not, of the passport, they will only accept the original passport.

Rosemary

I have used my Spanish driving license as proof of ID for the past 4 or so years.

Rosemary