cockfosters

Good Morning Everyone -

About to renew my British passport, and compared to last time - the process now requires items to be shipped to London (vs Washington DC), since passport processing has been centralized.

Just a couple of questions, and apologies if these have been asked 10000 times before:

1) How would you suggest shipping the materials to London. FedEx, UPS, USPS? Any experiences good/bad with any of those options?
2) Is it really necessary to scan every page of your US Passport to include with the materials sent? Or can you just scan the main page with your info?
3) Any other things I should be concerned/aware of?

Thanks in advance!

Rete

You can renew online and send the documents via any secured method you wish. Read post #4

Renewing British passport from overseas

cockfosters

Thanks for the link!

Would appreciate any other feedback on the shipping method you used, if it was lost/delayed/etc. Basically, just want to know if I should pay the $70 to ship it FedEx/UPS, vs the cheaper ($35) USPS option.

Also, if anyone has suggestions to question #2, and your experience.

durham_lad

MarylandNed

Actually you'll probably be sending to Durham - not London. Definitely send via some type of registered mail so that you can track it - not via regular USPS snail mail. I sent an application recently using USPS International Priority Mail which is tracked and cost $35. And, yes, you must provide a photocopy of every page of your US passport. With a 28 page US passport, I sent 16 sheets of A4 (2 passport pages per A4 sheet) that also included outside and inside cover pages. I assume they want to see all pages for any visas and entry stamps you may have. The photo was submitted online. I think their system checks it for major issues like red eye and shadows although I think they also do a manual photo check once they receive your paperwork. My wife took the photo with an iPhone 6s.

tht

BritInParis

If you forget to send a copy of your US passport then you’ll still receive your new British passport without issue.

lansbury

Olly_

I renewed mine last year and sent the old one via USPS Priority Mail Express International without a problem, it was passed to ParcelForce when it arrived in the UK and the tracking worked end to end.

Personally I wouldn't waste the extra $$$ on UPS or FedEx.

cockfosters

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I paid the fee this morning, and scanned each page of my passport. I'll probably ship via UPS ($71) which includes 'request signature'. If I ship out on Monday, will arrive by Wednesday.

I'll keep you all posted how I make out :-)

MarylandNed

I highly recommend that you save yourself some money and go with USPS International Priority Mail. It cost me $35.65 a few weeks ago and is tracked the whole way. Delivery in the UK is handled by Parcelforce.

lizzyq

My son just sent his USPS as above and it arrived within a week with no problems.

MidAtlantic

I agree. I used them also and no problem with tracking or speed of service.

bhunt

I applied online then sent the docs on July 29th USPS, no problems until Aug 11th when received this email from them. "We require a new paper form because we need somebody to confirm your identity. Your previous passport was issued prior to the implementation of our current database and so we are unable to digitally compare the new picture to that on your previous passport. Since your application is a renewal, you only need to complete sections 1, 2, 9 and 10 ,You may leave section 3 blank as we will complete it for you upon receipt of the application form. Please ensure you also send two paper photographs, with the back of one of them certified by the person who completes section 10." Read this on the passport web site. Accepted occupations for countersignatories, what lot of big hoops to jump through, they have every page from my US passport and my old passport and 2 new photos, a blind man can see that all the photos are of the same person, I was going to cancel the application but they don't give refunds, what a rip,

BritInParis

How old is your passport? Was it issued overseas?