Hi, We were in a similar position. Submitted application on the 8th September. Went into processing on the 11th October and then reading through others timelines between processing and passport delivered dates it was averaging out at over 20 days. We are due to fly this Saturday 23rd so there was little chance it would arrive in time. Therefore i applied for a fast track and had to go to Glasgow from Newcastle on Monday 18th at 9am to submit the application. Took a withdrawal letter for the old application and gave it to the interviewer. She said she mark the application as a renewal and send the withdrawal letter to Durham (where the first application and old passport are held). She said i’d receive the passport by Monday 25th so pinning on hopes they will deliver quicker than the guaranteed 7 days. Subsequently my wife rang today to check on progress and they said the examiner looked at the application today and has requested a scanned copy of the front of my sons old passport from Durham. Therefore i have little hope that the scan will get to him quickly, passport printed and then delivered to me before 8pm this Friday night. If the interviewer had marked the passport as lost i’m unsure if this would of helped speed the process up or they may have checked on the system and realise it’s not lost and in Durham. Such a messy and frustrating time. Heart breaking for the kids and to loose over £2500 as insurance won’t pay out unless one of us gets COvid!
