Recent UK Passport Applicant Timelines

Very easy application. Photo taken via Officeworks photo booth. Only needed to send photocopy of Australian Passport and expired UK passport. Was asked to have someone confirm my identity 9 days after docs received, it was then approved 1 day later.

Had difficulty with photo getting jpeg ! Friend took it with her phone eventually. HMPO process smooth and well communicated. Nightmare with DHL delivery, came on wrong day then didn’t turn up when rearranged, finally made it on day 3 but a LOT of waiting around ! Deducted a point for pic hassle and one for delivery hassle.

No hassle at all. My old passport had already been invalidated (I didn't realise that the 3-months rule applies within Schengen even if you have permanent residence in a Schengen country, so I had to get a temporary passport) but I just checked the damage box and explained.

Arranging photograph was a bit of a faff as this sort of thing is done automatically at local town hall counters in Belgium and photo booths don't seem to provide digital links. The photographer I found had appropriate software to ensure compliance specifically with UK rules although it did not generate the special UK special codes. All in all reasonably efficient service by UK standards (got the renewed passport in about 3 weeks) but considerably less efficient than the turnaround time for a Belgian passport (3 days). Quite stressful to be without a passport for a prolonged period but in the end no emergency occurred so all was OK.

My first error was sending the wrong passport and then sending the correct one. Being without any passport was indeed scary as HMPO would not send the other one back. Then it was wondering when the UK would come back to me, no time frame was given but best thing is I got the UK yesterday and my Bermuda I picked up today!! Both in time for travel on Monday!!

Application from NZ for replacement of UK passport issued in Wellington NZ 2002. Classed as first time application ! so included both expired UK red passports and NZ statutory declaration inc reasons for overseas application and a NZ statutory declaration for downloaded documents for a parents name change. Inc both parents bc and their mc. Inc 3 x proof of address. Used myIR and requested tax residency certificate. HMPO did not ask for any other docs and all docs returned 4 days after passport series D arrived.

It would be more cost efficient if all supporting documents are requested at the same time, as opposed to having the applicant pay multiple DHL fees to send multiple envelops

11 May - Applied 11 May - Shipped documents (old UK + current Canadian passports) via UPS 18 May - Documents delivered (5 business days, should have been 3) 19 May - Documents entered as received (1 day after delivery) 1 June - Application approved (8 business days after received) 1 June - Passport printed 3 June - Passport tracking sent by DHL (2 days after printing) 4 June - Documents tracking sent by DHL (3 days after approval) 8 June - Passport received (7 days after printing, 1 day faster than DHL delivery estimate)

Following all online instructions was easy….getting together all original required documents took a couple of weeks, including getting someone to authenticate me,.and Luckily for me I kept ( for sentimental purposes) my expired , in 99, British passport but once done and shipped off, all was now a waiting game….personally, I was happy with the process.

February, 2026 applied from England - not completed before I had to leave March - Online application from Canada Sent birth certificate and latest marriage certificate Proof of name change requested. Sent divorce papers (decree absolute) because I did not have marriage certificate. PO kept insisting on marriage certificate even though last marriage certificate stated "previous marriage dissolved" Paid 50 pounds for overnight delivery of marriage certificate from Registry Office to Corby Saturday May 16th, Delivery attempted - not accepted. Later found out Corby does not receive documents on Saturdays Monday, May 18th, Delivery accepted May 19th 8:30 am Application accepted 10:30 am Passport printed and out for delivery May 25th Passport received

I did use a passport agent as I misplaced my UK passport which expired in early 90s . As a result I had to courier a letter advising details of the expired passport and reason for misplacement . There were delays as my original passport was an old blue one issued in early 80s and records no longer accessible on old system. As a result I had to courier my original birth certificate. Passport staff helpful when queries arose . It was difficult to start as no one to call in HMPO prior to submission. Agent good in providing advice via email .. Appreciated efficient courier service DHL for new passport and return of documents

Quick and easy, no extra documents required. Application submitted 11 April Documents (expired uk passports & current Spanish passports) sent 13 April Documents received (via tracking) 22 April Documents received (updated on website) 24 April Passport approved 6 May Passport printed & sent 7 May Passport received 12 May

I used a Japanese photo-me booth with the i-keep service to receive the image digitally. I paid for the premium service to convert the background from blue to white. It was accepted. I posted the passport via EMS, and it was delivered by Parcelforce via Coventry and Milton Keynes. The new passport was sent via DHL without any tracking information, and I was required to sign for it. Application submitted - 15 April Old passport posted - 16 April Old passport delivered (according to both Parcelforce and UKPA email) - 24 April Application approved - 6 May Passport printed (and shipped) - 6 May Passport arrived - 15 May, exactly one month after application.

Only docs we needed to send were color copies of US Passport. Would have been nice if we could PDF and email. Passport arrived 4:50pm on 15 May 2026 Passport printed 7:55am on 12 May 2026 Application approved 2:16pm on 11 May 2026 Documents received 12:39pm on 28 April 2026 Docs arrived in Corby on 20 April 2026 Application received 8:53am on 16 April 2026 Identity details received 8:53am on 16 April 2026 Ask someone to confirm your identity 8:50pm on 15 April 2026 Application submitted 8:50pm on 15 April 2026

Application history Passport received 12 May 2026 Passport printed on 24 April 2026 Application approved on 23 April 2026 Documents received on 14 April 2026 Application received on 9 April 2026 Application submitted on 9 April 2026

Applied from Saudi Arabia Documents received (KSA): 10 May 2026 Documents returned: 8 May 2026 Passport printed: 5 May 2026 Application approved: 5 May 2026 Documents received (HMPO): 24 April 2026 Documents delivered (UK): 21 April 2026 Documents posted: 15 April 2026 Application received: 14 April 2026 Application submitted: 14 April 2026

It included two phone calls from Australia as I was asked why I wasn’t applying for my passport in the UK. I’m an Australian citizen who has lived in Sydney since 1986.

Very smooth experience. Most uncertainty was the time between having sent my documents and HMPO declaring them as received, but that's about it. I was in no rush anyway, but I guess plan at least a month for an overseas renewal. Find below my exact timeline as per Website: Received: 7 May around 11:30 AM local time GMT+1 Passport printed 4:41pm on 28 April 2026 Application approved 6:46pm on 27 April 2026 Documents received 7:41am on 18 April 2026 Application received 3:32pm on 10 April 2026 Application submitted 3:32pm on 10 April 2026

Despite multiple calls and chats I missed my grandmother’s funeral on 21st April.