It's like dealing with clowns. This is the first time during my entire lifetime arranging passports for anyone in our family where I'm having to send multiple parcels to them instead of sending in an application in just one go... which is how the system is designed. Check-list of docs, send them in, done.

Then they're sending me complete rubbish links and info about an application type that isn't even pertinent (first time adult passport info when we're dealing with a renewal... for a teenager... who doesn't qualify for an adult passport yet) - which makes me think I have the bad luck of dealing with some illiterate and incompetent person who hasn't had the right training yet and is just stumbling along making mistakes...

Has anyone applied for a "first adult passport" (apparently you get them once you're 16+) for one of their kids recently?

Is the process similar to previous kids' passports done over the years where you just provide the old passport and a photo (+ in some cases a birth certificate) or do they require someone to confirm the identity of the person in the photo, etc., like they used to do back in the day (for all passport applications actually)?

I always mail in the kids' passport applications when travelling through the UK briefly (easy to get the photo taken at the nearest mall + safe to post in the old passport via Royal Mail) but if they require someone to sign the photos then I won't be able to find anyone in the likes of Luton during a simple stopover enroute to Spain...

The current guidance seems to indicate that the adult applicant needs identity verification. Which I suppose makes sense as they have never applied for a passport in their own right before. Any reason you cant get someone to sign in Spain and still take it to the UK to post it ?

I renewed my passport early December online.
The hardest part was the foto. They didn't accept the one my wife took with her phone, so I went to get 'proper' fotos done with a photographer.
I got the church secretary to write on the foto "I confirm that this is a true likeness of....", though I don't think the guidelines mentioned it. There's not much room either on the foto to write all that! I got him to put a church stamp on it. Bureaucracy seems to like that.
My local bank's policy now is not to countersign a foto.
I was amazed at the quick turnaround, a matter of maximum 3 weeks. The new passport & the old one were returned by courier, though separately for some strange reason.
Overall, very impressed.

Any reason you can’t send from Spain with Correos? Two years ago sent with tracked service which was very quick and reasonably priced.

I sent a tracked document to the UK recently. It took 2 weeks, and all Correos could tell me was that in was in the UK but could not confirm delivery. A carrier pigeon would do a better job!

We sent our old passports back via Correos, just ordinary post not the tracked service, in late November and the Passport Office acknowledged receipt of them 3 days later. The whole process until we received our new passports back took only 11 days.

Similar but a couple of additional days due to Spanish public holiday

Many thanks, might have to prepare ourselves for passport photo signings before heading to Luton to send everything off. But in this case we do need to make sure we can get proper photos done in Spain, which from past experience has proven to be excruciatingly difficult.

Where I'm at it's a challenge to even get a proper passport photo taken. Out best bet would be to take it ourselves.

How much did this cost? I understand that DHL can be pricey but they are efficient in delivering document packs (zero customs delays) quickly.

We took each other's photos and there is a facility to try them out before starting the application, it took a few tries until we got a "good" result (mainly because we kept getting a shadow in the background) but if you make sure you get them assessed as good then they should be OK.

I checked out what it would cost to return my old passport via DHL and it was just over €33. The last time we renewed ours 10 years ago, I used a local courier company to return mine and it took 10 days to get there (sent to Belfast in those days). My husband, on the other hand, sent his by non-tracked mail via Correos and it got there much faster. Hence why we chose to send them by normal mail this time and as I said earlier they were received by the Passport Office 3 days later (put in the postbox on a Monday, which gets emptied at 1.30pm and the emails from the Passport Office acknowledging receipt were sent on the Thursday evening). Cost about €3.

If I renember the courier service was €19. Well worth it. And I think it was DHL.
Wouldn't dare send them by ordinary post.

We took photos ourselves, not easy but we got there in the end the system told us when photo was acceptable. Like you we used Correos and passports arrived quickly with no issue. The online system for doing passports is excellent in my view.

Sometimes Correos has access to tracking data from their delivery partner abroad and shows it on their own website, otherwise you have to go to their partner website (Royal Mail I assume) yourself and enter the same tracking number.

I've had no problem finding places which will take an unflattering photo on a bright white background, perfect for passports, and they sent me the jpg by email.

I sent mine for under €25 by UPS, it got there in a day. No, I wouldn't use ordinary post either.

By the way, Form EX20 has an option to update details "Por cambio de Documento de Identidad/Pasaporte". No details on what documents are required, the cost, if they issue a new TIE (I hope not), or what the option to choose in the cita previa website is.

I still have to call either the police station or extranjería to work out how it's done, or maybe I'm just looking for problems and shouldn't bother.

Two weeks is an awfully long time for something that is exempt from customs so no clearance delays or anything like that. It sounds like it wasn't a courier service (not sure what Correos calls it but in the UK I think they referred to it as Parcel Force?) but maybe just snail mail with registered/signed delivery?

I can't remember off the top of my head but as you mentioned the tracking number (which might even be standardised by now) will work on the local mail site as well since the package is handed over to them for final delivery.

Has anyone renewed an adult passport recently? Do they ask for someone to verify your photos or is that not necessary if you still resemble the same person you were 10 years ago?