Anyone applied for a passport recently?

[V8Wagon]

Just wondering how long they take to come through without paying silly money for the 'express service'??

[sunbeam alpine]

First one or renewal?

I got mine renewed in 5 days, and I'm currently in Belgium - had to send it to the British Embassy in Paris.

Only paid the standard price - amazed at the speed!

[bababa]

Mine (renewal) was submitted mid-January and took about two weeks...

[V8Wagon]

Cheers guys. Two renewals for passports that have expired and two first passports for the kids. I'm gonna have 'em checked at the post office but my life depends on 'em arriving within a fortnight!

[r1ch]

Sent mine on the 23/1 and got it back 3/2 so around 11 days mine took.

[checkmate91]

sunbeam alpine said:

First one or renewal?

This is the question!

Renewals - quick, 1st time, slow

I had to renew mine instantly this time last year for a business trip and went to the new Petty France office in london, couple of hours sorted!

What do you need and when?

[Oli.]

Check and send at the post office is only £5 and you get it back within two weeks

[hogfisch]

Oli. said:

Check and send at the post office is only £5 and you get it back within two weeks

This. Just applied for a first-time passport for my daughter. Received the passport exactly 2 weeks later.

[Lordglenmorangie]

We are saving up to buy ours, why are they so bloody expensive . Why does it cost so much to renew a document we have been renewing for the last sixty years without any change but our photographs ?

[rossco247]

Sent mine on the 1/2/12 for a renewal no sign yet but says it can be upto 6 weeks

[V8Wagon]

hogfisch said:

This. Just applied for a first-time passport for my daughter. Received the passport exactly 2 weeks later.

Thanks, that's good to know.

Gotta get to the PO tomorrow. I see it's £8.00 odd to use their checking service. Is that 'per passport' so x4 for me?

I know what you mean about the cost. Me, the wife and two kids is £300!

[bababa]

The other (slightly misleading) aspect of the Post Office Check & Send service is that there's still no guarantee that the passport office won't reject your application for some obscure reason - it just means that another set of eyes has been passed over the application and that in the event that the passport office does reject the application for some reason, you get to use the Check & Send service again for free.

This is all very well, but won't help you if you're on a tight schedule and they *do* choose to kick your applications back to you for some reason...

[Nickyboy]

V8Wagon said:

Thanks, that's good to know.

Gotta get to the PO tomorrow. I see it's £8.00 odd to use their checking service. Is that 'per passport' so x4 for me?

I know what you mean about the cost. Me, the wife and two kids is £300!

That does include the Special Delivery too

[Ferosferio]

My fiance and I renewed our passports recently - it took less than 2 weeks from the point we posted our forms to receiving the new items through the letterbox.

As stated already, the 'Check & Send' service is expensive for what it is. No guarantee it'll get to it's destination any quicker or that it won't be returned for you to correct a mistake which both you and the post office employee missed - not a dig, just saying it could happen. Ask a friend to have a look at the form once you've completed it and then send it by recorded delivery. At least that way you can monitor the status and you've saved yourself a few quid.

[r1ch]

I agree, you only have to fill out 3 sections for a renewel anyway. Just follow the instuctions in the booklet.

[GCH]

If its time sensitive and you MUST have them back, just bite the bullet for the express service. I know plenty of people who have had to change plans because they havent arrived in time, and even by special delivery stuff gets delayed or goes missing.

I always use the same day service for renewals now, takes the hassle factor out of it as you know exactly when you will have it.
Even when i took out my second passport (which cant be done using the same day service irritatingly) i made an appointment at the nearest passport office, did the interview and it was on my doorstep 36hrs later.


The post orifice check and send service is basically paying for the old biddies to check it, and is a waste of time imho. Its not exactly a complex form to fill out.

[bazking69]

Missus had hers back in 8 working days.

[V8Wagon]

Pretty impressed. Sent off the forms on the Wednesday and got them back the following Friday!