Hi,
I've been wondering a few things about my passport applications and I can't really find the answers by googling it or looking at the threads on here so I thought I'd start a new thread and hope one of you lovelies has a better idea. I just sent off 5 passport applications for my children and I'm hoping they're back as soon as possible because although I've been sensible enough not to book any travel before I get them back, if they don't come back soon I won't be able to book anything before the end of the summer holidays. We're going to book a last minute deal but there are 8 of us now so I'm worried we won't be able to find a good enough deal that has enough room for all of us.
The reason why I only just sent off the applications is because we had to wait for a residence order for my 3 step children. They came to live with us last year but the court process has taken forever and we only got the order in May. I sent the forms off for the three of them and for my one year old's first passport, as well as a renewal for my 9 year old.
What I'm wondering is whether they cash your cheque if there are any problems with the application. I used check and send for my one year old as I was concerned about a couple of things on her form, so the money was taken there and then at the Post Office. I sent my daughter's off the same day and the cheque was cashed for hers about 5 days later. I sent the three off for my step children the week after (we were still waiting for copies of their birth certificates to arrive) and sent cheques with theirs but these haven't been cashed. I'm worried whether there are going to be problems because we haven't been able to put down any details for their mother apart from DOB and place of birth. She doesn't have anything to do with us since her children were taken away by SS because she's a scumbag (but thats another story), she doesn't even talk to my husband when he takes the kids for contact with her. So we don't have her passport number and also, as if that wasn't bad enough when she registered the childrens' births she put down different towns of birth for herself! On the two older ones she's put down one place and then on the youngest she's put another town which is about half an hour away. I think maybe her mum lived in the one place but went to the nearby hospital to have her and she just isn't sure where she was actually born. Thats just the tip of the iceberg of how useless she is. So I sent of the two older children's forms together and the youngest in another envelope so hopefully it won't be noticed that there are different towns of birth for her. The other thing is that she was born before the 1983 cut off but my husband was born after so I've explained all the guff about her having no contact and not having her details and I've put in all my husband's parents details like it requests.
So, after all that waffle (!) does anyone have any experience of applying for step children that live with you now, whether they take the cheque and then ask for more documents or whether the money coming out is a good sign that its being processed ok? We haven't told the children that we're going abroad, just that we're going to Cornwall in a caravan (which is what we will do if they don't come back!) and haven't booked the travel so its not the end of the world if they take months to come back but I would like to be able to book something and get excited.
TIA for any advice, or positive stories about passports coming back quickly.