[News] The National Embarrassment That Is . . . HM Passport Office.

[Cowfold Seagull]

I am in the position, along with millions of others, who need to renew their passport urgently. I would like to travel to Kefalonia before the season ends there at the end of September, and to the States in the autumn too.

Click and Collect which l would normally use via my local Post Office will now entail a wait of 10/12 weeks! Shambolic in the extreme.

Their Prestige service, which would entail a personal application to a Passport Office and where l could collect the new passport on the same day needs to be booked online via their website, easy enough you might say, but try getting an appointment! I thought at the beginning of the week that l had found one, having refreshed the page repeatedly. However my excitement turned to instant dismay when l realised that the appointment was in . . . Belfast.

So basically l am left with a straightforward choice, either bite the bullet and take my completed application form along to the Post Office, and hope that a new passport drops through my letter box early and in time to take my holiday, or take a chance and just hope beyond hope that an appointment becomes available where l can obtain said passport on te same day. However how long would l have to wait for that to happen? It's Catch 22 as l see it.

Has anyone else got, or had, the same dilemma?

 

[Solid at the back]

I renewed my passport last month, had my brand new one back to me within 10 days.

 

[Yoda]

I renewed end of Jan, waiting time said 8-9 weeks. Got new one back after 4.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Lot of people having to cancel holidays as passports not come back, normally I would say idiots. But you would expect them to be back in 2 months.

WFH isn’t suited for all.

The gov need to sort this out.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Good news so far, l'd take either result to be honest. Were they via the Post Office? Click & Collect?

 

[Live by the sea]

I don’t have a Uk passport but a good friend of mine renewed hers online and it took 14 days but that was in feb even though hers wasn’t due to run out for another 8 months , she didn’t want to risk any last minute issues . Think the lesson here is in these covid times it helps to plan further ahead than we are used to doing .

 

[Yoda]

Good news so far, l'd take either result to be honest. Were they via the Post Office? Click & Collect?

Online applications/renewal, standard post

 

[Swansman]

Exactly the same shit over here and I would guess in a lot of other countries.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Lot of people having to cancel holidays as passports not come back, normally I would say idiots. But you would expect them to be back in 2 months.

WFH isn’t suited for all.

The gov need to sort this out.

Of the things the Government need to sort out, I'm not sure this would make the first volume sadly, maybe volume 5 or 6 just before Driving tests and some way ahead of Potholes. I understand that Corporation tax cuts are today's 'tip for the top', but tomorrow's a new day

I got a new passport at the beginning of the year in about half the time quoted. I'd say get down that Post Office today

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Lot of people having to cancel holidays as passports not come back, normally I would say idiots. But you would expect them to be back in 2 months.

WFH isn’t suited for all.

The gov need to sort this out.

Amen to that.

 

[usernamed]

I am in the position, along with millions of others, who need to renew their passport urgently. I would like to travel to Kefalonia before the season ends there at the end of September, and to the States in the autumn too.

Click and Collect which l would normally use via my local Post Office will now entail a wait of 10/12 weeks! Shambolic in the extreme.

Their Prestige service, which would entail a personal application to a Passport Office and where l could collect the new passport on the same day needs to be booked online via their website, easy enough you might say, but try getting an appointment! I thought at the beginning of the week that l had found one, having refreshed the page repeatedly. However my excitement turned to instant dismay when l realised that the appointment was in . . . Belfast.

So basically l am left with a straightforward choice, either bite the bullet and take my completed application form along to the Post Office, and hope that a new passport drops through my letter box early and in time to take my holiday, or take a chance and just hope beyond hope that an appointment becomes available where l can obtain said passport on te same day. However how long would l have to wait for that to happen? It's Catch 22 as l see it.

Has anyone else got, or had, the same dilemma?

I have some sympathy for your situation, but it has been heavily publicised that the passport office are taking an age to process applications. I’d assume a wait of 15-16 weeks for a new passport to be issued, and I’ve personally decided (as my passport has expired) that I’ll stick to the U.K. for this year and leave travel abroad for next year.

It’s not ideal, and it does seem frustrating that this government keeps talking about removing red tape and making things easier, when all around the evidence mounts that they’re doing the precise opposite. There is nothing I can think of in the last few years that has become less bureaucratic, unwieldy, time-consuming and frustrating to achieve. Nevertheless, we continue to vote in our traditional patterns. I’d take a dull but competent administrator for my next PM please, rather than a glossy suit with an ideological angle.

It’s no good saying it’s the Civil Service’s fault, they’re led by government and have to follow the rules the government lay down for them. What we need is a bit of creative thinking at a ministerial level on how to streamline the process and improve efficiency. The trouble is, if the process can’t be streamlined, the only answer is more Civil Servants, which is anathema to the Party nominally governing our country at present.

Regrettably I foresee no great flash of ministerial genius, and no appetite for bolstering the staff doing the work, so I’m expecting the current situation to continue and will book nothing until I have my new passport in my sweaty little hands.

 

[Bombardier]

My wife renewed her passport back in April and from application to receiving the new passport was a whole 3 weeks. I get some people do have a much longer wait but that, in my humble opinion is the exception to the rule. For what it's worth Irish passport renewals are taking longer. Usual rule of thumb, fail to plan, plan to fail!

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I have some sympathy for your situation, but it has been heavily publicised that the passport office are taking an age to process applications. I’d assume a wait of 15-16 weeks for a new passport to be issued, and I’ve personally decided (as my passport has expired) that I’ll stick to the U.K. for this year and leave travel abroad for next year.

It’s not ideal, and it does seem frustrating that this government keeps talking about removing red tape and making things easier, when all around the evidence mounts that they’re doing the precise opposite. There is nothing I can think of in the last few years that has become less bureaucratic, unwieldy, time-consuming and frustrating to achieve. Nevertheless, we continue to vote in our traditional patterns. I’d take a dull but competent administrator for my next PM please, rather than a glossy suit with an ideological angle.

It’s no good saying it’s the Civil Service’s fault, they’re led by government and have to follow the rules the government lay down for them. What we need is a bit of creative thinking at a ministerial level on how to streamline the process and improve efficiency. The trouble is, if the process can’t be streamlined, the only answer is more Civil Servants, which is anathema to the Party nominally governing our country at present.

Regrettably I foresee no great flash of ministerial genius, and no appetite for bolstering the staff doing the work, so I’m expecting the current situation to continue and will book nothing until I have my new passport in my sweaty little hands.

I agree. Every Civil Service department has been cut back and cut back in the name of austerity.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

My wife renewed her passport back in April and from application to receiving the new passport was a whole 3 weeks. I get some people do have a much longer wait but that, in my humble opinion is the exception to the rule. For what it's worth Irish passport renewals are taking longer. Usual rule of thumb, fail to plan, plan to fail!

I knew the expiry date on my passport was getting nearer, but the problem is l travel a lot, so it was always a case of when to do it.

Yes ok l suppose with hindsight l could have done it during lockdown when no on was thinking of travelling, but then hindsight is a wonderful thing isn't it?

 

[Barrow Boy]

I share the pain of everyone trying to get their passports renewed, but trust me, the shortcomings of the Passport Office pale into insignificance when compared to the complete and utter mess that is Clown Central the DVLA. I would list the problems I've had with these idiots since I made the classic mistake of changing my car back in Feb, but life is too short.
Complete and utter Tw*ts.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Amen to that.

This website claims to obtain actual wait time data from people stating how long they waited. Currently they say an Adult Passport Renewal is 27 days, whereas a New Adult Passport is 49 days. Their graph seems to back up others saying they got theirs within 3 weeks etc. earlier in the year.

 

[BatterSeagull]

Couldn't get an appointment for love nor money.
Went into the system.
New passport arrived in 8 days.

 

[Mackenzie]

I renewed both of my daughters passports online this year, I guess we were lucky as they took about two weeks to arrive.

 

[Springal]

Surprised that you are surprised given this has been going on for so long.

But renewals are generally still fairly quick I think - make sure you use a photo service linked to the passport office as that helps.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I am in the position, along with millions of others, who need to renew their passport urgently. I would like to travel to Kefalonia before the season ends there at the end of September, and to the States in the autumn too.

Click and Collect which l would normally use via my local Post Office will now entail a wait of 10/12 weeks! Shambolic in the extreme.

Their Prestige service, which would entail a personal application to a Passport Office and where l could collect the new passport on the same day needs to be booked online via their website, easy enough you might say, but try getting an appointment! I thought at the beginning of the week that l had found one, having refreshed the page repeatedly. However my excitement turned to instant dismay when l realised that the appointment was in . . . Belfast.

So basically l am left with a straightforward choice, either bite the bullet and take my completed application form along to the Post Office, and hope that a new passport drops through my letter box early and in time to take my holiday, or take a chance and just hope beyond hope that an appointment becomes available where l can obtain said passport on te same day. However how long would l have to wait for that to happen? It's Catch 22 as l see it.

Has anyone else got, or had, the same dilemma?

This will not be very helpful but when I was applying for my children when we were living in South Africa, we were told new passports could take months. I got a potential member of the "Illuminati" to countersign the applications and they arrived within a fortnight!