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Whether you’re eagerly waiting for your passport or planning to apply soon, this page offers valuable insights from others who have gone through the process.
How This Page Works
Every day, applicants like you share their passport application experiences on our site. They provide:
- Application Date: When they submitted their passport application.
- Receipt Date: When they received their new passport.
- Photo Method: How they obtained their passport photo (e.g., at home, pharmacy, professional service).
- Processing Office: The passport office or centre that handled their application so you can check to see how quick the agency you have been assigned is processing passports.
Additionally, applicants often share helpful tips and observations that can assist you in managing your application or understanding current processing trends.
Stay Informed
Monitor the latest wait times and gain a realistic expectation for when your passport might arrive based on real-world data. Knowing what to expect can ease anxieties and assist in planning your travels.
Compare Processing Times
See how different agencies and photo methods impact processing speeds. This can help you choose the best options to potentially reduce your wait time.
Learn from Others
Benefit from the experiences of fellow applicants. Many share crucial advice, like which agencies are processing faster or tips for avoiding common pitfalls.
Share Your Experience
Help us keep this page accurate and useful by submitting your own passport wait time once you receive your passport. Your contribution will assist others and contribute to a clearer picture of the current processing landscape.
1st Adult Passport
Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport With Interview
Passport Office:
Corby
Submission Date:
10-09-2023
Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport
Passport Office:
Corby
Photo Method
Used a Photo-Me photo booth
Submission Date:
18-06-2025
Date Received:
18-07-2025
Overall Experience:
3 Star – Average
Comments:
I had a slightly interesting situation that I wanted to share in case others come across the same problem. In the end, it wasn’t an issue, just caused a little stress.
If your documents haven’t been denoted as Received within a few days of them arriving to the office, push on Webchat. As soon as I did this, the status of Documents Received was updated shortly after.
After this, I noticed that my application was taking longer than others to be approved. I contacted Webchat for this, and they told me to be patient. I had a gut feeling something was wrong after it was stuck on Waiting for Approval for two weeks, so I called the phone number. They gave me more information that there was a holdup because of the way my middle name is spelled. My middle name is something like “McIntyre”, and on my foreign passport and naturalisation certificate, it was denoted as “MC INTYRE” with a space between the letters. HMPO needed to contact UKVI to sort this out. It ended up being much quicker than anticipated, less than a week after I called to inquire. HMPO advised UKVI to issue me a new naturalisation certificate (no charge to me) without the space in my middle name, and this arrived the same day I was told I was getting a new one. My UK passport application was then approved and my UK passport has an observation on it that my foreign passport has a space in the middle name, but my UK passport does not.
All in all, I was able to get the information I needed, but this unexpected small change caused me a bit of stress. Good luck to everyone applying!
Date Received:
26-09-2023
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport With Interview
Passport Office:
Not Sure
Photo Method
Used a different photo booth (Not Photo-Me)
Submission Date:
03-07-2025
Date Received:
19-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
03-07-2025
Date Received:
16-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Comments:
It was a seamless process. My supporting documents are due back 17.07.2025
Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport
Passport Office:
Corby
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
02-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Used a different photo booth (Not Photo-Me)
Submission Date:
30-06-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Adult Renewal Passport
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
Corby
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
02-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Comments:
Submitted 02/07
Sent old passport 04/07
Documents received 07/07
Application approved 14/07
Passport printed 16/07
Passport received 17/07
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
04-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
08-06-2025
Date Received:
23-06-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
London
Photo Method
Other
Submission Date:
06-07-2025
Date Received:
18-07-2025
Overall Experience:
Please Rate out of 5
Comments:
Excellent service
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Used a Photo-Me photo booth
Submission Date:
14-07-2025
Date Received:
18-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
06-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Comments:
Application submitted – 06/07/2025
Passport sent – 07/07/2025
Passport received – 08/07/2015
Passport approved – 15/07/2025
Passport printed – 16/07/2025
Passport delivery – 17/07/2025
Old Passport – Still awaiting delivery
Very quick turnaround. The only thing is the passport tracking updates are not very reliable. Received a message saying that the application had been approved on 15/7/25. Received a text message from Royal Mail on 16/7/2025 saying the passport would be delivered on 17/7/25.
In the evening on 16/7/25 received a message from HMPO stating that the passport had been sent for printing and would be passed onto the Courier for delivery in the next few days.
However this is just an observation.
Overall such an easy process to renew.
Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Used a Photo-Me photo booth
Submission Date:
11-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
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1st Child Passport
Type of Application:
First Child Passport
Passport Office:
Corby
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
05-07-2025
Date Received:
19-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Comments:
I got a text from Royal Mail, the passport will be delivered tomorrow.
Application approved 7:31pm on 17 July 2025
Documents received 11:37am on 10 July 2025
Application received 3:52pm on 5 July 2025
Identity details received 3:52pm on 5 July 2025
Email sent to person confirming your identity 3:27pm on 5 July 2025
Ask someone to confirm your identity 3:21pm on 5 July 2025
Application submitted 3:21pm on 5 July 2025
Type of Application:
First Child Passport
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Used a Photo-Me photo booth
Submission Date:
01-07-2025
Date Received:
18-07-2025
Child Renewal
Type of Application:
Child Renewal
Passport Office:
Not Sure
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
29-06-2025
Date Received:
11-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
Child Renewal
Passport Office:
Corby
Photo Method
Used a Photo-Me photo booth
Submission Date:
05-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Type of Application:
Child Renewal
Passport Office:
Corby
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
03-07-2025
Date Received:
17-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
1 Week Fast Track Application
Type of Application:
1 Week Fast Track Service
Passport Office:
Newport
Photo Method
Used a Photo-Me photo booth
Submission Date:
09-07-2025
Date Received:
16-07-2025
Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful
Comments:
The process was as published however having read online others experiences of having sympathetic passport office personnel it was disappointing to find that overriding the 7-day process for children was essentially based on whether you met a friendly / sympathetic person at the passport office or not. We had to cancel two of our flights and rebook a few days later. Obviously entirely our fault for not checking the passport date of our daughter, however her passport was still in- date, it just didn’t have enough time on it to travel. (3months). With all birth certificates, passports, marriage Certs, proof of flights I struggle to see why they couldn’t renew faster than 7 days.
Type of Application:
1 Week Fast Track Service
Passport Office:
Liverpool (Bootle)
Photo Method
Used a different photo booth (Not Photo-Me)
Submission Date:
17-07-2025
Date Received:
19-07-2025
Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy
Type of Application:
1 Week Fast Track Service
Passport Office:
Peterborough
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
06-07-2025
Date Received:
15-07-2025
Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful
Comments:
I found the experience stressful, mainly because of misinformation from members of the group, honestly. Members stating they had their “childrens” passports back in 3 days, only to find they were referring to over 16’s, or others sharing outdated info or not taking into account them living close to the print facility led me to believe I would recieve the passport sooner than I did. Many state with full confidence that the 7 day service is from application, which it is not. Some lucky ones may get theirs sooner, but that doesnt change the terms of HMPO service level agreement which is 7 days from appointment. I think it would be helpful if members were fact checked to help keep misinformation to a minimum.
Overseas Passport Application
Type of Application:
First UK Passport (Overseas Application)
Passport Office:
Hemel Hempstead
Photo Method
Took it myself on my phone
Submission Date:
23-06-2025
Date Received:
14-07-2025
Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy
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