Recent UK Passport Applicant Timelines

Photo was instant, forms $120 all cleared quickly but my sister with the same info has been told her person is not satisfactory and is still having to send a 2nd one today by post

It took two weeks to reach the UK. But once in the UK it was very quickly done once I resubmitted the photo which I had taken myself,and then dispatched quickly to New Zealand

Hard to find someone to verify your identity- has to be in a specific profession, have known you for a couple of years and hold a passport. I was running out of people to ask - next action was to renounce by British Citizenship so I could still visit my elderly parents in the UK.

Easy but costly - the postage cost to send documents was a big shock!

I actually posted my documents off on Wednesday 21 Jan, they arrived 26.1.26, they were scanned in and officially received on 28.1.26, passport approved 31.1.26. Received new passport and my documents in Australia on 8.2.26

Took 3 days from them receiving documents to show as received on timeline

application submitted 16th of Ja. tried on the 14th informed that I had to apply with paper form ,no paper form available in Aus, rang passport office told them unable to complete online due to date expired passport was issued pre 1987 ,I was then informed " but you can apply on line now" application received 17th Jan ,documents received 26th Jan. . Person not eligible 30th Jan. another person nominated 1st Feb., identity details received 3rd Feb. ,application approved 17th Feb. Passport printed 18th Fe. passport received 23rd Feb.

Quick efficient service

Everything was good - including turnaround times, asking for documents, updates from HO etc until they lost my A5 birth certificate.

Quick process and good updates and tracking. Received supporting documents I sent back on same day as passport

Submitted online Friday 6th Feb, sent documents including marriage certificate to change surname sat 7th, got took by Royal Mail sat 7th Feb. Documents arrived Monday 9th Feb. Didn’t mark down on passport tracker as received until Thursday 12th Feb, application approved 7 days later, Thursday 19th Feb 11am. Passport printed Thursday 19th Feb 8pm. Friday 20th Feb Royal Mail tracking text received 10am to say passport will be delivered the following day, Saturday 21st Feb between 8 and 10am. Passport received Saturday 21st Feb around 8:30am.

Very straightforward. Required to submit original UK birth certificate and either current US passport or color photocopy of all pages including blanks (I sent the photocopies). I did write to HMPO on 11 February explaining I needed passport quickly for travel scheduled in late March. They responded no expediting was possible.

Took 3 working days after receiving documents (evidenced by tracking) to confirm they had received the documents. It then took 5 working days to approve application and 2 working days to receive new passport after that. This included a name change due to marriage.

Application submitted - 9 February 2026 Identity details confirmed - 9 February 2026 Documents submitted - 9 February 2026 Documents received - 13 February 2026 Application approved - 20 February 2026 Passport received - 24 February 2026 Supporting documents received - 24 February 2026

Firstly, stressful because I only found out about this new rule in January, and I had travel planned for May. I also saw other passports being approved within days, whereas mine seemed to take a lot longer. Stressful because my birth certificate is from Singapore British High Commission, not the UK, and I was not sure if further documentation would be required. I also got varying responses and random emails during the application process asking for me to report my old passport lost, when I had previously done so. I was initially told to submit my original Australian passport, but when I said I needed it, they told me a colour copy would suffice. I found that when I spoke to someone, they were unable to give me any specific information related to my submission.

I am changing my name on it, they asked for more documents like 2-3 times, after final round of documents were recieved, took ~20 days till approved, another 5 days to recieve

The most stressful part was having to send original father’s and my birth certs and parents’ marriage certificate because my old passport expired over 30 years ago, and the fact that it took 10 days for them to arrive in UK. Sent colour photos copies of NZ passport. Fortunately I had the certificates but it was a bit nerve wracking posting them to UK since some were over 100 years old. Once they arrived everything was processed quickly and communications from HMPO and DHL were excellent. Delays appear to be fault of NZPost. Going direct to DHL might be quicker but NZPost were very helpful with completing customs docs. Online app Jan 20 Identify confirmed by UK passport holder same day Docs posted Jan 23 International Express via NZ Post Office Docs arrived Feb 2 Docs confirmed received Feb 5 Approved Feb 14 Printed Feb16 Passport Sent via DHLfeb 17 New and old passport Arrived Feb 24 (separate envelopes) Certificates due to arrive in 2 days’ time

Documents were delivered to HMPO on the 9th February Got email inviting me to Interview on Wednesday 18th February. Approved straight after the interview Passport printed 1:42pm on 23 February 2026 Application approved 2:00pm on 21 February 2026 Documents received 6:38pm on 11 February 2026 Application received 5:18pm on 5 February 2026 Identity details received 5:18pm on 5 February 2026 Email sent to person confirming your identity 9:08am on 4 February 2026 Ask someone to confirm your identity 8:57am on 4 February 2026 Application submitted 8:57am on 4 February 2026

19th February application submitted and received. 19th February sent old passport to be delivered by 1pm. 20th February documents received and approved 23rd February passport printed. 24th February passport delivered.