andylaiphoto

So I guess I'm out of luck.

Here's my situation. I have a BNO, I was born in Hong Kong. I've never had a Hong Kong Permanent ID card but will have to apply for one if I want to renew my passport. Odd to me because I live in the states as a permanent resident and have no plans of being in Hong Kong.

Well I need to have my passport ready to go by the 10th of April, it is now the 18th of March. If I send out all my paperwork, I'm practicing some heavy wishful thinking that I'll get it back in time huh?

md95065

Yes.

My passport renewal application was delivered to the Embassy on February 25th and my credit card was charged yesterday (March 18th) - that is 3 weeks and, judging form the other posts on here, that appears to be a pretty typical time to have to wait before they start processing the application. With any luck I will get the new passport back in about another week.

So, it seems like the best you can reasonably hope for right now for a straightforward renewal is about 4 weeks.

JAJ

Something doesn't make sense here ... if you have a BNO passport, your Hong Kong ID card number is supposed to be shown on that already.

Are you also a Chinese citizen? If so, you should be eligible for a HKSAR passport? If you're NOT a Chinese citizen, and not a US or any other citizen, you may now be eligible for registration as a British citizen.

GreyDawg

Update: Partial timeline

Feb 17 - FedEx'd application to Washington
Feb 19 - Delivered -- signed for by security / guard
March 19 - No credit card charge yet (4 weeks from receipt in DC)

It appears that the order in which applications are processed (if that is signaled by the date of payment taken) is not necessarily in order of receipt:

Shauny2k5: received in DC Feb 16, card charged Mar 9
Jesse923: received in DC Feb 18, card charged Mar 16
DottyPotty: "mailed" Feb 25, card charged Mar 11


I wonder if this can be attributed to application type (renewal, name change, first passport)?

My application is for a first passport, and I fully expect the processing to take several weeks after the card is charged.

My travel is in June.

lifehouse51

You don't have to plan on permanently living in Hong Kong to apply for the ID card. You should just get it anyway in case you ever need to go back there (To visit, to work, etc.) You can use your BNO to enter, but things are quicker/easier with an ID card. And how did you get your first BNO in the first place? Don't you have to show your ID card as well...your situation is rather puzzling. Or you used to have the old type of ID card, but didn't apply for the new type with the computer chip on it?

And for the timeline you gave, I think it'll be very hard to meet the deadline, considering that you're applying for a Hong Kong ID card overseas...that itself will take some time. Consider altering your travel plans.

FInally, are you considered a Chinese National? If not and you didn't hold any other citizenship up to now, apply for the Full British Citizenship!!

Jscl

GreyDawg, I get a feeling (and I really know nothing about this) that they charge your card right near the end of creating the passport. If your passport isn't simply for renewal, like the others', then they might be checking a few things and will only charge your card when it's all okayed and they're ready to do the final printing etc.

That's just my guess, given that somewhere on their site it says if there are problems with your application they will charge your credit card the cost of the return postage (i.e. won't charge the full cost). If they charged the card before checking everything is ok then they couldn't do that.

Again, just my guess.

aes1

I sent my application in at the end of January. On Feb 24 (I was out of town) it was returned, rejected. On the photos my mouth was closed, but you could just see my top two teeth. BTW Nowhere on the instructions did it say teeth can't be showing. What if you have a cold and breathe through your mouth??? Anyway, I sent it back as requested, with new photos,overnight and marked date of travel on the form, as requested (this was now urgent and the letter accompanying the returned application stated to do this). That was Feb 26. The first total amount was debited beginning February,now the extra shipping for the second time has been debited March 15. I fly to England on Wednesday, March 24. I have not yet received my passport. Fortunately I have dual nationality, I have my US passport. But - this has now cost me about $270 and if it doesn't arrive tomorrow or Tuesday, I will have to pay another $30 to have my neighbor express mail it to me in England once it does arrive here. I called the Careline in England on Saturday, why do we have to call England???? I was told they would try and expedite the matter, but there was no guarantee. They guy on the phone said it wasn't yet showing in their system. But that is already 22 days after sending it back and 5 days after my card was debited again for shipping. I got the feeling I was not getting anywhere. This is so frustrating and annoying, and of course, I am very nervous about the whole thing. I also have a trip booked to Malta for April 18 out of England. Surely it will turn up by then:fingerscrosse d: What more can I do???

aes1

PS This was supposed to be a straightforward renewal, I have never had any trouble in the past.

martyleach

British Consul - I need your help !
(sorry for thread hijack; need urgent passport help. I've just registered but cannot send a private message straight away)

According to the Careline service, my completed UK passport has been sitting in Washington since March 04th, but it appears to have entered into a void.
Due to the urgent nature of travel, I had to use a passport service (traveldocs in DC) just for peace of mind that the application was in order.
I'm now going to dispute any charges traveldocs add on for their services.
I even had a voicemail message left last week from the passport service saying the passport was ready for collection,

Now, even though it appears the passport has been completed, it's not being released to them for collection. They keep asking for it, but it then goes around in circles. I now have an active careline ticket raised yesterday for the Embassy to check what is going on.

Apparently, the Embassy computers were down today, so nothing could be checked.

So, in case nothing can be done, does anyone know if any of the following is possible :-
1) I give a written authorization letter to a family friend in Washington, giving them permission to collect it on behalf of me ?
2) Can the Embassy staff take a direct payment via the phone to mail the passport out, even though it wasn't originally requested ?
3) Or, failing that, I guess I could even make the drive to Washington (from Ohio) and visit the Embassy monday morning to see what's going on.

I fly out April 1st (no joke), so i'm now starting to get worried.

Thanks for listening, hoping that someone can help, and sorry for the thread hijack what with being a new member and all that.

Jscl

That must be stressful!

The Traveldocs place must have done this before, surely they are able to get a response from the Embassy about *why* they're not letting them pick up your passport?? That's awful service if they're just saying they don't know... I would definitely dispute the charge, AFTER you have the passport.

Did you sign a release or letter that gave permission for Traveldocs to pick up your passport? Can you do an identical one with your DC friend's name instead, and see if it works while you're waiting for an answer? (Depends how close they are to the Embassy of course.)

Sorry I can't help - hope someone here can.

martyleach

Traveldocs, according to their site and other independent reviews I looked at while selecting a company, have been doing this for 20+ years in passport (and visa) processing. I also furnished them with copies of their supplied authorization letter, so apparently no issues there.

From what I can fathom, there appears to be a disconnect between the Embassy and Traveldocs. According to them, Traveldocs keep asking for it, but the Embassy for some reason are failing to release it to them (and other UK passports, so they say).

The family friend, a cousin, lives literally 3 miles (as the crow flies away) from the Washington Embassy. I'm just worried that even after giving her all the information required that it will be denied, or have issues, meaning a trip there anyway.

I'm just hoping the message left via Careline yesterday is read, and the person handling my case calls me back within the next day or two.

Grumble.

Lady K

PLEASE HELP!

I am born in Canada but first generation on my father's side. My grandparents & great grandparents were all born in the UK.
I was born in 1980, and due to the legislation in force at that time - my application was denied due to the fact that my parents were never married.
I have all the documentation proving my father is my father. ie His name on my birth certificate as well as on my certificate of baptism.
We even sent in our applications together.
I also even have an old expired Canadian passport with my UK grandparents listed as my emergency contact from 1990 when I went to visit my great grandmother in Portsmouth.

My dad & I were planning on going to see my great gran for 99th birthday in May where I was then planning to work and stay a few months. She was also born in England on May 20th, 1911.
There has to be an exception? How can the fact that my parents were never married change my blood and my heritage.
I called careline a number of time and in all instances I was told that I should have no problems getting the passport.

I was told to write a letter back to Bob McKeegan-Brown (the person who denied my application) in hopes of him reconsidering his decision.
Apparently if I applied before the of 18 I would have still been eligible. This doesn't make any sense to me. If I am recognized as my father daughter by blood and the church why does the marriage make such a difference?
Moreover, my parents knew eachother since they were young children! That's probably the reason they decided not get married lol.
I even have pictures of my entire life time with my whole British side from a small child till now.
Please tell me what I can do. There has to be something.

K

Jscl

Are you saying you were refused in the 1980s and haven't applied since, or that you''ve recently reapplied and again been refused?

Jscl

By the way, if citizenship doesn't work out, there's an "UK Ancestry" visa that seems to apply to you. It enables you (if you do in fact qualify) to live and work in the UK for up to five years.

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoap...inf9ukancestry

It can be converted to permanent residence in some circumstances.

md95065

Got the new passport this morning.

Feb 25 - application delivered to embassy
Mar 18 - credit card charged
Mar 23 - issue date on new passport
Mar 25 - new passport received

4 weeks total - not bad considering what some people have had to go through ...