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Original poster

Passport office nightmare for DD 10

123 replies

TheColourofspring · 14/02/2023 08:33

Trying to renew my DD10’s passport. We sent her last passport and obviously she looks different- the first 3 pics we sent were rejected. We got it countersigned by someone who has known her since she was born. Then they asked for her birth certificate which we have sent by registered post.

Now they are saying that’s not enough either? Aibu to think what the hell else are we meant to send? They want more ID but we don’t have anything else as shes 10 and they her birth certificate 🤷🏻‍♀️

What do people send?!

OP posts:
CocoPlum · 14/02/2023 09:58

unicornflakegirl · 14/02/2023 09:35

@CocoPlum how old is your youngest?
Definitely no short version birth certificate in my county for DC born in South of England last year, only one born in England so I don't know what is usual.
I bought extra copies of birth certificate to apply for passports as we are dual nationals. The British one was easiest.

He's 11. Maybe it varies by county? Here at the point of registering they give you the short one, and you pay £3 (maybe more now) for the long one.

Sillyheadoooooo · 14/02/2023 10:00

You can call them and dependent on the severity of your issue they will either arrange a call back or put you through to the department straight away. I found the advice I got changed a bit dependent on who I spoke to.
If you’ve been asked for a birth certificate for whatever reason they’ve decided you need to apply for a new passport rather than as a renewal. This is normally when the renewal document is lost and the parents don’t have a passport number of the original they can provide. Has anyone at the passport office confirmed that the renewal document has been received?
I would look at the ID requirements for a 10 year old that is applying for their first ever passport and this is likely what they will want you to provide.

Dancingalong · 14/02/2023 10:01

We’ve never been asked for certificates when renewing before.
When your child was born you would have been issued with a short birth certificate free of charge (they don’t issue them free anymore). It’s still on A4 paper but it is short in terms of the details on it, it only has the child’s info. You would have needed to pay for a full certificate with both parents details on. The passport office need the full certificate they don’t accept the short one as they need to see parents into to prove nationality. You can apply for a full one from the Register Office where they were registered.

RB68 · 14/02/2023 10:24

I would send a file with copies of school photos in progression (so only 5 photos) to show that she hasn't changed that much and the progression between 5 and 10, I would also specifically request that that they clarify which forms of ID they would like that a 10 yr old girl would have. But yes try the phone

FlamingoQueen · 14/02/2023 10:29

If they want more ID then send them her driving licence 🤣! Bloody hell, I can’t believe it’s so difficult. The only plus may be that for her next one, they shouldn’t need excessive ID.

Xol · 14/02/2023 10:38

FlamingoQueen · 14/02/2023 10:29

If they want more ID then send them her driving licence 🤣! Bloody hell, I can’t believe it’s so difficult. The only plus may be that for her next one, they shouldn’t need excessive ID.

That may be optimistic.

When I renewed my passport, I couldn't believe the amount of information they were asking for because I had been careless enough to be born abroad to British parents. I phoned to see whether I'd misunderstood, given that this was just a renewal and they had presumably been satisfied of my genuineness when they issued the passport in the first place. The person I spoke to said darkly "We want to Check How You Got the Passport" (it really did sound like they were talking in capital initial letters)- because obviously feelthy forrins like me would inevitably have stolen or forged our passports, we couldn't possibly have come by them legitimately.

makingmiracles · 14/02/2023 10:54

It does seem they’ve got extremely stringent with applications. My oldest ds applied last yr, they wanted my details, his dead dads details, his dads parents details and his dads grandparents details, he got so far with it and actually gave up because they just wanted more and more evidence that he couldn’t provide. I’m going to try and apply for one this year, I imagine it’s going to be a pita as I’ve had 2 name changes, the first of which I have no proof of, and no way of obtaining proof as I’ve been estranged from parent for 25+ yrs and the second I do have a deed poll but I know very little about grandparents etc so I can see it’s not going to be straightforward!

Deliasyurt · 14/02/2023 11:03

We sent ours off 2 weeks ago for renewing . Two have been received, and they are being printed. The rest haven’t been logged as received yet even though they were all in the same envelope. Two of the DC needed countersigning, but no requests for BCs.

PhillySub · 14/02/2023 11:04

Speak to your MP

Pythonesque · 14/02/2023 12:04

About a year ago my mother was renewing her passport from overseas; postal delays known and unknown made it extra stressful. I think there was a 2 or even 3 week delay between her tracked/couriered documents being listed as delivered, and the passport application updating as documents received. She was getting very concerned at that point!

So for the OP I hope it is just a matter that the birth certificate hasn't been logged on the system, and that it is sorted very soon.

Those who are running into requirements of parents/grandparents details for first passports, that will relate, I think, to not having automatic entitlement to UK citizenship if you were born in the UK (after about 1982?), unless you also had a parent with citizenship. And if you are born outside the UK you can't pass that citizenship on to a child also born outside the UK. Understandable rules but can lead to all sorts of tangles if someone doesn't have family contact any more and is older when trying to get their first passport. Good luck all of you in such positions trying to sort it out!

anya21 · 14/02/2023 12:11

If it says birth certificate or orther form of ID, it sounds as though they hadnt yet received the passport when they sent the letter.

BashfulClam · 14/02/2023 12:24

I can’t believe the trouble some people have. My renewal took a week about a month ago-and that was also with a name change. You bc think it would be standard across the board.

Lougle · 14/02/2023 12:28

The birth certificate may have been signed for but not uploaded into their system yet?

BlackLambAndGreyFalcon · 14/02/2023 12:34

Does she have any passports from any other countries? I've just renewed my 10yr old DD's passport and I didn't have to send her birth certificate, but I did have to send her foreign passport (which the passport office managed to send backto a complete stranger rather than to me, but that's another story!)

2bazookas · 14/02/2023 12:42

You have to send them everything they ask for here

www.gov.uk/get-a-child-passport/first-child-passport

Bluegingerbread · 14/02/2023 12:54

Renewed DC passport last month online. They turned it round within a couple of weeks but asked for birth certs for DH and me and our marriage cert. Was surprised as it was a renewal and we're both UK born UK passport holders and had supplied our own passport details. Weirdly, at no point did they ask for the photo to be verified by anyone. I don't know anyone IRL who has been asked for the extra certs or has not had to get the photo verified.

Rainallnight · 14/02/2023 13:20

We got a letter from school for DS.

Xol · 14/02/2023 13:20

2bazookas · 14/02/2023 12:42

You have to send them everything they ask for here

www.gov.uk/get-a-child-passport/first-child-passport

No, she won't, as it's a renewal. Requirements for that are here:
www.gov.uk/get-a-child-passport/renew-a-child-passport

JudgeRudy · 14/02/2023 13:32

What do you mean they are saying 'it's not enough'? I find it highly unlikely that they have just written that. Surely there's instructions/request of what's needed.
Isn't it more probable that you're not reading their correspondence correctly? You've sent in 3 photos which don't meet their requirements. Did you upload pic of Birth Certificate properly? I had to upload both sides for something similar. There was nothing on the back but when I checked properly the instructions stated both sides.

Is there someone who could check before you send off

2bazookas · 14/02/2023 13:34

Xol · 14/02/2023 13:20

No, she won't, as it's a renewal. Requirements for that are here:
www.gov.uk/get-a-child-passport/renew-a-child-passport

Show quote history

"If your child’s name or other personal details have changed, you cannot renew their passport. You must apply for a new passport instead."

This includes parental death/separation/ divorce, new custody arrangements, parental control....and changes on parental passports.

Scottishskifun · 14/02/2023 14:10

Was it a full birth certificate or an abbreviated one?
Generally you only get the full one by paying £10 that's the one they want. If you only sent an abbreviated one it's not sufficient. Contact the registry office where she was registered and request a full birth certificate. There is a small fee with this usually £10-£20

GloomyDarkness · 14/02/2023 14:26

There was a long delay for DD1 from being received and signed for and it being logged on the system - we could check on-line till that suddenly stopped working for us.

We were doing a renewal child to adult and assumed that was the cause of the issue.

However it turned out our issue - only came to light when we did a written letter online chat was at time down and phones busy - was because DD1 DOB all correct in application, previous passport and later birth certificate was considered wrong because at some point an internal procedure had transposed her DOB wrongly.

This then lead to locking us out of on-line following application process and the application stalling. It was resolved with a phone call to DD1 confirming her DOB.

I'd give them time to get things logged but otherwise get in touch with them and see what they say the issue is - as it may not be anything obvious.

BessieSurtees · 14/02/2023 14:49

In my experience (assisting others) if they need further information they write to you to say what it is and the officer dealing with it has their name and contact details on the letter.

Have you not received this is it just an automatic generated email, have you logged on to see the progress?

Original poster
TheColourofspring · 14/02/2023 15:35

Thanks for all your comments.

Its my DD’s 3rd passport so not a new one & definitely a renewal. We have tried calling today but it was a really long wait so have submitted an E request so will wait & see what that says!

OP posts:
katmarie · 14/02/2023 15:55

Just to add, we have registered two kids in the last 5 years, and were never given or even offered short form birth certificates, only the full length ones. So not everyone even gets them these days.