Is anyone else playing passport roulette?

[mayaknew]

Couldn't get a fast track appointment so took a gamble and applied normally.

We leave 8 weeks tomorrow for a wedding in Spain 😷😷😷😷😷

Is anyone else at risk of not getting their holiday? Or are the stories in the papers the exception and most people are getting them within a few weeks 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Good question. Haven't a fucking clue 😭

We’ve just got 2 Childs first passports back - one from Peterborough and one from Liverpool. Took just over 4 weeks from the day we posted documents

seen this all over Facebook past couple of weeks, could be worth a try

I GOT MY PASSPORT.

(EDITING THE STATUS TO ADD THIS INFO IN AGAIN AT THE TOP - DO NOT CONTACT THE EMAILS BELOW UNLESS IT IS LESS THAN 2 WEEKS TIL YOU FLY) this is for those that need it urgently.

It’s been a nightmare… so this is a status about how I’ve managed to expedite my passport application and get it in time for my holiday, I’m hoping it’ll help others to get theirs in time too because I know how stressful the process is. Sorry this is long winded. ❤️

Firstly, don’t call them because it’s completely a waste of your time. Whatever office you try to call, it’s the same number, the same contact centre. They are not civil servants, they have no communication with the passport office themselves and their job is to essentially blag us that they’ve helped. All that they see is exactly the same as what we see when we put our PEX number in to get the status of our application. They will tell you they’ve put a “mark” on your file and the upgrade team will call you if your holiday is soon, except they won’t actually call because there’s no such thing as a mark on your file. The people on the phone literally do nothing to help us.

If your holiday is within two weeks and you’ve not got your passport, you need to email the upgrade team as this is the ONLY way to actually contact them. You need to put URGENT and your travel date in the subject. In the email you need to put your name, address, PEX number, contact number for them to call you and attach proof of travel to the email (flight booking). This means they wont have to contact you trying to chase up what they need and delaying the process further. No matter what office your documents are at, it’s worth emailing them all because they are all working through them in travel date order and it’ll just be whichever office gets to your application quicker that’ll call you.

The emails are -

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

If you haven’t heard back from the upgrade team within 2 days of emailing, email them again. The upgrade team are the ONLY ones that can help you get it quickly. When they do call you it can be NO CALLER ID, so make sure you pick up any call incase it’s them. They will usually approve your application there and then on the phone and they’ll print it at your local office so you can go and collect it from the closest one.

If your travel is not in the next 2 weeks there is no point contacting the upgrade team yet as they will not help you. The upgrade teams are helping people in priority order.

If you’ve already got an application in process, do not book a fast track appt at an office as well because they won’t see you if you’ve already got a passport application in process and you’re essentially just paying for your passport twice for no reason and they won’t refund you for the appt you’ve booked (I learnt this lesson the hard way). If you want to do a fast track appt you’d have to cancel the current application, wait for your documents to be returned to you which can take 2 weeks and then make an appointment.

If you haven’t got an application in process yet but want an appointment they are being released few and far between at all offices at random times throughout the day via this link so you’ve just got to keep refreshing…

https://www.passportappointment.service.gov.uk

If your holiday is in the next week and the upgrade team haven’t contacted still then you should also email these as well as continuing to email the upgrade team …

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

It’s also worth emailing your local MP who should be happy to send an email to the passport office on your behalf to help expedite your application further.

Also I do know of people who have shown up at passport offices and been helped and their passports printed there and then but this really depends on if you’re lucky and manage to speak to a nice person at the door.

Hope this helps others ❤️

Applied on 3rd April for adult renewal (change of surname to married) and child renewal.

Adult passport received 2 weeks later really impressed.

Child passport renewal however I was asked for another document to be sent that wasn’t originally asked for, sent next day delivery and now am waiting, stuck on “old passport received”.

Travel on 17th June to a wedding for friends who we’ve not seen since pre-covid and just keeping everything crossed.

Can't believe the turnaround is so variable.

Also I paid extra for secure return of documents but they have yet to arrive..

I applied for 2 child renewals on 27th April. They went to Liverpool in the same envelope. 1 was back yesterday and one hasn't had the photo approved yet.

How do you know which office has your passport application if you've just applied the normal way?

Really useful, thanks.

Meanwhile to keep myself sane I'm planning my UK plan b holiday. Thinking North Norfolk coast, just jump in the car and book something last minute on the last day before we're due to fly out if it doesn't arrive. Can't really afford 2 holidays but we're not staying at home!

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/huge-queues-liverpool-passport-office-23916736

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Depends on what you mean by the "normal way". If you apply on-line, the office will probably be the address that the system generates for you to send your old passport/documents to.

I'm sick of all the comments on the papers stories: "should have sorted it earlier" etc. No, the waits are showing the service to be not fit for purpose. You shouldn't need to apply a year ahead, especially when that time no longer gets added to the validity of the passport.

Just wanted to share this if it is helpful.

After no further progress on my application after 9 weeks, being unable to get through on the phone and with 10 days to go, I bit the bullet and went to Peterborough office yesterday. Spent full day and a half there and walked out an hour ago, Passport in hand! Shaking and crying with relief writing this.

If you've been waiting longer than 8 weeks and are due to travel within 14 days, highly advise going to a passport office in person. Ask to join the enquiry queue and, when you get in front of a person, plead your case for an upgrade appointment. The phone system is in meltdown and a lot of the progress teams are no longer talking phonecalls so there's little to be gained by hanging on the phone.

Also, the frontline staff at Peterborough have been exceptionally professional and have managed at lot of very stressed people. They are genuinely trying to help...

Good luck everyone.

If you read the Passport Chaos 2022 page on FB it seems like it's mainly online applications from February and March that seem to be 'stuck'
It looks like they are picking applications from the top of the pile rather than the bottom and it's now seemingly at least 10 weeks from the date they receive your additional documents not the date you applied.
I applied for DS's first adult passport in march and luckily got it back in 5 weeks. That was from Durham even though we live near Glasgow

Fk it, I'm going to postpone my holiday to August. Cost an extra 1k to go then but I'd rather know I was going than not as this fiasco seems to be getting worse not better.

Surely by August I would have got it back, submitted early April.

Online: 1 took 4 weeks Liverpool Office, 1 sent to Glasgow is still just saying old passport received.

My DDs renewal was sent to Durham and back within 3 weeks. Couldn’t believe it after all reports of it taking months.

I live closer to the Glasgow passport office than to Liverpool or Peterborough. Would I still be able to go to the Glasgow office for mine if needed?

Both my old passports for child renewals have now been received on tracking system 11 days after posting.
One application then got put on hold as they said eldest daughter now needed ID verification ( we had done this for youngest age 10, but online the teen didn't need it doing when we submitted) now they seem to have changed their mind and she does!

If they are age 12+ they don't need a countersignature unless they can't be recognised from the old picture. I did ds's which would be age 10 to age 15 and didn't need a countersignature.

We applied early April for first child passport. Got it back in about 4 weeks. Docs were sent to Peterborough and I'm still waiting for them back.

My daughter is 13. We applied online and she didn't need counter signature/ ID verification as like it says over 12s don't need this. Now they say she does ( which we have sorted), now i know she has changed from age 8 to 13, but she is still very recognisable from the photo, hair same style even.

Maybe it depends who is dealing with the application and some of the staff are making up rules that don't exist.

The whole system is chaotic. Sent two child renewals early april. One had a problem and had to be countersigned again, it was processed within days. The other, non problematic one is registered as docs uploaded but then stuck for weeks.

I've decided to postpone my holiday to later in the year as I'm done with stressing.

If you read the Passport Chaos 2022 page on FB it seems like it's mainly online applications from February and March that seem to be 'stuck' It looks like they are picking applications from the top of the pile rather than the bottom

This absolutely seemed to be the case at Peterborough yesterday. And a lot of issues with child passports, rather than adults

We applied on 16th April. 2 renewals arrived yesterday. The kids first passports have had the documents acknowledged but no further yet. No holiday booked as yet, waiting to get a bit further with the passports before we spend any money!

I did DPs renewal for him online two weeks ago and his arrived yesterday. It’s definitely roulette, it appears.