10 weeks wait time exceeded. What next?

Hi All, I submitted my son's renewal passport which as submitted on line on the 19th April. Same month they rec'd the documents. Still no sign of the passport, and we fly on our family holiday on the 31st July. I've followed the guidance on line to email expeditedservice@hmpo.gov.uk with the reference, name and proof we are flying. It states they will get back to us within 48 hours... however, we are way passed the 48 hours, so i rang 0300 222 0000 this morning and the operator told me they will get back to me, but they have a lot to get through, and quite frank full wasn't helpful at all! So am I just meant to wait until the 31st in the hope it comes or not or lose our money and our family holiday? Spoke with the traveller operator, and to move the holiday we would have to pay 100% of the holiday... so another £5k.....!!! Does anyone have any advice what my next steps should be? i can keep ringing that number each day, but they couldn't give me any info, apart from asking if i had expedited it! Thanks in advance Stressed parent!

@grumpy. Can I ask what number I was it that you called?

@rabbia1992 hi it was the general number on the website. Listen to the options and then select “any other query “ which was option 8.

Thank you. I will try that.

Deanc, I emailed the office that my application is being processed at (Belfast) on the 11th July and they replied back to me on the 17th. I also emailed the expedite team and they still haven't got back to me. They do seem to be right up against it at the moment and are working through applications based on travel dates. They seem to be 3-4 days before travel date before they contact you. This morning I went to my local office (Glasgow) and basically just queued up with a lot of desperate people. I travel on Saturday so they let me in to explain my circumstances. Took all my details and said they would contact Belfast office as Urgent and I should hear back from Belfast this afternoon and they should be able to tell me when I can collect my passport from Glasgow. Probably doesnt help your stress at this time but do not give up hope, I havent heard of anyone not being able to get their passport (as long as they are prepared to doorstep their local office). Hopefully you are close to one. Good luck

Fingers crossed you can pick up your passport soon and have a fantastic holiday. In regards to queuing up, and hoping it doesn't come to that, but i want to be prepared, do you know if i would i need to take the applicant? In this case, my 5 year old son, or just rock up with my PEX reference number, proof of holiday etc?

Another update. The progress team actually rang. Again very nice but no joy. Can’t ask to expedite until 10 weeks after docs received not application. Need proof of travel which we don’t have as we obeyed through gov advice! It’s bonkers. Just got to sit and wait. I will try to contact the Durham office at 10 weeks though. Hoping I’ll get it by then …… anyway thought I would share this experience so far

@harlynb thanks, sadly its my sons passport so he doesnt have any other form of ID and think even tho a passport isnt technically needed some form of ID is. On a brighter note, the Durham office phoned this morning and my passport was approved, printed and shipped next day (meaning it should arrive tomorrow) i have had the Royal Mail Txt as well saying it will arive before 1pm tommorow. For all those still waiting, I don't know which of these made the difference in the end but as well as calling constantly, I also got my MP involved and emailed all three of these emails (twice) with the situation marking it as Urgent and setting the importance to "High" DurhamUpgradeTeam@hmpo.gov.uk <DurhamUpgradeTeam@hmpo.gov.uk> EscalatedService@hmpo.gov.uk <EscalatedService@hmpo.gov.uk> ExpeditedService <ExpeditedService@hmpo.gov.uk> When I rang them yesterday, the particulaly usless person, who wouldnt even put me through to anyone else and claimed they had no ability to do so, did say that they where working on passports traveling in the within the next couple of days and with my travel on Saturday I assume that this is why it got sorted today. Just to confirm I was not asked for any proof, and infact was very honest with them that it was my intent to travel on saturday (thats when work AL is booked and when family events are happening) and made the point that I couldnt book it prior to that due to not having the passport and not being able to risk losing the money and that this was in fact the advice that the Passport Office itself provides.

@Jezzreal thank you so much for posting such useful information. I too have not booked due to the advice, but need to book and go in the school hols. Was told today that I can’t do anything until 20 weeks after docs received and then only if travel booked. Out of interest when did you contact the emails you have provided ? Was it week 10 or before? Delighted that you have your passport!

@Jezzreal thank you so much for posting such useful information. I too have not booked due to the advice, but need to book and go in the school hols. Was told today that I can’t do anything until 10 weeks after docs received and then only if travel booked. Out of interest when did you contact the emails you have provided ? Was it week 10 or before? Delighted that you have your passport!

Hi peeps. In preparation for my inevitable request to be expidited 2 weeks prior to travel which will be 26th july, what evidence do they require? Is a screenshot of flight booking sufficient? Or do they need accommodation proof also? If not screen shot, how do they require the evidence? Many thanks.

Hi @Deanc, I applied for my passport on 19/5 and was going thru the same exact situation as yours. I must have called over 30 times over the past few weeks, and based on my experience nothing is done through them because when I finally thought that they noted down my travel date, the advisor from yesterday's call said it's not showing on my application even though many before him have claimed to have noted it down. I think the only thing that helped my case was sending emails to all the upgrade teams (someone posted the emails before on here), and in the subject line, write Urgent, in breach of SLA, your child's full name and ref no., over 10 weeks processing time and travel date. Don't forget to attach the tickets as evidence. In my case, the upgrade teams couldn't help with my application as it's a first time adult passport but the one in Belfast advised that they will contact the expedited services team as it's been over 10 weeks and that they will treat it as a priority. They sent me this email yesterday and lo and behold my application got approved today. Just keep emailing the expedited and upgrade teams every 2 days with the same subject line. I believe they will approve it nearer to your travel date, as today marks 6 days before mine. Your other option is to wait 48 hours before your flight and go to your nearest passport office. I also emailed my MP who contacted them and sent complaints to all emails I could find. I personally think the subject line is very important as it's the first thing they see while going thru so many emails. Sorry for the long post but hope this helps. Good luck.

Hi @Grumpy, I actually booked the cheapest ticket I could find, just a one way 22 pound ticket to use as proof. If it's a renewal and been over 6 weeks since they received your documents, you are entitled for an upgrade I believe, which might come at a cost but I'm not sure. So if you're open to it, just buy a really cheap ticket to fly out within the next week or so and email them again, hopefully it'll will do something as they are prioritising applications based on travel date. Good luck.

"I actually booked the cheapest ticket I could find, just a one way 22 pound ticket to use as proof. If it’s a renewal and been over 6 weeks since they received your documents, you are entitled for an upgrade I believe, which might come at a cost but I’m not sure. So if you’re open to it, just buy a really cheap ticket to fly out within the next week or so and email them again, hopefully it’ll will do something as they are prioritising applications based on travel date." From what I read the passport office have become cute to this you will be required to provide more evidence of travel if the flight/travel has been booked after the the submission date. Also one could be denying someone who has been waiting longer as actully is in need of travel.

Has everyone who’s has managed to get a reply from the expedited/escalated team, with flights booked managed to get their passports, I’ve read on here that there working on passports who have travel booked around 3/4 days, just wondered if everyone actually managed to get their passports even if it is the day before travel x

@Foster Twelvetrees I understand where you're coming from, but just to clarify, I had been waiting for over 11 weeks from when docs were received and over 13 weeks from submission date which was the 19th of April. I had to do this as a last resort, because no amount of calls, emails, MP involvement or complaints were enough if I didn't have travel plans. It is so frustrating to see others who have applied after me who got theirs within 3 weeks to a month, while I did everything by the book but to no avail. And I do actually have travel plans but I was not willing to risk 800 pounds to book tickets when I wasn't sure when I would receive my passport. Again, I would only recommend this as a last resort (which paid off thankfully) because I don't accept that in a first world country like this, one should wait almost 3 months to get a passport. And it's not really just about travel, it's an important form of identification which if you don't have can stop you from doing simple things suchs as opening a bank account, getting a new job, etc. Had there been enough contact and communication from the office, I wouldn't have needed to do that. But after lots of miscommunication, and lack of communication even, I just wanted to help out whoever is going through what I did.

@Anon, Did you see the news? Folk were turned away from the Durham office today who had tipped up with cheap throw away flight tickets. You were more than likley dealt with because you had passed the 10 week threshold.

Does anyone have the email address for glasgow passport office?

Submitted application early may and waited for 11 weeks before finally calling the advice line (pressing 8 then 3). Because I had waited over 10 weeks they said I may be able to get a free expedite and told me to wait for a call back. Got a call back later that day who told me to email the expedited service and also put through to someone else to check that my lost/stolen passport cancellation reference had been linked to my new application. That took a while. Regarding the email, I have seen a couple floating around the forum and I don't know if emailing them outright works. From what I understood is that they need to put in a request for you first for the email to be taken up and you had two days to email because the request was terminated. I emailed the same evening and the next day my application was approved and printed. I dont know why all the renewals for lost passports are sitting round together on someone's desk but if you have been waiting over 10 weeks, being patient and polite but firm and giving them all the info you can (even if they didn't ask for it) seemed to help, e.g. you making sure the lost/stolen passport cancellation reference has been added to your application. The day after, it was scheduled to be delivered but I was already at work so I immediately rescheduled it for the following day. Its just arrived and I'm so glad I can finally move on.

Hi @rabia1992, It's glasgowupgradeteam@hmpo.gov.uk

@Hotcocoa123 thanks for your posting your experience as I’ve been reading lots on here to find similar situation to my own as I reported my lost passport on 18th May and never got a lost reference number (checked emails as well as junk/spam folder). I applied for new passport on 19th May and it’s been stuck on identity details received ever since. I rang to enquire about my lost passport number and linking to my new application and was told if it was done online and it wouldn’t need it! The advice varies depending on who you speak to to! I’m on 9 wks and holding no hope that it’ll be looked at in the final week of the 10th. Did you get your MP involved as I don’t think it’ll be progressed until I reach 10 wks next week. Reading your experience has given me some hope!

Small update. They rang! Need my daughter’s birth certificate. No idea why but I sent it straight away. Why they couldn’t have asked for that 8 weeks ago I don’t know, but I am keeping everything crossed that it will be processed quickly now and we can book a holiday! I’ll keep everyone here posted. I have rung, emailed and contacted my MP so I do think persistence is the key here.

In my experience the only thing that truly works is having a flight booked and turning up to your local passport office 48hrs before the flight.

My daughter's application has now exceeded the 10 weeks wait time. I have emailed Durham Emergency cases with all the evidence (letter from GP, fly tickets) on 18th July and have not heard anything from them. So I continued chasing and was asked to email my evidence to Escalated services (done on 21st July) - also been ignored so far. Is there anything else I can do to be able to get my daughters passport in time? We are flying to visit family on 30th July.

Do you know what passport office it's at? If so then you can email the upgrade team too. That's what I've done. Mine was DurhamUpgradeTeam@hmpo.gov.uk Not sure how helpful it'll be personally at the moment. I'm currently sitting at 12 weeks application; 2 week 1 day until I travel so tomorrow I intend on coming down on them like a tonne of bricks. Also ring the help desk (I know they are useless) but get them to confirm it's been escalated? I have been told to do that tomorrow once I've sent emails etc. The whole system is a load of rubbish. Having known someone send of 4 passports 2 weeks ago and have them all renewed and received within a week whilst mine has fallen down the back of someones desk. Disgusting. I'm hoping I'll get my passport soon, but I think I'm going to push the complaint further because it's really not fair how they're treating people.