To have no sympathy for people who book their holidays before sorting out their passports...

[NickNacks]

And then have a moan bitch abiut what a nightmare they are having trying to chase them in time.

Obviously there are always exceptions, family emergencies abroad etc but the application clearly states not to make any travel plans before your new passports arrive.

I'm just bemused by the amount of posts which start ' we go on holiday tomorrow and X's passport that I sent off for 3 weeks ago isn't back and the passport aren't being helpful at all'

(very prepared for all the disorganised people who've done this to tell me IABU) :)

I do always wonder why people leave it to the last minute. Surely you would sort it as soon as you knew you would be travelling?

's bit of a fred about a fred though init? Not great form.

YABU as it's not your problem, just don't read them.

It's a thread about lots of threads!

I am not very organised, but one of the things I have (so far) managed to do EVERY New Year us check family passport expiry dates (I write it in diary from year to year).

It must be an awful feeling when you realise one is expired and there's little time to go. And first dibs on the "emergency" appointments go (rightly) to this who can show urgent compassionate need for travel. Any reminders to help remind people to check, annually or just before spending on a booking, so the panic and difficulty can be avoided, must surely be helpful.

But some of the people currently panicking have sent in their applications in plenty of time and were entirely reasonable to expect their passports back before they were due to travel.

YABU and a thread about a thread is poor.

Aww I do have sympathy for the misery of those poor sods who have booked their hols and won't able to go.

I think it is a more difficult to get a same-day appointment this year. Last year dd needed to go somewhere last minute and I was able to get a same day appointment within days. This year I was supposed to go away for work, my passport was due to expire and I couldn't get a same day appointment anywhere in the country within 2 weeks.

I think the volume of passport woes this year means that the appointments must be few and far between in comparison with other years.

Maybe they shouldn't let you make a booking unless you enter in a valid passport number?

And if course it's about lots of other threads- I never knew it were so common until I read it over and over :)

The passport office is SHIT. I mean, how long should it take in this day and age to process a passport? Why can't it all be done online FFS!
Of course it's daft to leave it until a week before you fly, but many people are leaving adequate time- its just the useless system letting them down

I'd LOVE to be in the situation where I was needing a passport at all, as it is I can't afford to holidy in the uk this year - let alone abroad. I do think that it is advisable to wait until having your passport in our hand is the better bet, and applying 3 weeks in advance is not very good organisation, but I do know of people who have waited for months to get them through, and then I do have some sympathy.

mine got nicked between making booking and flying out

used it on a domestic flight to luton and it was pickpocketed.

and in general i wouldn't have months between needing my passport for work trips and going on holiday (and you have to send your old one away) - they really ought to be able to turn them round in a few weeks.

See maybenow I have sympathy in that situation and emergency appointments are for exactly that kind of thing.

i wish i hadnt booked my last years holiday to malta before my lazy sod of an ex husband got my stepsons passport, i booked it ten months before we went and he left it too late to get one for SS so ended up paying for him and he didnt go that would have been spending money for me was furious with him

So, are the passport office actually inefficient, or do they need time to carry out thorough checks to maintain security? Given that passports are often someone's main form of photo ID, I'd rather mine was done thoroughly than discover that it had been cloned or something.

YABU and rather judgey. I've never had hassle but I can see that it would be very easy to think you all had eg 6 months left on all your passports when one child had 5 and therefore could be refused entry to some countries. Particularly in situations where the child's parents live apart so they can't just look. And passports get lost. And people may book their holiday 6 months + before they're due to travel.

I did this.

I checked the passports before the holiday was booked as I thought my DD1 and DD2 might not have the full 6 months left after the return date.

I checked them all, although I had no doubts that my son's was OK.

The week before they were flying I got them out ready, and realised that DS's passport had expired 4 months before

I can only think that when I looked at them before the holiday was booked that I misread the date and saw what I expected to see.

I was totally unreasonable for making such a stupid mistake, but I don't think it's unreasonable to post asking for advice

We are going to Florida next April. Dd's passport needs renewing. Am sending it off next week, you never know do you?

My ex was a bit fly by the seat of his pants regards this kind of thing, he booked us flights to Abu Dhabi a week beforehand and made an appointment to get ds's passport renewed the morning of the day we flew it was torture I tell you torture.

The op comes across as someone who has very little else to worry about other than booking the annual family holiday tbh.

Those of us who travel with work- sometimes at short notice, and who can't even always arrange our leave with much notice, struggle to find a window of opportunity to even be able to send our old passport off to be able to get a new one

They are very thorough, and it is right that they continue to be.

They do publish target issue times, and there is a disclaimer that these may not be met during peak times. It's 6 weeks for a first issue (assuming they do not need to contact you for additional information) and less for renewals. Any taking months are indeed matters for serious complaint. I've found their helpline to be very helpful when I've needed to call them.

I thought the very same thing today OP.

YANBU.

Reasons why we've had white knuckle passport waits:

Passports are expensive. Photos ditto and it's a big ask to get them countersigned.
Babies can't apply until they're born Last minute holidays- circumstances change.

I agree op

And if you regularly travel then you are just renewing and you can do that 9 months before your passport expires and keep the same renewal date, and you know that sooner or later you will use it so you don't mind doing it early so that you have continuous cover. If you only go abroad once every 4 or 5 years then you don't want to order it too far in advance otherwise those are wasted months. I do feel sorry for people who have saved up for their first ever holiday abroad and are stuck without a piece of paper.

Fortunately I now know that we need to renew on the girls's 10th, 15th birthdays etc, as usefully ds + dd1 fall in the same year and dh and dd2 fall in the same year too, other than mine which falls out of the cycle.

It would be useful if you could order a first passport 6 months before it is valid iyswim so that you could order passport when you book your holiday in feb, knowing it will be valid for 5 years starting in August.

Fortunately I renewed dd2's in feb although not due until July, and it was back in just over a week without any check and send either!

YANBU

There are some circumstances where you need to get one quickly, for example one for a new baby or a family emergency but otherwise there isn't really any reason for people to leave it until the last moment.

lamb - why is the fact that they are expensive a reason to leave it late? Either you can afford passports and the holiday, or you can't, surely?

The passport office is a shambles at the moment. I had to 3 weeks for a same day emergency appointment for my daughter so we could travel home (out of the UK). I dread to think how long a postal one takes.

I'm sure the poor people who have you know, made a mistake, cocked up, made a boo boo etc are literally sobbing that they don't have your sympathy.