HMPO Durham has really thrown me with their process and lack of coordination/competence and I don't know where to turn for help. We haven't been home for over two years now and need to get back soon so I'm waiting on my baby son's first passport (application started 26 Feb 2022). After sending the docs on 9 March via FedEx, I've just had an email stating that I need to send further documentation (including the documents I already sent - his birth cert, translated version, and mine). The other documents requested don't exist for my 3 month old son born in New Caledonia with no identity documents apart from his New Cal French birth certificate (translated by officials for HMPO). Why weren't these other, non-existent documents mentioned in the original application list of things to send, who knows?
It's absurd that I sent them half way around the world at great expense and time to find that they don't consider them enough, even though they were on the list of things to send and nothing else mentioned there. There is no question of his nationality, with two British parents as full UK passport holders. I tried calling but nobody can help. Nobody wants to help it seems. They said write to us, by post. It will take six weeks for anything to get there and be registered. And then I got shifted from pillar to post into queue after queue with nobody able to help until the final queue where the recorded message told me there were too many callers and the line just went dead on me. I am beyond frustration. Please can anyone tell me what help they have requested from their MPs as I am now going to try that route. Does it actually work? Any advice will be much, much appreciated.
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Overseas child's first passport - documents mess in Durham. How can MP help?
Brexitsucks · 18 May 2022, 08:35
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Sorry to read about your document problems. Similarly, I have been waiting 11 weeks for a child's first passport. My delay is due to the passport office requesting an additional document then taking 6 weeks to acknowledge the document. In desperation, on Monday, I wrote an email to my local constituency MP and he took immediate action. He cannot guarantee that I will receive my passport in time to travel but today at 9am my passport status changed to 'approved'. If you are overseas what MP could you contact - the constituency MP of your UK residence?
I explained my predicament and timeline and dates of travel and asked if, as my constituency MP, if they were able to contact the home office on my behalf as the home office is in charge of the passport office.
Hope this helps.
My MP hadn't heard anything back from the passport office after 3 weeks. He then contacted their urgent email last week and still nothing.
He called me to tell me that up until a month ago MP's had a direct line to the passport office but it was shutdown so they have no direct contact for them other than email (which obviously will be mixed in with thousands of other peoples).
Hey, I’m on the same boat as you. I applied for my daughters passport from South Africa on the 15th of February. All documents were sent to durham office. I’ve been stuck in South Africa for 2 years too. I’m absolutely frustrated. I’ve tried everything i can to resolve or speed the process up. Wasted hours on the phone to speak to someone. Spent so much money behind this process and I’ve gained nothing but stress and sleepless nights! Id also appreciate some help if you figure out what to do
Lily480
Try webchat. 8.01 UK time. When it says agent free cluck. Just type first name click if it says waiting for agent, hang on don't refresh page. You can find more info than ringing. Good luck
We have had similar issues with Durham - first adult passports applying from Australia. Husband born in UK and emigrated here as a child with his family, they wanted the document he came here on (does not exist) and had issues with his birth certificate (reissued from Scotland National Records Office 3 years ago and was previously accepted to support our daughter's passport application). Don't think they have got to our son's application yet as it is dependent on his father's birth certificate. We phoned and he was told to send the information in a letter! sent on Tuesday via Express Post. I don't understand why this couldn't be accepted by email or requested at the time of the initial application (which was submitted 18 February!) The whole process is incredibly frustrating.
We have no MP to call on though perhaps could get our daughter to contact her local MP on our behalf?
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