Anyone applied for a new children's passport recently?

[obsessedwithsleep]

I left 12 weeks between application and travel but am now feeling a bit stressed out.

How long did it take for you to receive them?

And also on the tracking website, what's the next step after documents received?

Thank you.

Has anyone sent their old passport to the wrong passport office 😳sent mine & DDs off by special delivery y’day (did renewal online on Tuesday) I didn’t realise they needed to go to 2 different places sent them both to Corby, DDs was suppose to go to Bootle. I emailed the ‘reply to’ address from the passport email (reminder to send old passports) last night & it’s bounced back tonight 😫
The passports should arrive on Tuesday.

I was just about to book a holiday in for 6th June last weekend when I realised youngest DC’s passport runs out in August😣

Did an online application on Sat 23rd. It said 5 weeks to process. For some reason I put his month of birth in as mine! Total brain fart and only realised when I couldn’t log in then figured it out. Spent 3 hours on Sunday morning trying to get through to ask them what to do. Was told to send in birth certificate with old passport and write a letter.

Friend did the counter signing on Sunday 24th (managed to log in using wrong date of birth). Went to post office to post the old one off and birth certificate on Monday after work but there was a massive queue as Postman had turned up to take all the post so missed next day delivery. Tracking says they got it in Weds 27th but no update as yet.

i haven’t actually booked the holiday yet as worried we won’t get passport back and will lose all the money as won’t get any back. Holiday has now gone up by £300 since last weekend!

I was told we could do the two week upgrade but that’s not guaranteed.

Was planning to take youngest out of school after a lot of thought, which we’ve never done with any of our DC before as we haven’t had a proper holiday for 12 years, youngest never been on a plane and can finally afford one due to an unexpected bit of money coming to us. DH can’t get time off in the school holidays at all this year as already booked up and that time is the least worse time to take DC out, as starting secondary in Sept. Place I was going to book looks amazing too 😫

Still dithering as whether to book and hope for the best. Bloody stressful!

That’s the thing though, it shouldn’t be this stressful to get a bloody passport, and we’re paying for it. It’s a joke and it doesn’t seem to be getting better, I spoke to them today and they said the examiners have thousands of applications to get through. WTF just hire more examiners or stop being so picky with every bloody thing!

Oh and also, they don’t tell you when there is a problem with your application or photo, instead they let it wait to be ‘processed’. Which means months without a passport. All it takes is one phone call or email and they just cannot be bothered.

I did. It was quick like 4 weeks ish

My friend did this - I think she said it just delayed it by a week, but they still came back pretty quickly.

We had a pretty good experience. I did the application online on the Thursday before Easter, and sent the old passport on the same day. They acknowledged receipt on the Wed after Easter, and I received the new passport on Thursday this week. It took 9 days.

What do you mean? It just stays on being processed indefinitely? I agree - it really shouldn't be this stressful and it really shouldn't take more than a month to issue a straightforward passport.

I needed to get a renewal passport for my son and a new passport for my daughter. I completed the online application for both yesterday but I have yet to even receive an email confirmation that I’ve paid. Surely a receipt should be automated. Thankfully I printed off the details.

After I’d paid it said I’d need to log back in to submit details of the person who’d verify their identity. Fine. However when I log in it just says ‘we’re checking your application and this page will be updated soon’. I didn’t expect there to be a delay to simply give the details of the person verifying - is this normal?! Or has anyone else experienced this?

Until they’ve verified their identities I can’t send their ID documents off. It’s crazy. I hope I’m not waiting long, we’re travelling at the beginning of August.

Are people finding that if the renewals are 'stuck' in processing that there is a problem with info or photo? Or is it moving eventually? We have been in processing since the 22nd March

That’s good to know, hope the same happens to us - no holiday booked as yet, looking at later in the year. Hopefully I’ll get notification on Tuesday when they arrive at the passport office 🤞🏻

They don’t tell you why it’s stuck in processing, that’s the problem. If they communicated the reason we could resolve it. They just sit on the application indefinitely

@TeaAndTrifle the confirmation amount is at the bottom of the first email - after it tells you about who can verify your ID

I agree. The lack of communication is the most frustrating part. Coupled with the fact when I do speak to someone they give me conflicting information to what a previous person had said!

I've asked multiple times if they've lost my son's supporting doc which they constantly deny. If someone would have been honest with me, I would have just cancelled the application and gone down the fast track route weeks ago.

I have been lucky enough to get through to the helpdesk a few times this week but each time I am given totally different advice. Another child Renewal stuck in limbo/processing since 2nd week in march. If they would just contact you with the issue they would reduce calls and upgrading requests. Bonkers management

I have emailed my MP, I am hoping her involvement might help. But I do think they are beyond help at this point, instead of things improving they just seem to be getting worse. There are people who have been waiting months all because of this lack of communication. The whole system is pathetic and they need to be investigated as the first thing they do is make you pay for the application and then they basically turn their back on you. Sorry for the rant but it is like nothing I have ever experienced before from any service provider.

Sorry to jump on the thread - we have just submitted a child passport renewal. Do the passport office tell you where to send the old passport to? Our application is still awaiting the initial review. Thank you.

Did you apply online? If so, you should have received an email/text with the postal address on it. If the child is under 12 and the photo needs verification you will be contacted as soon as this is done.

@Bubblepanda I just did a renewal for a child passport and it was very quick. Did you take the photos yourself? I had read that more photos taken at home are rejected so it can take longer. I had my son’s photo taken at a photo place which gave me a code to use online.
once they acknowledged receipt of supporting documents his application was approved the following day.

@RupertTheCat Yes unfortunately I did take. I just need them to would.message to say it's rejected,, if it is, so I could get a replacement photo sent over. I am guessing that is the issue, but at the moment we are just stuck in processing limbo

Very worrying about passports getting stuck in the system. DS’s is stuck in the system I don’t know if something has gone wrong because no one will tell you.

@Crabwoman Ah thanks, yes it was online and we are waiting for a friend to confirm the identity.

DSIl has been waiting 14 weeks- renewal. Child is 8
Holiday likely to be cancelled

If you’ve waited over 10 weeks j think you can fast track it online. Have you tried speak to them and asking for them to speed it along?

Was planning on renewing my passport and getting the children's first passports this summer while we're visiting the UK but unless the processing time gets a lot shorter I'm not going to be able to do that, urgh. Unbelievable that the passport application system can be so slow and such a shambles in this day and age, plus the ridiculous counter signatory system (which is why I haven't bothered to do passports before but with Brexit I want to me and the children to be able to arrive on British passports now)