New Passport Upgrade Service!

Hi Can I ask what stage you were at please. I’m in the same boat we fly Monday and I’ve just been told to wait. I got through to a woman from the escalating team again this morning and she just gave me a load of waffle again. I’m planning on going tomorrow hopefully get there first thing and see what they can do

Application was made 7 weeks ago waited 9 days for fast track to ring to pay for the fast track already sent flight details over but heard nothing so went down today as i fly monday and they told me collect at 5pm

I still have a while to go yet so trying not to panic just yet however... daughters passport been processing since 4th May and yesterday returned to documents received 26th April. If it gets to 48hours before will she need to come with me to the passport office and also what documents if any did you take with you?

Does anyone have a telephone number for the upgrade team? I just literally missed a call from them whilst nature called, and they did leave a voicemail but no number to call back on!

Arnt you one of the lucky ones! How long you been waiting for that? No number but i seen someone else miss a call from them and they called back 30 mins later

It will be 9 weeks this coming Sunday since I applied, and I'm due to fly 7th July. I really hope they do call back today...I'm so angry at myself. My phone is not leaving my side from now on haha.

Ahh!! Im at nearly 12 weeks,I go on the 25th june and was told they are ringing people in order of flying times clearly that another lie!! And lol yes i carry mine everywhere since i have been waiting for that call

I rang the main number on Monday and they passed my details onto the upgrade team about 1.30pm.

I had to email upgrade team, which they said i couldnt do untill 14days b4 flight. I emailed Saturday and still not had a call and i go on 9 days so stressful

It is really bad...they need to be consistent for sure. I was told I would get a call back in 48h when I phoned Monday, so rang back yesterday and was told by someone else that I shouldn't have been given a time frame for a call back and that they'll ring me when they get to it. I don't understand how you can be given such conflicting information when they all work from the same system.

I’ve just had a phone call from the progress team not even the upgrade team. First phone call I’ve had off them since the 6th June even with myself and my partner ringing every day demanding a call back. She now told me that my daughters photo has been declined even though it was accepted at the very first stage, and now she says it’s very unlikely I’ll be able to get her passport in time for Monday. We did everything right and more and now we’ve been put in this situation. Hoping with everything when we turn up tomorrow they’ll be able to sort it there and then

Doesnt make sense does it! Im loosing it with it all! Its a child renewal it’s rediculous how long iv waited. And dont no if i am going to make my holiday. Do you know what office is dealing yours? My at durham which isnt even my closest office but i have a feeling i am going to be making a trip up there 48hrs b4 flight

Oh no thays awful!!! I hope you get sorted tomorrow

Well no call back yet - hopefully they'll try again tomorrow. Not sure if that team works until 8pm like the rest of the HMPO.

They will send it special delivery guarantee by 9am

@lindsay I got mine 7.50 in morning today. Was printed Wednesday 1.30 and got royal mail tracking by evening

An update! So, after sending the request (on Saturday) to the upgrade team where my daughter's passport application had been transferred to, I got an acknowledgement on Monday, telling me I'd be contacted. I got a call today - actually, 3 (I missed the 2 first ones. Beware it's a 'No caller ID')... The man I had on the phone was very pleasant, very efficient, and offered me to upgrade (I was almost 7 weeks since application). It seems that they now have 2 upgrade levels (and price): 7 and 2 days - depending on when you request the upgrade? Nevertheless, I paid the upgrade top-up on the phone, and my daughter's passport was printed within a couple of hours. Now praying for all the documents to reach me (I went for the courried delivery rather than going to the passport office... so the saga might not end there). I find it puzzling that the application just sat between passport offices for weeks, when everything was fine with both the paperwork and photo, for a straightforward renewal submitted online. Maybe dual nationals are processed manually because the foreign passport must be sent along with the old British passport? The difference in tone between the helpline and the upgrade team was staggering: helpline- mostly a waste of time; upgrade team- super accommodating, lovely and VERY professional. I looked at the last passport application I did in 2019 - it took 8 days. Same conditions, same paperwork - now almost a couple of month, and could have been longer if we didn't have a flight to catch within days. It's been exhausting. Because of the foreign passport rule (it's confiscated until your British passport is approved), I doubt I'll ever use the standard service again. Now let's wait for the passport to be in our hands (I'll keep you updated). I hope that the story will end well for you all guys too.

We sent my wife’s passport away the 23rd of April and was received the 26th. We haven’t heard a thing back and we are suppose to leave for our honeymoon on Tuesday 22nd of June. We spoke to the upgrade team last Tuesday, got told I’d hear back in 48 hours but no call since. Called every day trying to speak to someone, but all you get is “you aren’t guaranteed an upgrade”. Horrible not know what to do! If we don’t hear anything we will go down to Glasgow and hope they help, but it’s been very stressful trying to get this sorted

@flying2holiday Did you get your passport printed ? We’re planning on going next Thursday for our flight 26th June. Also what documents did you need to take with you to the passport office ?

We got to the passport office this morning at 7am and there was all ready around 40 people in line. They’re dealing with people travelling Friday to Monday although I think a few travelling Tuesday are getting seen too. If your planning on turning up bring everything with you just in case they ask for it. We’ve been told to wait 5 hours to see if it’s processed but I’ll give them credit they’re great when you get here and can give you some good info

Hello! Just wondering if anyone (please!!) has an up to date number for the Progress Team? Now 01633 285419 has also been discontinued. Thank you so much xx

Heya there! So under horrible circumstances, I had my passport stolen a few weeks ago — obviously, the passport office doesn't care and I wasn't able to get a fast-track appointment even after trying for quite a few days. I am going on holiday on the 13 July — and I can't upgrade my standard application until 6-weeks (which would be the 20th july — far too late for me to go on holiday.) Has anyone had any luck turning up to the passport office and getting an application upgraded/sorted without a fastrack? aware this is also a lost/stolen passport so they might be even MORE resistant to help me here

@Rachy40 Ring this number Its Customer Service Management team. i don't know if this is the same as the progress team but they will give you more information than the Robots on the main helpline! 0300 105 0850. I used to ring them bang on (yes literally) @8.00 - usually waited no more than around 10-15 minutes. One time i got through in like 3 minutes. if you ring in afternoon you could be waiting hours in my experience.. and the line may even drop after a long period! Ask them also if there is anything flagged up on the system as a potential issue, which could be the reason for the delay in processing.

@andstillwaiting Thank you so much! I got through to general enquiries this morning and they’ve put in a call back request but it’s so hit and miss! This much better and I’ll try ringing first thing in the morning. We applied 6 weeks ago for a child renewal and it’s taken 5 while weeks from the date the documents were signed for until logged as received. The envelope contained a paper confirmation of identity form as the online link wasn’t working when we first applied and we panicked! Paying for it now, I suspect :( We travel on 5th July but without a confirmed identity (yet) I’m not sure we can request the upgrade. Probably try going in person 48 hours before but I want to speak to someone so they can confirm that at least all docs have been scanned in successfully! Phew! What a nightmare! Thanks for the advice xxxx

Hello all. I wanted to share my successful experience in getting an upgrade, in case its helpful. Applied on 22nd April, travel on 20th June. On 3rd June I called the adviceline who said they would arrange a callback. On 6th June I got a callback from someone who put me on hold for an hour and then passed me over to someone who had idea why I'd been called. So I decided to just send the email to the Liverpool office requesting an upgrade, rather than waiting for the upgrade team to call me. Got the standard acknowledgement. On 13th June I missed a call from the upgrade team (I think). They said to ring the main line to get back to them, so I did, spent a lot of time on hold, eventually someone said they will request a callback. On 15th June noone has called, so I called again and this time asked to be put through to the upgrade team, which they wouldn't do but did put me through to the progress team. This was the first person who was actually helpful - they emailed Liverpool on my behalf and on 16th June someone from the upgrade team at Liverpool called, took the money, called back and said the passport is ready for collection. On 17th June the callback finally came through but I told them it was sorted. So I think what worked here was emailing the Liverpool office, rather than waiting for callbacks etc. And then getting through to the progress team, rather that the useless people on the main line. I also booked a £10 flight so that I would be eligible for the upgrade (actually travelling on 26th June but wanted some breathing room).