Has anyone ever had a passport go wrong? Or any kind of passport drama?

[SnoozeAllDay]

Renewing passports today and I always go really slowly with the application and then stress for the next month that it’s going to be rejected (no actual reason to feel like that)

And it got me wondering if anyone has any passport tales to tell? Like you received your passport and THEY made an error.
Or you didn’t receive them in time for your trip and were left stuck at home etc.

BTW I am NOT daily fail scum. I’m genuinely just curious.

@bumsnett German passports record height (and eye colour as well).

I do remember a school friend going on a much talked about trip to Disneyland and when I mentioned I was pretty sure she couldn’t travel on her parents’ passport after 16 was firmly told I was wrong, it was 18.

This was 1990 so no handy internet to consult and prove my point. They were turned away from the airport and had to get an emergency passport appt and fly out a couple of days late at great expense!

@ThatsNotMyGolem actually I did read it thanks, she said any passport stories but gave egs of them not arriving etc. Does it matter, was there really any need for you to say that? There are loads of stories on here similar to mine but thanks for your input

Lost my passport in Dubai on a girls' holiday, only discovering the loss when I came to pack. Rushed to police station to get a report of the loss, then went to the airport desk where my DH faxed through a photocopy (which we fortunately had as we'd just bought a house so needed it for ID purposes). Travelled home, via an Amsterdam transit, with just the police report and the photocopy. This was about 20 years ago. Not sure if this would have been possible these days, think you'd now need to get a consulate involved.

I remembered another one, as kids we used to stay with some friends for part of the summer holidays. We arranged for my parents friends DS to come back to the UK with us. Everyone really excited then the day before they realised their DS didn't actually have his own passport as had always travelled on theirs. We were getting the ferry so he hid in the footwell of the car they hardly checked my parents, didn't even look in the back of the car.

@LabraDabraDoo

No. But BIL, aged 20 lost his passport in Athens and (rather than getting an emergency document from the embassy like normal people) managed to hitchhike to his father’s house in France without it. The last leg of the journey involved a van letting him out at the Swiss/French border, where he wandered into the mountains and crossed the border Sound of Music style, walking the final twelve miles to their house, greeted by a great big bollocking from his dad!

Worth it to have that epic story in your back pocket though.

I was at a work conference in Amsterdam many years ago, and I had my passport stolen. Reported to police and got a document (crime report) from them which they said I could use at the airport. Got through airport OK and onto plane but then some official from BA came onto the plane and hauled me off, in front of all my colleagues. This was very embarrassing. It was all sorted out, they had made a mistake and I was allowed on the next flight to London, which was later the same day. I complained to BA and eventually got a free business class ticket to anywhere in the world!

Used t live about half away from a border. Like everyone else, we all used to cross regularly, going through passport control and customs. Some people did it multiple times a day (my DDs school was attended by people living in both countries for example...)

People frequently travelled on the wrong passport, without a passport hidden in the car, with a lit more alcohol and other stuff that was banned...

Then one day someone took their dog across. Wasn't allowed back... dog had to go to quarantine.

In what seems like madness now... I was liwed to travel abroad with DD with only three days remaining on her passport and no return journey booked. (Her passport was renewed from abroad by DHs employer).

Woke up after a night out and couldn't find my passport anywhere (I used to take it out as ID). My stepbrother who lived with me at the time arrived home later that day and found it lying in a puddle in the garden. It dried out that crinkly stiff way paper doeas and the photo page ended up with dark blotches round the edges despite the plastic cover. I still managed to go abroad twice with it though!

I’ve just been talking to my mother about this.

She told me our female neighbour had once received her passport and they put her as a Mr and Male. (Around 8 years ago now)
Isn’t it crazy that the passport office can make that kind of mistake.
You’d think it would be checked for accuracy many times by multiple people before being sent.

I’d love to see what it’s like working in the passport office.

Another story not caused by passport office but...

I used to arrange company booze cruises to France. We often had Indian contractors over to do particular bits of work. One very recently arrived wanted to come along as he was really up for getting into the company spirit and making friends. Unfortunately non of us realised he would need a visa as traveling on an Indian passport. We arrived at ferry terminal and he was refused travel. We had to leave the poor guy in Dover, with not brilliant English, and no understanding of uk transport. He made it back safely though, and we bought him the scotch he was fond of.

@TheChosenTwo

Oh, sil was going on a family holiday a year or so after getting married. They were going to America I think. Husband had booked the tickets and they arrived at the airport - he’d booked the tickets in her married name presuming that she’d changed her passport! Think they ended up just having to pay to name change at the airport. What a palaver!

I had the reverse-taking my divorced sister on holiday, I booked her ticket in her married name. I didn't know she'd used her maiden name on her passport! Luckily we found out the day before, and I phoned Gatwick. They said as long as she took her divorce papers with her she'd be OK, so that's what we did. I also once was going through passport control on my way to a flight and the passport control officer looked at me for ages and ages and then said "you need a new passport, this photo doesn't look like you any more but I'll let you through this time." I think it had about 18 months left on it. For heaven's sake-didn't he realise people's appearances change in 5 or 10 years?

Last year my husbands didn't come in time for us going abroad, despite sending it ages in advance. We went without him. Our friend who stays across the road also had a holiday booked to the same place the following week and the same happened to her. She called up the passport office to find out what was going on and the person laughed at her and said "it defo won't be there by then hen" 🙄

@SnoozeAllDay; that's why I pay slightly more for the application to be checked at the post office; I don't have to wait for it to be sent back if there's any mistakes.

My appearance has changed in 3 months. Got my new passport in December there and had blonde hair and a side crying. Not got dark hair and full thick fringe and have also lost weight so the shape of my face has changed. Hope I have no issues.

*side fringe!