New Passport Upgrade Service!

All I can say is you must be extremely lucky .. to get a call back and get approved straight away - did you ask if you could not collect it instead of them posting it out? We travel 5Th and still awaiting any call.

I’ll be honest, I’ve rang twice a day since Thursday of last week and sent emails out from 2 different accounts three times so they must just be sick of me! I did ask but she seemed a little unsure and just asked if I’d paid for courier delivery; nevertheless I’m heading to bootle tomorrow to ask!

I don’t blame you ! Fingers crossed They may even be able to give you it there and then , please keep me updated good luck :)

Certainly will! This thread has kept me in hope. I’d just ring ring ring and email as much as you can, I called this number today 01633 745709 if it’s at all helpful

I agree you are massively fortunate to have got that sorted so quickly- the whole system is not a fair one at all, whilst i sympathise with anyone having to use HMPO at present it is blatantly not a fair system when someone who Only applies for a passport two weeks ago with travel in a month gets an upgrade sorted yet someone like me who applied at the beginning of March and is due to fly on Saturday still hasn’t been sorted!! I really hope I get a call tomorrow but will be at the London office for opening time anyway!! Fingers crossed for me and everyone else!!

Please would like to know how you both get on just turning up at the offices , keep us updated. Good luck guys

https://www.passportwaitingtime.co.uk/forums/users/londonben85/ I am really sorry and I hope you get sorted really really soon, I agree it isn’t fair at all and mine was an honest mistake. I usually wouldn’t dream of leaving it so late, my husband is lucky he avoided divorce!

Oh you don’t need to apologise lol the whole passport office is shambolic so if anyone can get lucky than that is great I’ve just had enough of it now really, as I say I applied for a renewal of my 5 year old daughters passport on March 2nd, trip to Disney Paris booked for May 28th (14 weeks later) didn’t think there would be any issue as at that stage the average turnaround time was 4/6 weeks. Issue with wife’s name hi lighted mid March, her passport was also being renewed and married name changed so marriage cert was already at HMPO. Advised by customer services to send a cover letter explaining this and provided wife’s PEX number, didn’t hear anything else, no other docs requested. Wife’s one came mid/ end April. No sign of daughters. Turns out HMPO can’t link up applications so just left daughters in processing queue. After many hours on hold / in a queue / rarely talking to anyone was advised after I provided wife’s new passport number that would be fine- that was 3 weeks ago, been expecting a call I was told I would get in 2 working days from the examination Team For last 10 working days… made upgrade request as soon as I could (within 14 days of travel) HMPO also requested upgrade…. Still nothing. The original application still just says processing despite it being escalated for various reasons including being outside the agreed 10 week turnaround time….. nothing. So I’m hoping tomorrow I either get lucky at the London office or I get a call from the upgrade team as will be within 48 hrs of travel!! We shall see!!

We fly 28th May so hoping for the call back tomorrow, or at the very latest Friday. FYI, I rang 0300 105 0850 this afternoon as suggested on a few posts here. Was on hold for 1h 45 minutes before a man answered and was fairly grumpy and he really couldn't work out how id got directly to him without speaking to someone else first! It sounded like he had had a long day and wasn't very helpful. He did manage to tell me that there was a note on the applications with the travel date but insisted that the service is not at all guaranteed... until the call is received and payment is taken. Will keep my phone on loud all of tomorrow and if it gets to Friday 10am then I will drive to the office myself. Flying 6am Saturday! Good luck!

Hi Guys, I’ve never commented on here before in fact I just made this account tonight. For those of you please I say hold out for hope because I have good news. I am due to fly out Saturday (28th) May, I 2 weeks ago as advised to make the upgrade request. My closest passport office was London and therefore proceeded to email them my specific details I needed to be eligible for the upgrade such as flight info my pex etc etc. having no lucky for past week I ended up sending emails out to Peterborough, Liverpool and Durham too. I thankfully at 20:57, received a no caller Id phone call … it was the upgrade team saying I can pick my passport up tomo it is ready for me. So all I’d say is honestly please keep positive because I was starting to call it quits and accept my losses especially with losing out on a lot of money but they eventually did come through and I hope they do for the rest of you.

So inconsistent! We realised with just over 3 weeks to travel that my husbands passport was over the 10 year issue date, even though didn’t expire until Feb 2023. Couldn’t get an appointment to fast track so had to apply standard service hoping to upgrade and now told have to be 6 weeks+ since application before eligible to upgrade! Have emailed anyway but not expecting a call ☹️

Hi all. Just wanted to post a bit of very last minute hope to those waiting. Applied 12th March (5 first children passports) We travel 26th May (tomorrow) I went to Peterborough office on a last ditch hope. I got the call at 11am today while there. (25th May)for approved passports!! They Said they would be ready tomorrow to collect from London (my nearest office) but I begged them to do it at Peterborough instead if possible which they did. Were all ready at 2pm. I had emailed upgrade teams from 7 days before 18th then again at 3 days before. Then called 2 days before never had an email back from them just this phonecall. I am over the moon. I just wish you all of you the very best of luck They turnt people away who had travel booked more than 5 days ahead of today.

I'm due to fly on Friday morning (27th). Was told on Tuesday morning from the upgrade team to send my details through to the Liverpool team and they would get back to me within 48 hours, so tomorrow morning. I've not heard anything yet and with the time I fly on Friday, I need hands on the passport tomorrow. Is it worthwhile calling or emailing again, or should I just rock up to my nearest office Peterborough and hope for the best?

Mt thoughts were what have u got to loose now. Worse they say is no you can't and you still don't have passports so your in the same situation as before. I couldn't face another phonecall either. If you applied over 6 weeks ago and you booked your travel quite a while ago. (They were checking this on people in queue..) It's worth a shot if you can get there.i can't say if I got mine because I was there or if it was just a coincidence but I like you had to really get them day before travel so wouldn't have had to go to office to collect anyway. So I went

Morning all So cut a very long story short i applied for my daughters renewals on the 26th of feb we travel on the 5th of June still no passports! One of my daughters got withdrawn on the 25th of april after 100 of calls saying everything was fine and the messages we were receiving were just automated and to ignore i wasn't happy with this so kept calling and getting calls back until they tell me yes it has been withdrawn this was on the 4th of may took me that long to get to speak to anyone and with that the lady on the phone told us she would get it sent back to the examiner and wait 10 days from then to now we have spoken to many more people to chase this up to be told they are dealing with it up until yesterday when we were told we have to do a new application wasnt told this before now kept getting told they would sort so now with 9 days until travel and no fast track appointments im at a lose so frustrated with the whole situation anyone have any ideas what i can do if i turn up at the passport office will they help. TIA

It’s so stressful , I can barely sleep now … we fly on the 5th also , I’ve been told I’ll get a call back but could be as late as 48hours before but with the jubilee I’m simply not risking it , if I don’t hear by Tuesday night I’m heading to our nearest one Wednesday in the hope I may have a passport … I the last thread the lady said that they were turning people away 5 days still left that will be 4 plus the bank holidays ect I’m hoping and praying they will help me. Maybe do the same lovely to add I did also contact my MP who spoke with them and they said they are actioning my upgrade but again could be 48hours before I get a call. Good luck keep us updated

Quick update! From my phone call last night at 7:21 approving the upgrade the passport was approved last night at 11:33!! So they’re clearly working late into the night.

First post for me. We are in an awful situation where I have two passport renewal applications in for my children. All very straightforward.. you would think ! Submitted application back in March, but stuck in “processing” since 22nd April. We travel on Saturday. Like many, I have phoned and emailed, from 2 weeks before to attempt an upgrade. No response from the upgrade team that actually finish the application / take payment for the upgrade. On Tuesday this week, one passport suddenly went to approved and then printed at 2pm on the same day. The last message simply says that it will be transferred to the delivery supplier in a few days. I have had no tracking information. I contacted the helpline and they have said it has gone through as a “standard” service rather than upgrade, therefore it would have to be sent out by post. I decided to use the PEX number to see if the PEX number would work on TNT tracking and to my delight it did, with a delivery date of today. This feeling of delight was short lived as it had in the freight description “supporting documents.” So I might be in the ridiculous situation where I have my expired passport back first, but not the new passport. Has anyone had this situation?? I am just hoping it is an error and the new passport actually turns up via TNT!! The other passport is still in processing.. so like others, I am travelling to my nearest passport office today as we are within 48 hours of our flights.. hopefully they can complete the passport application and print today! I might ask about the other passport at the same time. I am going to Durham, which is where they centrally print standard applications.

Mt thoughts were what have u got to loose now. Worse they say is no you can’t and you still don’t have passports so your in the same situation as before. I couldn’t face another phonecall either. If you applied over 6 weeks ago and you booked your travel quite a while ago. (They were checking this on people in queue..) It’s worth a shot if you can get there.i can’t say if I got mine because I was there or if it was just a coincidence but I like you had to really get them day before travel so wouldn’t have had to go to office to collect anyway. So I went

Ok I might be in a bit of difficulty on when the travel was booked because it was only booked just over a week ago (work things), hence trying to upgrade in the first place. I'll drop an email to them too and say I'll be in Peterborough later and hopefully they can accomadate me.

Hi all, A bit of advice please? My husband and I had our personal belongings stolen in the US on holiday on 27 April - passports included. We travelled back on emergency travel docs (which was a nightmare to sort at the UK consulate in the US) as soon as we came back we applied for replacement passports as we had pre booked travel (Nov 2021) to the US again to scatter my father's ashes on 2 June Appreciate a lot of people have been stuck in the system and we only applied on 4th May, however for us, this feels like an exceptional circumstance. I can't not be there to scatter my father's ashes - it would absolutely destroy me. It was traumatising witnessing our rental car being broken into (whilst we were in the car!) and our bags being taken in San Francisco and then coming to the heart sinking realisation that our passports were also taken knowing the trip we had planned with the rest of my family to lay my father to rest. We travel on 2 June, I have emailed all upgrade teams out of desperation, put in a request to upgrade to an emergency application, called endlessly but we're getting nowhere. Should I turn up to Newport begging for help? Does anyone have any thoughts on what I can do at this stage. I've not been sleeping and I know it's daft to feel this way over passports, but I've never felt so defeated and upset. Any help/advice will be truly welcomed Thanks

Oh, and does anyone know if the passport office print on Saturday?

Working into the night. I should never had got this far. Im going on for 7 weeks, waiting forever. I have written to the GOVT home Office, and to my MP. I renewed my South African Passport in Feb in South Africa, with finger prints it took one week. Thats a third world country. Maybe UK home office should go and chat to them how its is done.

Just a quick update.. after an absolute horror show by HMPO, i had a call from the Peterborough office to say upgrade all sorted and i could collect from london today, which i have just done. We go tomz, it was a close call but don't lose faith. Good luck to u all.

Hello. I'm currently under the 6 week mark for an upgrade, but have been asked to fly this sunday urgently for work. I put in the request, but due to being under the 6 week mark, they've said I am not qualified for an upgrade. As my work is pretty critical (as I work in the educational industry), I was curious whether there was another way to push this. Do I keep calling or turn up at my local depot? I'm pretty desperate (like many people), but as this is business critical, then surely it should be pushed through?!

Hi All, got a call this morning from the upgrades team collecting passport on Saturday from local office. They are working through all upgrades, please make sure your upgrade is submitted correctly by requesting a callback as these are worked first before all direct requests they receive. I'm travelling on 31st May, they are also aware of the jubilee weekend and have been tasked with ensuring all those eligible for an upgrade are contacted in time to collect. Stay positive.