harrowboy

Hello all,

We have had similar delays for my 5 years olds renewal:

Applied online 6th March

Sent it from San Jose 23rd March

Durham received it on 25th March

We are now 8 weeks in and no news.

Also having issues with the 0300 222 0000 helpline number which often doesn't give you the Overseas option. Totally unacceptable considering the standard responses are unhelpful and the people on the helpline dont have a clue about whats going on.

Written messages to:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

mmwsn

That's almost definitely either the passport or the supporting documents. I received the same text with no change in status on the site. Received the DHL text on 5/19 and have received my renewed passport! The status didn't change on the passport site until after I received the shipment. I just received another DHL text today about a shipment tomorrow, which I'm assuming is my supporting documents (US passport and maybe cancelled expired UK passport?).

bongoffa

Dear HungryHorace,

After reading through this thread, I am of course worried that my renewal will end up in a similar situation. I am moaning on behalf of everyone who is affected by applications that are taking 6 to 10 weeks, and I am also anticipating problems for myself. From what week am I able to moan?

Re efficiency and customer service, come live in Ecuador and you will understand why I believe the UK is efficient!

UsedtobePat

Thanks, bongoffa.

It seems there is a certain amount of luck of the draw involved regarding which office your application is directed to. Although this thread is about renewal times in the USA I am applying from Japan and was instructed to send my application to Liverpool. Judging from comments on other threads and other websites, Liverpool does seem to be particularly bad. I am now seven weeks in and counting and getting replies to my enquiries that are apparently direct quotes from "Brazil".

Of course, after three days I have received no reaction from e-mailing James Brokenshire. Maybe his office could not ignore a real barrage of contacts on this subject, so anyone reading this in a similar passportless situation please write to him.

Speaking of Japan, when I first arrived here (25 years ago) the bureaucracy was pretty bad and the bureaucrats mostly unhelpful time-servers. I was proud to have come from a country that minimized bureaucracy and documentation. The situation is slowly but surely reversing itself: Britain gets steadily worse and more Soviet-style whereas Japan, whilst far from perfect in many areas, has improved out of sight.

hungryhorace

Ecuador is a third world country. You can't compare the two. I think 6-8 weeks isn't an inappropriate time to wait for a passport renewal outside your home country. I renewed my Irish passport recently, took 2 months.

I fully appreciate getting an ETD (if you don't hold dual nationality) if you need to travel when you don't have your passport is an absolute ball ache, but in reality, how often is that going to happen?

Just hold tight, and wait for it to arrive back. I'm sure it'll be fine.

UsedtobePat

Hungryhorace, I'm sorry but I disagree with you 100%. If there are people for whom 6-8 (10 in some cases) weeks being treated like plebs is acceptable, they are welcome to stick to the present, slow, frustrating system with no options being celebrated by James Brokenshire for its reduced cost.

The old embassy application system in Japan was quick, polite and reliable and I was never unhappy with how much it cost.

For those of us to whom a passport is a vital lifeline for business, or who need a guaranteed fast turnaround for personal reasons, there should be a fast track option, for which I would be happy to pay quadruple or more.

PS: crack the sarcastic champagne - my wife just phoned to tell me mine has arrived, seven weeks after the application arrived in Liverpool. Naturally, the GOV.UK website has only today changed my status to "Dispatched", even though the DHL representative in Japan contacted me on Tuesday, meaning it must have been sent last week.

hungryhorace

Travel back to the UK and do a same day renewal? Expensive flights wise, but you could always time it with a business trip?

UsedtobePat

That might be possible but is the equivalent to a tedious workaround for computer code that was rubbish in the first place.

My business trips are to China, at least once a month and often more, so you can imagine what an extreme pain in the nether regions this delay has meant for me. That is despite waiting for a clear spot in my travel schedule before applying.

I was renewing a passport not due to expire until 2018 because it is full of Chinese entry/exit stamps and no room to put in a new visa. My last trip to the UK was more than a year ago but if I could have foreseen this I would have got a new passport then.

And none of the above changes the fact that the current system is unacceptable and offers no options besides a long wait, bad service and a rubbish website for, whoop-de-doo, 35% less cost.

Sydon

Hello...

I just signed up so I could give my time line for passport applications, as I have found the info here very useful.

1 Adult renewal and 2 child 1st time applications

Applications submitted online March 5th 2014,
(payment taken from C.C March 6th)

Documents send to Durham via USPS March 25th
(Received at Durham March 28th from UPSP confirmation)

Durham has it on record as being received March 31st.

Called today and was told my renewal was printed on May 20th, and kids were printed May 21st. (just over 7 weeks)

Was told it would be 7-10 days until the passports are dispatched to me.

The call center is useless, unable to answer any basic questions. Each time I was told they were unable to find my application, even when given my specific application number.

I refused to get off the phone today without an update, expressed frustration that they couldn't give me any specific information after 7 weeks etc.

As if magic I was put through to the 'progress department' and was told they had been printed.

They were unable to answer any specific questions about when the supporting documents will be returned. I am quite concerned as they have my kids US passports.

Each time I have called I feel like I am speaking to badly trained monkeys.

hungryhorace

Please don't send your US passports next time!

1. The British government has no right to ask for them (regardless of their request);

2. They are not yours to send to the UK Passport Agency. They are the property of the state that issued them. (Yes, I know about sending in a passport to a foreign country for a visa issuance, but that is entirely different);

3. If you do wish to conform to the British's Orwellian request simply send in a photocopy of the bio page.

g1ant

And apart from anything else... they have no way of knowing you have another passport if you don't tell them. It's none of their business.

DJElectricDaddy

Update: My passport arrived yesterday. HOORAY!!! Saving me the need to go to the Consulate in LA. That and my son got the all clear to get off crutches, this week has been one of good news. We travel Sunday, so absolutely perfect timing. I haven’t counted the total number of weeks/days, but it was long, close to 3 months.

I have to say that everyone I dealt with on the phone was super understanding and helpful. Its not their fault the system is bollocksed. The entire online application process needs to be redesigned in a user-centric way.

good luck to everyone else waiting for theirs to arrive.

DJElectricDaddy

And get it notarised for extra protection

UsedtobePat

Good for you DJElecricDaddy.

I think the whole system needs to be redesigned from top to bottom. It's not just because it is a government entity, either: the contrast with dealing with HM Revenue & Customs about my NI contributions is black and white.

I think everybody on this thread might enjoy this piece on today's Daily Mail Online:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ents-time.html

The last three paragraphs are particularly cute:

Home Office figures show that since the start of April, 6,753 passports did not meet target times, out of a total of 980,695.

A spokesman for the Passport Office said: ‘We have brought in extra staff to respond to the extra demand, we are operating seven days a week and our couriers are delivering passports within 24 hours of [them] being produced.

‘There is no backlog, we have issued over three million passports so far this year and more than 98 per cent of straightforward passport renewals continue to be processed within three weeks.’

Sydon

I am happy to report my passport was delivered on May 22nd and my Kids 1st UK passports were delivered yesterday May 23rd.

I agree that is it ridiculous for HM Gov to request other countries passports...
The reason I sent my kids US pp's with the application is because I thought there would be too many questions and delays if I did not send them in, they were born here. When their renewals come up i will not be sending their US PP's in again.

I became a US Citizen a few years back and hold a US PP, I didn't send that in or make any mention of it. I did wonder if they would question why I have stamps in my UK pp entering the UK but none entering any other country (use my US PP to enter back to USA).

Fingers crossed I get our supporting documents back asap, not going to book summer flights back to London until I have them back.