Passport office saying DDs passport cannot be renewed, even with emergency appointment- looking for advice..

[OwlMother]

Dd is due to travel to France on the same day as her 16th birthday. Unfortunately I have only just realised her passport is only valid until July. If there is brexit with no deal government advice is that she will need six months validity.

No problem, I thought. I'll just renew it. Do the express thing if I need to. But the passport office say no. Dd is not allowed a new passport until after her 16th birthday. She can't have a child renewal because she's nearly an adult, and she can't have an adult passport because she's only a child. It seems absolutely crazy but after several phone calls I'm no further on.

Does anyone have any experience of this? Or any suggestions? I acknowledge this is my fault for booking her flights without checking, but I had checked her passport was in date, just hadn't appreciated the brexit implications. I suppose there will be more of this to come.

Sorry, I'm panicking more than I usually would because she's travelling abroad by herself for the first time.

Where would the definitive answer be if not on the gov site?

Or could someone link to where it says it's ok?

No you don't need 6 months validity until December 2020.

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/entry-requirements

I think the issue is that your DD already has a valid passport... Id say just travel on the current one and get the new one when the old one is expired.

Your link is for if we leave without a deal. We aren’t.

Someone of the info online is from last year, and refers to us leaving Europe without a deal. That's not happening now.
I know this is The Sun, but it's correct info.

www.thesun.co.uk/travel/8446546/brexit-renew-passport-january-31/

Surely you can just get a child renewal that will be valid for 5 years instead of 10? If she were travelling outside the EU, as loads of almost 16YOs do, then 6 months on the passport would needed so this just cannot be correct. You must have been given wrong information or misunderstood as there really won’t be a ban on 15YOs getting new passports if theirs still have a few months left. You can’t do same day renewals for children though- is it possible that’s what you were told? But she will be fine travelling to France in February and doesn’t need 6 months! I would suggest calling the passport office if you have already- they’re usually really good and were loads of help when I had questions about DD’s first passport.

No, passport office and I are on the same page, no misunderstanding. She's too close to her birthday to be allowed a child renewal, even though she is still technically a child. And as she is a child she can't renew until she is sixteen sh we can renew prior to her birthday but they will hold onto it until after her birthday.

Thank you for the link, that's making me calm down slightly

See gov.uk link I posted below. You are panicking unnecessarily.

She can travel on her editing passport to go to France in February. The sox month validity is only if we leave without a deal (as the page says). It is now vanishingly unlikely that we'll leave without the transition agreement in place so carry on as normal, renew after her 16th birthday.

Op - I renewed my dd's passport a month ago and she is 16 in July. She has a child's passport.

Thank you for the link, that's making me calm down slightly.

So sorry for being so panicky. It's the thought of her trying to navigate french customs alone!

Sorry, ignore me. I see your dd is 16 in Feb. I didn't read properly and thought her birthday was in July.

OP we travelled a few weeks ago and my son only has 3 months left on his passport, it was absolutely fine

The issue with her renewal is that it's less that a month until she's 16. So she has to renew as an adult. But thanks to all the info you lovely lot have helped me with I now realise I don't need to renew!

And her Irish passport will arrive within the month so this will solve all future problems.

And it was to France!

The info you have got from the passport office is wrong. Of course she can renew her passport. But she can only renew as a child so it will only be valid for five years. If someone has told you something different you need to talk to a supervisor.

The effect of that rule would be to prevent people aged 15 and a half from travelling to most countries outside the EU for a period of six months. So that is clearly nonsense.

I've spoken to three different people at the passport office, and a supervisor. They all say the same. The online booking also won't let me book an appointment for her. She just seems to fall through a crack in the system, people who only have three weeks to go until they're 16.

I promise you DD will be fine for travelling - we’re not going to leave without a deal and that was what the 6 months validity thing was for travelling to EU countries.

If you’d like a confirmation you could email your MP (or ring) and see if they are able to get a quick answer straight from the Home Office. Tell them the date she is travelling etc. It has come up in the Commons recently so they may have access to a formal answer in any case. They could also ring the relevant private office of the right minister and see if they are able to answer. (I used to work for an MP so used to these kinds of enquiries!)

Best of luck - but don’t worry!

Ps put urgent in the title and ring the MP’s office ahead if you’re sending an email - very polite usually gets you far!

As you now realise you don't need to renew.

the Financial Times by the way had a useful article on the withdrawl bill which has now gone for royal assent - basically nothing can stop it now and it set out the timetable for UK and EU signature of teh WA and that we wil leave on 31 Jan but then of course we are in the interim period which currently expires on 31 Dec 2020 so she is fine as others have said. I suppse until we get to 31 Jan 2020 we cannot we cannot be be 100% certainly but I would certainly bed on 31 Jan as of today leaving with the deal in the Withdrawal Agreement.

I've calmed down a lot, thank you all. Have already emailed the MP, thanks for the suggestion though.

As I said if I was going I'd be more blasé, it's the thought of surly french officials at CDG that's stressing me. Although my mother thinks dd can give as good as she gets, I'm not convinced that would help!

You can't book an appointment because you can't renew a child's passport like that. You can only renew a child's passport online or by post, not at an appointment. I think you have misunderstood the passport office advice!

So the passport office has effectively told you that if for example, you were planning a family trip to Florida instead of a school trip to France, then you would have to cancel because the US requires 6 months and they would refuse to renew your DD’s passport early?! Sorry but that makes zero sense and is definitely wrong.

But you’re definitely fine for France and in your case it of course makes sense to wait then do the adult renewal which will be valid for 10 years so you don’t need to worry