Applications whilst locked down

Hello Rothbard. Pleased to be of help. Of course it's ridiculous that this sort of information isn't automatically available, is it not? Why on Earth doesn't the Passport Office tell you how to track the delivery when they tell you they've sent it? Why did TNT not send me tracking information? Why did two Passport Office members of staff insist that the courier would automatically send tracking information when that never happened? The list is endless ... Delighted you now know your delivery information. Fingers crossed!! Yes: I did get the new blue one with its rather differently displayed information: larger b&w photo and a small colour one on the facing page, as well as sort of title page with the photo on that too.

I applied for my sons renewal and my adult renewal online on 2 April my passport was sent out 16th April and I’m still waiting for my sons it’s been saying being processed since 21st April hoping I can get it before August as was trying to plan a short break home to canaries but it’s hard to plan when you don’t know how long to wait

My application, sent to Durham. Adult renewal: Application approved 10:49am on 9 June 2020 Documents received 12:41pm on 5 June 2020 Application received 1:31pm on 28 May 2020 Application submitted 1:31pm on 28 May 2020

2 child passport renewals, one standard and one name change, both sent to Durham. Standard renewal just approved and being printed: Application approved 11:58am on 9 June 2020 Application being processed 1:22pm on 14 May 20 Documents received 3:11pm on 13 May 2020 Application received 1:33pm on 6 May 2020 Application submitted 1:33pm on 6 May 2020 Name change renewal still processing: Application being processed 12:25pm on 14 May 20 Documents received 3:10pm on 13 May 2020 Application received 1:48pm on 6 May 2020 Application submitted 1:48pm on 6 May 2020

Applied for first adult passports for my wife and me and two first child passports. Mine was sent to Newport the rest of my family to Liverpool. We all sent documents on 24th March and I'm the only one that has been approved and passport received (the new blue one). Rest which were sent to Liverpool still processing... First Adult Passport (Newport) Passport printed and sent 2:28pm on 3 June 2020 Application approved 10:38am on 3 June 2020 Application being processed 12:05pm on 24 March 2020 Documents received 4:16pm on 23 March 2020 Application received 2:17pm on 19 March 2020 Identity details received 2:16pm on 19 March 2020 Email sent to person confirming your identity 11:44am on 18 March 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 11:39am on 18 March 2020 Application submitted 11:39am on 18 March 2020 First Adult Passport and two first child passports (Liverpool - all same timeline) Application being processed 10:06am on 22 April 2020 Documents received 12:48pm on 24 March 2020 Application received 2:27pm on 19 March 2020 Identity details received 2:27pm on 19 March 2020 Email sent to person confirming your identity 1:12pm on 18 March 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 1:11pm on 18 March 2020 Application submitted 1:11pm on 18 March 2020

We received our son's passport today (the supporting documents should be arriving tomorrow). Here is our timeline. Application type: first child passport (both parents are British Citizen passport holders). Documents sent to Peterborough. Passport received 9:30am on 9 June 2020 Passport printed and sent 1:42pm on 5 June 2020 Application approved 7:52pm on 4 June 2020 Application being processed 2:10pm on 18 May 2020 Documents received 7:33pm on 5 May 2020 Documents posted 10:30am on 4 May 2020 Application received 1:34pm on 2 May 2020 Identity details received 1:33pm on 2 May 2020 Email sent to person confirming your identity 11:52am on 2 May 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 11:35am on 2 May 2020 Application submitted 11:35am on 2 May 2020

Glad to hear you got your sons first passport. I managed to speak to someone on the phone today but they just followed scripts by the word then she lost her temper when i asked why some offices were turning round new child applications from May already, whereas mines been stuck with Liverpool since mid March. Refused to allow my application to be sent to another center for processing. Then proceeded to tell me that i should not have booked a holiday without having a passport in hand (i had incorrectly assumed 8 months was more than enough time to get a passport for a UK national!)

At this point I can't quite believe how much of a shambles this actually is. I'm a dual national and will be turning 18 soon which require me to administrative things with urgency. I sent my application to liverpool on the 14th of March. There is no simple way to get my passport back and they keep spewing out the same garbage each time. This is freaking me out.

How do you know if your passport application has been sent elsewhere for processing? Application history (first passport for child) Application being processed 11:42am on 28 May 2020 Documents received 2:32pm on 22 May 2020 Application received 4:22pm on 16 May 2020 Identity details received 4:22pm on 16 May 2020 Email sent to person confirming your identity 2:44pm on 16 May 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 2:32pm on 16 May 2020 Application submitted 2:32pm on 16 May 2020

Child renewal - looks like 3 weeks between process & approved as an accurate timeline Hope this helps 👍🏻 Application approved 10th June 2020 Application being processed on 15 May 2020 Documents received on 04 May 2020 Application received on 30th April 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 2:32pm on 16 May 2020 Application submitted 12:00 on 30th April 2020

I've just received this text/email about my son's passport application We are sorry that it is taking longer than usual to process your passport application due to Covid-19. Please bear with us. If we require any information from you before a passport can be issued, we will contact you How long generally after this text can you expect another status update?

I've just had that email/text as well so assume it's a generic one sent to everyone. Had a text similar to that one on 30th April and 14th May...so I'm not getting my hopes up that it means very much.

Yeah blanket sms/email comms. I've had a few already

If I don't hear anything towards the end of next week, then I'm hitting up the Twitter account, I'll be needing my documents back for a visa application that needs submitting before the end of August this year.

Passport Office: Liverpool Application type: Adult renewal, overseas, very expired passport triggering requirement for re-submission of supporting documentation Time from "Being processed" to "Approved": 79 days Passport printed and sent 1:34pm on 10 June 2020 Application approved 10:21am on 10 June 2020 Application being processed 8:09am on 23 March 2020 Documents received 3:23pm on 20 March 2020 Use paper form to confirm identity 9:23am on 9 March 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 9:21am on 9 March 2020 Application submitted 9:21am on 9 March 2020

Applied for my first adult on 10th march exactly 3 months today to Liverpool HMPO. Called the helpline today and explained my situation and why i wanted my passport urgently. Although they were sympathetic, the response i got was “sorry we cannot consider that as sympathetic reason, we can only consider if somebody is sick, and you want to travel because of that”. What kind of logic is that? It was a waste of 20 mins on the phone. I think they haven’t even started looking at my application. It’s been 3 months, it was well before the lockdown. i have seen people who applied more than a month later than me, have already got the passport. Don’t they follow a queue system?

Husband and I both applied for first British passports in May - processing since 14th May in Durham And Peterborough. I’ve chased via Twitter but only had standard responses. I’m a dual Australian/UK citizen, husband NZ/UK. Waiting on passports to enable us to relocate to the Netherlands for work. Watching this thread and timelines with interest!

I received tracking SMS from DX yesterday (I live in Austria) and they indicated delivery at the 'end of the day' tomorrow (12th). Checked tracking and it only mentions one packet number. I thought the old passport was returned separately from the new one? Hopefully, this does not mean anything is a miss...... Application made from Austria to Liverpool Office on 17th March.

People receiving their passports seem to be all from online applications. Anyone applied by post and received theirs recently?

Although my passport story is over now and I have mine I've looked back at this forum over the last couple of days. During the course of my application saga I telephoned the Passport Office Advice Line about six times. The first four calls were about my initial renewal application and included at least three calls before I sent it off, and one after. This involved three passport officers, one of whom I spoke to twice. It's worth my emphasizing here that I got a different story from each of the three officers about whether to apply and how long it would take. One for example was very strident about me not sending it off, insisting that I should wait for the fast track service to resume. Another said the smart move would be to join the queue before it was swamped by pent-up demand in the summer. The last two calls were about the non-receipt of any tracking information from TNT about the delivery of the new passport, repeated in a Passport Office reply to a tweet. While some of what these two officers said, and also the one who tweeted me, was the same they also contradicted each other in key detail. I was left unconvinced that those on the advice line or Twitter really know what is going on at all. I suspect they work in different passport offices, but at the time seemed to be working from home, and based their comments on conditions in their own passport offices or what they believe to be the conditions. There is zero consistency. In that sense, this all illustrates a fairly chaotic communications set-up which is hit and miss. I don't think anyone involved was trying to mislead me - but clearly some of them believe things that just aren't true. I will now post about people abroad with expired passports.

Standard adult renewal, sent old passport to Durham but transferred to Liverpool for reasons unknown: Application Approved - 20:17 11 June 2020 Application being processes - 10:12 26 May 2020 Documents Received - 08:48 22 May 2020 Application Received - 15:08 18 May 2020 Application Submitted - 15:07 18 May 2020 Quite impressed with the turnaround especially since they transferred my application to Liverpool, for which I've only seen bad reviews.

My research about my son and his children in Vietnam threw up this interesting revelation. If you are abroad and your UK passport has expired or is about to do so and you are freaking out about the lack of any progress here, this may help - but I think only if you still have your expired or about to expire passport. It seems some countries have agreed with the UK to accept such passports up to the end of 2021 as evidence for renewing things like work permits and visas. This is the information on the Foreign Office's website for people in Vietnam: Recognition of extended expiry of passports The British Government has agreed with the Vietnamese Immigration Department that any passport held by a British national which has an expiry date of 1 January 2020 onwards, or has less than 6 months validity, will now be recognised as expiring on 31 December 2021 when submitted for the purpose of renewing a visa or residence permit. This is because British nationals in Vietnam are unable to renew their passports at this time due to the closure of the UK visa application centres due to COVID-19 and the limited processing of passport applications in the UK. The extended expiry date will temporarily enable British nationals with an expiring UK passport to apply for a visa or residence permit renewal in Vietnam without having to apply for a new passport. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/vietnam/entry-requirements I'd suggest you check the pages for the country you're in and see if a similar deal has been struck. This might mean you can hold back from applying until things have returned to normal. If that ever happens

While i am also waiting, can I address a question to the ones who have already received their new passports: Is everyone getting blue passports now? Is it office dependent? is it random? Many thanks

I submitted 4 applications in May (all child renewals). Two went to Durham and two to Peterborough. They were all posted (separately) on the 16th May. So far 1 has been approved and sent. The other 3 are at processing. Timeline for completed application (Peterborough): New passport received - 10 June Passport printed and sent 11:14am on 9 June 2020 Application approved 5:36pm on 8 June 2020 Application being processed 12:23pm on 27 May 2020 Documents received 1:24pm on 19 May 2020 Posted - 16 May

Finally got my good news just minutes ago that my passport has been approved. It was a renewal sent to Peterborough on the 28th March, processing since 7th April and with numerous chases and escalations and written proof I needed it for government work purposes. It was an adult renewal with change of surname due to marriage. Anything that isn’t a standard renewal and requires manual intervention and assessment (such as a name change) is still subject to delays. Good luck everyone!