Current waiting time for child passport renewal?

[MaitlandGirl]

Does anyone know what the current waiting time is to renew a child's passport?

I'm trying to decide if I've got time to get it renewed before my Australian citizenship test on April 26th as I'll need her passport then.

It'll be an overseas application so I need to add in postage time as well.

Thanks

Don't know about overseas, but took around 10 days, when we did if last month (received it couple of weeks ago)

I did both of my DDs about 6 weeks ago and they were done in a week. One of which was a new passport. I imagine they'll get busier leading up to Summer.

Not sure but hopefully should know soon. I posted dd's last week. Our countersignee got a letter yesterday asking for her to confirm she knew Dd and asked for a photocopy of her passport.
We are in Dublin though and only had to post to Belfast so I guess our postal time is pretty much one day.

Thanks - I'll have to see if I can get my citizenship test brought forward as I need her GB passport back by early July so I can apply for a U.S. visa for her.

It'd be much easier if I could get her an AUS passport before early July but her dad will be awkward so it won't be back in time.

Bloody school trips and uncooperative ex husbands!!

"Thanks - I'll have to see if I can get my citizenship test brought forward as I need her GB passport back by early July so I can apply for a U.S. visa for her"

With regards to the second part of your post, if you are apply for an ESTA (which is the US travel authorisation) you can do that online but only use the official US government website. The ESTA is valid for two years from it being accepted. The only passport details you will need are the number and the start and expiry dates.

esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

My friends passport came back yesterday ( although adult) ..It took a week exactly..She did check and send at post office due to leaving it late.

It took 10 days for my DCs' passports but I took them into the London Offce myself. My friend applied from Australia for her child's 1st UK passport. It took nearly two months and they lost both my friend's birth certificate and her dd's. After a further six months of fighting and getting largely nowhere, the Home Office finally agreed to pay the costs of replacing the lost documents. A month after that, they were miraculously located in someone's drawer. Apparently not a rare occupance.

I've always wondered why expats living in the UK can just go to their home country embassy here and a passport is issued whereas UK expats living elsewhere have to send their applications and personal documents back to the UK. It surely has nothing to do with extra security as even the USA can manage it offshore. Just seems a bit archaic.

I did dc1 and 4's renewals about 2 weeks ago. Did the form online and had the passports back within a week of posting them off (recorded delivery).

An ESTA expires when the passport does, so there is no point applying if you are about to renew your passport.

Thanks again to all who replied. Im going to try a double hit approach and apply for both passports as soon as possible after my citizenship test. I'll get the ex MIL onto her son to get the Australian application signed so all I have to do is fill in the citizenship number after we've had the ceremony and also get her UK passport renewed.

That way one (if not both) will be back before I need to apply for her ESTA for her trip to America.

Forgot to say - her UK passport has actually expired, forgot kids only have 5years so it's 4 years out of date!

Our renewal took 8 days from after I took it into the post office check and send.

Does she look really different from the original photo? I think that's why our countersignee was checked because dd was only a few weeks old in her first passport so it's not obvious that the photos are of the same person. They wrote to the countersignee and asked her to write back to confirm she knew dd so that has added a reasonable amount of time to the application.

Have just checked her old passport and it's actually only 18 mths out of date - the photo is from 2009 and she was 8.5 when it was taken, now 15 so she has changed but I think she's still recognisable.

I think I'm going to have to call the DIBP tomorrow and see if I can get my citizenship test brought forward. That'll make things a lot easier.

Sorry - another question! Can I get my partners aunt to counter sign the photo? I don't know many people her with a UK passport that have known DD for long enough and if I use a UK passport holder it'll speed the process up.

I think it's ok so long as you and your partner aren't married.

Thank you :)

Hopefully the ex will sign the papers for an AU passport which will make life so much easier.