Wh431

Hi all,

has anyone renewed their UK passport (from US) recently? How long is it taking?

when applying online, i was shown that it may take upto 11 weeks but i am hoping that in reality its sooner than that.

thanks

leuler

I got mine in 10 days from the US at the end of last month. Very fast indeed

Applied online on a Saturday. Took ages to get a decent photo, but all smooth apart from that. Sent old passport via 2 day recorded delivery, arrived on Tuesday. Passport office acknowledged receipt on Wed and printed new passport on Thursday. Received new passport from DHL on the following Wed and old passport on the Fri.

Very smooth and fast!! I imagine it will get a little slower as people think about traveling again.

Russet

Interested to know how you did your passport photo? What issues did you have?

leuler

In the end a simple picture taken with an iPhone against a simple plain background did the trick!

IIRC, when you upload a picture on the passport website, it gives the picture a grade of either Poor, Fair or Good. We wanted the picture uploaded to be rated Good. We spent hours trying lots of different backgrounds, different lighting and even different clothes using both a digital camera and an iPad - and all of these were rated Poor or Fair. I even went to CVS and paid $20 for a digital passport photo and uploaded it and it was rated Poor too!! Finally we tried with an iPhone (a not that fancy one either) and without really trying took a quick picture and uploaded it and it was rated Good, so we went with that! Not sure if the prior problems were our incompetence or the cameras/iPad didn't have enough megapixels. Good luck if you're doing it!! You'll probably find it easier than we did.

tht

I did CVS, got both the digital and prints, used the same ones for UK, US and a German passport and they were all accepted with no issues.

Nutmegger

As leuler said, a quick iPhone shot worked just fine when I renewed last fall.

Pollyana

Need to renew mine soon and I was wondering about the photo, so your post is really helpful.
Do you get a chance to check whether the photo is any good before you actually do the application? I'm just thinking that if my photos are rated poor and I have to retake them, do I have to go all through the application again, or does it save what you have already done?!

Wh431

I also had similiar experience with the photos but in the end managed to take a few ok ones. Its mainly the issues with uneven lighting and the shadow in the photos.

That aside, i am wondering why the cost of posting the old passport to uk, so high? If I remember correctly the postage with Royal mail in UK is much cheaper.

leuler

Glad to help!

I can't remember exactly, but the online site was very easy to use. I don't think it stored the information, but it was really quick to enter the info if you have your current passport handy!

tht

Unless something changed I had to pay to return my old passport to the UK myself. I think I did 2 day UPS, was no more expensive than any other international package if a similar size I have sent. I would not have risked sending it by normal post.

The fee to renew also includes the secure courier fee to return the old and new passport separately. I think mine was via DHL.

That all adds to the cost, but cheaper than flying to the UK to do it in person. For my German one I had to go to the Embasy to both drop off my old passport and pickup the new one. Given the extra time that took I prefer the UK way of doing it even with the slightly higher cost ist easier and faster.

Pollyana

thats great, many thanks. I must get on with renewing it now before the post-COVID rush starts.
Not that Australia will let me fly for another 2 or 3 years but I don't want to be without a current British passport!

newadventure

I thought you could apply for a new one up to 9 months before the current passport expired, and the expiry of the new one would be 10 years after the expiry of the current one (ie you wouldn't 'lose' any months by applying early). But the website now says that you don't get time back if you apply early. Did i misinterpret before or is this a new thing?

spouse of scouse

My husband applied for his a couple of years back, 8 months before his current one expired (long story, but it was necessary). The expiry date was 10 years from the date they issued the passport, ie the 8 months wasn't added on

Wh431

ah, what a coincidence. I too have British and german dual nationality.

though my german Reisepass doesnt run out till 2028 but its good to know the procedure.

MidAtlantic

From September 2018 it changed so that you no longer get credit for any unexpired portion.