renewing a UK passport from overseas

[TwistInMySobriety]

I've just sent my passport off to be renewed. Has anyone applied from abroad recently? If so, how long did it take? Any idea whether the monster backlogs that were all over the news last year have been cleared? I really hope I don't have to apply for an emergency travel document on Christmas eve...

[Onelittlepiglet]

I did one back in May and it didn't take too long at all - I was very surprised. I can't remember exactly how long it was but not more than a month. Possibly only two/three weeks. I hope it works out for you and you get it back quickly!

[Costacoffeeplease]

Mine took 2-3 weeks in the summer - not sure exactly but it expired in August so maybe June?

[Terramirabilis]

Applied from the US in August for one for DS (so not a renewal but a first passport that presumably would take longer if anything) and that only took 3 weeks.

[TwistInMySobriety]

Cool, fingers crossed then. I just hope I don't get caught in the Christmas rush. I'm very cross with myself I didn't notice two months ago...

[BertieBotts]

Not long. About 10 days IIRC. I'm in Germany :)

[Bebespain]

Mine took less than 2 weeks in October! I´m in Spain

[ShanghaiDiva]

Two weeks in October. I'm in China.

[JellyTipisthebest]

under a month and in NZ

[SteveBrucesNose]

5 days - Middle Easy - August

[lulalullabye]

13 days door to door....AUSTRALIA!

[ThenLaterWhenItGotDark]

5 weeks.

Italy.

[TwistInMySobriety]

Arses, I've just had an email rejecting my photos. I've looked at the guidelines and can't see what the problem is . Fuckers. There goes another fifty euros overnighting new pix to Durham.

[alteredimages]

DD's renewal was sent on November 11th, just had a call today to say the passport is ready to be picked up. So a two and a half week turnaround, two weeks from receipt of the application. I was quite impressed because it was a renewal of her first passport issued when she was only a month old and so she was unrecognizable from the photos. The application is unlikely to have reached Durham before the 16th and it says on the website that child renewals take a minimum of six weeks from my country.

[alteredimages]

What a pain Twist. Could it be that you are smiling slightly, or that your hair is covering a small portion of your face?
I don't think glasses are allowed either.

I am in the middle east and always use aramex because they are less than half the price of DHL. Is that an option where you live?

I was asked for additional docs for DS's first passport in May 2014. Once they arrived, the passport was issued the same day, so hopefully your passport will be with you soon.

[TwistInMySobriety]

I had my glasses up on the top of my head which apparently counts as a head covering they got the new photos on Friday so hopefully it won't be long.

[TwistInMySobriety]

New passport is here! Phew :-)

[ThenLaterWhenItGotDark]

Oh excellent!

My pic was once sent back because it was too dark (booth at post office) whllst dd's was because her head didn't fill 80% of the pic or something!

Enjoy your holiday. [santa]