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 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Just had an update that ours have been transferred to Durham because there is less of a backlog there.

My DP has just collected DS's passport from the Liverpool office. He said there were people in his queue who are flying at 2:30pm today! This was 10:30am. Madness. The whole system seems to have broken down.

Oh fantastic news that you have the passport and can all go together MotherofPearl!

So pleased that you’ve got the passports sorted @MotherofPearl. Enjoy your holiday!

We are cancelling our holiday. Due to fly on Monday. No passport ☹️ 5 weeks since we applied for a child renewal. Nothing we can do.

I just got notification it's ready to be dispatched.

Applied 4th, Identity confirmed 6th, they marked docs recieved 24th (but got them the 8th) Application approved today.

Child renewal. It's such a lottery at the moment.

Was this May? What office was it ?

It is a lottery.

It’s absolutely roulette, I applied for two adult renewals and two brand new childrens on 21st April, the adult ones took about three weeks and the two child ones came yesterday and today.

One child and one adult to Peterborough and the other two to Liverpool.

I appreciate we have been really lucky, a friend of mine is still waiting and applied online earlier in April than me

Does anyone know what to do with the automated system to actually speak to a human being? No matter what I do I keep getting an automated message then hung up on

We applied for a couple of passports about a month ago and they arrived in under 3 weeks so I don't think the delays are as bad as the reports suggest.

I took my renewal form to the post office for "check and send" on March 27th. The new one came through my letterbox this morning. Just over 9 weeks.

May, yes.
Durham.

I just rang (different issue) and followed it through to countersignature process and eventually spoke to a human.

So might be worth trying to get s transfer across?

It took 34 days for DD to get a replacement passport after losing hers, that included postage abroad. Vertification&ID check still needed, and doublecheck with signatory DD's home address and why she was applying from abroad (that was requested two days after application).

My documents were received 26th May.

Now waiting for the next update, I applied for a renewal with change of name.

I want to book a holiday, but will wait until I have the passport back before I do due to the delays.

We got 3 kids passports back in less than 3 weeks. Applied late April - all back by mid May. They each were processed on different schedules though and came back one per week!
Seems very random as to what is being processed when.
Hope you get yours sorted OP

I applied for mine on the 8th of May and it arrived today, there seems to be no logic

A friend of mine's DIL applied for her 1st British passport in February. She had to send in her French passport with the application. It's now stuck in Belfast with no movement whatsoever and can't through to anyone .

She's now had to cancel two study trips abroad (she's an academic in an area which involves trips to weird and wonderful places) - or rather, arrange for a different lecturer to take the students

The irony is that she only applied for the British passport as because she became a UK citizen post Brexit, she doesn't have the EU ILR - so can't guarantee being able to get back into the UK if she travels on her French passport

.....not that she can travel at all at the moment as she doesn't have any passport

Applied for two kids renewals on Saturday. Sent old ones yesterday. Expecting a delay in DS2's as he can't sign it (special needs).

We've decided not to book a holiday until they're back to be on the safe side.

Been waiting for straight forward child renewals since the beginning of March - now apparently in progress and waiting for an examiner. So 13 weeks and counting.

I applied for three child renewals exactly three weeks ago. One came a day shy of within 2 weeks (Bootle) and the other exactly two weeks later (Belfast). Have been slightly apprehensive about the third (Peterborough) but that has now been printed so will hopefully turn up soon. We don't travel until mid August but it's a relief to have them back.

I suspect it was helped by the fact they were fairly straightforward and submitted online.

Still waiting on my child renewal after applying online on 3/4. It’s a Peterborough. Managed to get through on the phone to confirm the have received the documents but the online tracker still hasn’t updated and I keep getting asked to send documents they have had since April. Travel to a wedding in 2.5 weeks 😩

My sympathies @PinkWisteria we’re approaching 11 weeks since submitting our online applications for 2 first child passports and 8 weeks since they confirmed receipt of all documents and “application being processed”.

Thankfully we don’t travel till 2 August but I’d rather not have it go down to the wire!

Such a roulette. We were very lucky. One child to adult renewal took 3 weeks and child renewal took 4 weeks. We don’t fly until august, but didn’t want to leave it any closer due to all the horror stories.

hope everyone waiting gets theirs soon.

Does anyone know how long it's taking to get documents back?
We sent ours for renewal (me and DH) and sent in both copies of our marriage certificate as we needed to change names too. This was middle of April, got them back within about 3 weeks, no problems, really impressed.
Sent our kids applications at the same time for their first passports. Last week they emailed saying they also needed our marriage certificate for both of them. But we don't have our marriage certificate, they have it!! So frustrating.
No idea when we will get our marriage certificates back, to send back to them.

My son's first passport ended up arriving in the nick of time about 12/13 weeks after we sent it at the beginning of March.

Decided not to risk it for my older sons passport which is a renewal and booked a fast track 7 day appointment. Day 8 following that and nothing....