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Hello I am applying for my first adult passport as a US citizen whose mother is from the UK. I reside in the UK but have to return back to America in June, is there a way to speed the process along by going to the passport office in person? How long has it been taking?
Can you get your original submitted passport back before your new UK passport comes and if so how?
Thank you
just my opinion here: Dont start this process before you go.
As of right now, you are looking at a minimum of 6 weeks time for a First Adult Passport…and until it passes 10 weeks processing time, HMPO wont consider it unreasonable
No, your documents DO NOT get returned until after your passport is issued – typically 2 weeks after according to HMPO
Also, if you are inheriting citizenship through your mother, it is very much dependent on whether you were born before 1983, or after…if its before 1983, I might be able to shine some light on this for you…
But before that, IMO, if you have a valid US Passport for travel right now, use it – then apply when you return, or from the US, when youre not in a rush…things just seem so hairy at HMPO right now, call them 3 different tines and you’ll get 4 different answers.
Good Luck!
Thank you for your reply, I was born after 1983. What was the process before 1983 like? What is the 10 week processing? Does that mean it will take 16 weeks?
–Prior to 1983, children born outside of the UK of British MOTHERS ONLY did not inherit citizenship automatically- only those with British FATHERS…they changed the British Nationality Act in 1981 so that if you were born before 1983 outside of the UK and your mother was British, you had to “Register” as a citizen with UKVI, and go through EXACTLY the same process as one does applying for a passport LOL…only after completing that process could one apply for their passport. Whole process would take 9 months-ish
–10 Weeks: As of 04/21, HMPO has advised that applicants should allow for up to 10 weeks “to receive their passport” – its right on their homepage.
–16 weeks? probably not, but when you call HMPO, their automated menu politely tells you that if it hasnt been 10 weeks SINCE THEY ACKNOWLEDGED RECEIPT OF YOUR DOCUNMENTS – NOT since the date of Application, NOT since the date that Royal Mail says it was signed for – you should sod off and call back when it has been over 10 weeks.
–I have seen lots of applicants on this board and others who got their Frist Adult passport in 5-6 weeks…I have seen enough others who have been waiting longer than me – 6 weeks since it moved to status “Application in Process” – some since January! My own conclusion is that HMPO is sooo swamped right now, you just show up for work, grab a stack of papers, and work through as much as you can before 5pm, there is no logic or “procedure” right now they are soo busy. Hence, if you HAVE a passport you can travel on in June, I would NOT be sending it to HMPO right now. Just my opinion.Good Luck!
Don’t risk it – as I say as a U.S. citizen who has to go to the Embassy to get an emergency passport, at a cost of $165, because HMPO is so delayed. Doing this means that the passport HMPO has is now cancelled, and I’ll then have to exchange this limited validity one for a full validity one once my US travel is finished.
Even if you get the British passport, as I did, you can’t use it to enter the US. I’ve been waiting five weeks since my British passport was printed for the return of documents. I have called multiple times and was told it “should” arrive within two weeks, then three, then four…. Still waiting!
The last person I talked to said that HMPO is prioritising mailing out passports, so the supporting documents are basically sitting there indefinitely. Absolute shambles.
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