Applications whilst locked down

Hi everyone! Looking for advice: I applied for a passport today which replaces my passport previously recorded as lost. Would you book a holiday for exactly 2 months time based on current passport times? Some people have had luck, especially with pressuring through Twitter etc, so would love some advice. Thanks and good luck everyone!

I wouldn’t as u can only pressure them if you booked holiday before Covid there not interested otherwise really

Post in case this assists anyone. It appears the current policy on escalating an application is either - been waiting over four weeks or booked travel prior to lock down (and can prove it). It is worth noting that it was the advice of HMPO not to apply during lock down. I fell in to the latter and once escalated moved from ‘documents received’ to application approved in two days. A further top tip - try calling ‭01633 285422‬ rather than the standard number as they actually answer rather than being placed on automatic call back. Finally don’t bother emailing to raise things as it seems they just send out an unhelpful generic response.

I sent my passport of almost 2 weeks ago (13 days) it’s for a first adult passport as I turned 16 in May. I had a text message on Friday at 09:22 saying that they had received my application but have had no further messages. Could it be processing now? They told me at the post office it would only take 3 weeks but it’s taken 2 weeks just for this. Should I be worried? I’m due to fly over to Dubai on the 31st

Hi, I would just use the online tracker to see if its processing. My experience was that our documents appeared as received about 10 days after they were actually delivered. And processing tool another week. We are now expecting delivery tomorrow, exactly one month after applying

If it doesn’t say prossessing they havnt even looked at it yet

Hi, Have you held a child passport before? If you have your application would be classed as a renewal. First adult passports tend to take a lot longer. The 3 week time line was pre covid, some people have waited months. As your due to fly quite soon I would give the passport office a call and see if they can offer any advice. Good luck!

@leanne11 my child passport was sent with it at the same time and we were still told a 3 week wait

It’s more than 3 weeks in most cases it says that on The web site the post office is not the passport office so have no clue

Ahh ok, just with you saying it was a first adult passport wasn't sure if you had a child passport before. As you have, yours would be classed as a renewal. Applications are going through a lot quicker now but if it's not processing yet I think you would be lucky to recieve by the 31st.

Good job it’s a renewal as new passports are on hold as there is no interviews at the moment until they do them via Skype and even then there will be no guarantee

Does anyone know how I can track return of supporting documents on TNT website? Do I use the same PAN number as the passport?

@MiSa have you received yours yet?

@jamesd1974 Thanks, its been 48 hours now, so I'm hoping that the passport will arrive tomorrow.

Not yet. According to the TNT tracking , it will be delivered tomorrow. (oddly enough , to get the PAN number you have to remove the PEX part but also all spaces in between. Why they dont tell you that in the email, is a mystery)

Passport received today 24th of July (for tracking: the PAN number is your PEX reference, without the PEX part and no spaces between the numbers) Passport printed and sent 9:23pm on 21 July 2020 Application approved 9:09am on 21 July 2020 Twitter DM sent 20 July Application being processed 10:44am on 10 July 2020 Documents received 2:35pm on 4 July 2020 Application received 11:19am on 22 June 2020 Identity details received 11:18am on 22 June 2020 Email sent to person confirming your identity 9:55am on 22 June 2020 Ask someone to confirm your identity 5:43pm on 20 June 2020 Application submitted 5:43pm on 20 June 2020

Hi all, I had an email today saying “Dear Miss Estepanian, Thank you for your email about the progress of a passport application. I am happy to confirm we received your passport application at our Newport office on 16 July 2020 and it is currently waiting to be checked.” Could this mean it has gone through processing?

I applied for an emergency passport due to an upcoming visa application, so here's the timeline in case anyone was wondering! Passport printed and sent 2:36pm on 24 July 2020 Application approved 5:50pm on 23 July 2020 Application being processed 2:36pm on 23 July 2020 Documents received 12:31pm on 23 July 2020 Application received 3:35pm on 21 July 2020 Application submitted 3:34pm on 21 July 2020 Link with application form received 21 July Phone call from local passport office to tell me what I needed to send as supporting evidence: 18 July Phone call to helpline: 17 July (morning)

@kimmy could you possibly let me know the timeline for your replacement? Mine was lost and haven't seen too many people replacing lost/damaged ones. Thanks!

I have now been waiting 3 weeks for my appliance/documents to be received in Durham (sent from USA) Twitter DM said that I should wait at least a month total for docs to even be received. Honestly it appears they've given up processing foreign-received applications in favor of prioritizing domestic received applications - which seem to be moving fast enough now. Has ANYONE who applied to Durham from USA had any progress or still "waiting to receive documents" (Yes, I am sure they've had my docs for past 3 weeks, signed for by B HUMBLE)

I thought I would add my experience. We booked a holiday without checking passports two weeks ago, we're flying out on the 1st of August. Of course, my passport would have to run out in October when I need 3 months on it to fly! As you can see in my history, I applied for a renewal on the 12th of July, and passport turned up yesterday, the 24th. I sent my old passport to Durham, for what that's worth. I didn't do anything extra, like get in contact with the passport office. Good luck to anyone else who ends up on this page like I did a couple of weeks ago! Application history Passport printed and sent 7:04am on 22 July 2020 Application approved 2:56pm on 20 July 2020 Documents received 10:05am on 18 July 2020 Application received 11:17am on 12 July 2020 Application submitted 11:16am on 12 July 2020

All Please read the below link if travelling within the next fortnight or waiting to return to the UK because of expired passport reasons. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/her-majestys-passport-office-update-on-passport-applications

If u booked pre Covid they rush them through quicker they rushed mine through after just under 2 weeks as I booked the holiday last year and had all 4 back in just over two weeks I had to send them evidence of that though

I was wondering how long it took for others to receive their old passport back from the HMPO. My new one was delivered on 23rd, but the TNT tracking website indicated that the shipment was 'supporting documents.' Obviously, I was happy that they delivered the new passport, but as I paid for tracked delivery of old one (it appears that this was a mistake), I wondered if I would be able to track that delivery using the same PAN number. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

I applied for two passports on 4 July - one a child renewal and the other a first adult passport for my 16 year old. In each case, I was aiming to receive by 29 July (3 1/2 weeks as we leave for Croatia on 30th) so I knew it would be tight. I posted the old passports on 6 July so they were probably delivered on 8 July. Although they were sent to different offices (Durham and Peterborough), the tracking indicates both as “Received” on 15 July and “Being processed” on 21 July. Based on other comments on the forum, I’d say that’s about average (i.e. 7 days for it to be “received” and another 6 days until processing begins). If I did nothing, I think I could have expected the applications to be approved after a further 9 days, then printed/sent a couple of days later. As that was too late for our holiday, I called the general number (0300 222 0000) on 23 July and requested a callback. Other comments on the forum suggest this is pointless, but in fact a very nice person from the Newport office returned my call 7 hours later. As I had made my holiday booking before lockdown and there was less than 2 weeks until travel, she was able to escalate my request. The following day, I received a call from another very friendly person (Geoff in Durham) who had my daughter’s application and said he would process it straight away. He also called his colleague in Peterborough to make sure my son’s application would be handled. I received official confirmation that the applications had been approved that afternoon. My daughter’s passport arrived via TNT today (27 July) and my son’s was marked as sent on Saturday so I’m expecting it tomorrow. All in all, I’m very impressed with the people at the Passport Offices who are working tremendously hard to process the applications and prioritise the urgent requests. If you meet the two criteria above (ie booking before lockdown and less than 2 weeks before travel), I would encourage you to escalate your request via (a) the callback service and (b) Twitter DM. It’s not guaranteed but they will do their best to help you. Hope this helps.