Renewal UK child’s passport/now want Oz passport

[Sandgroper]

Hi

Can anyone help please? Tried calling helpline (0300 330 0901) and wait time is 1 hour. Does anyone know a more direct number? Can’t find email to send a message.

Trying to renew DS UK passport (his 3rd UK), did it online and process different to last time I renewed. Not sure if this is due to pandemic, brexit etc.

Realise processing times up to 10 week etc. Taken 3 week for them to respond, they now want his Oz passport to prove the name on his UK application will match his Oz one? WTF. We only use Oz one to travel into Oz for holidays nothing else. It’s a renewal not a new application and no name change Have the rules changes? DH thinks it’s a jobsworth that has got it wrong😂

He was born in UK, they have all this documentation (birth certificate etc) on record from the first time we had passport issued at 6 months. We are on 3rd or 4th UK passport.

I am very reluctant to send in his Oz current in case it gets lost in mail (even if I send it recorded delivery). A new one costs £200 and a lot of original documents, a trip up to Australia House (who were shut for appointments until recently) so a lot of hassle if they loose it. Also if we need to go back to Oz in a hurry eg if parents ill etc

Anyone else had the same issue?
Thanks

I would send them a general message via their Twitter page.

Thanks Attila, I got through on the phone after 25 mins waiting and you could only leave a message for them to call you back. I was very dubious if they would actually do this.

Got a call a little while ago (surprise, surprise) and they changed the rules for dual citizens in 2016. You have to send both passports in so they can verify names on both match. So if I want DS UK passport done I have no choice. I said it would have been helpful to put this little known fact in the blurb they sent me requesting Oz passport. Then I would have just complied.

I also asked once they received it would it speed up the process eg not taking 10 weeks and she said no guarantees might be less but could be 10 weeks, so go figure……. Anyway I just have to suck it up and hope they don’t loose it!

I renewed my DC UK passports in 2019 and they allowed us to send colour certified copies of every page of the 2nd passport. They sent it all back again, seperately from the new passport. I think this is because we are not in UK and our postal service is just awful. We had to sent via DHL, and pay for the return packages as well. Did they specify it must be the actual foreign passport?

Did they say if this is for all dual citizens, or just Oz/UK citizens?

That's odd, I didn't have to send DD's us passport. Not that she even had a valid one at the time (2017) nor did the USA need to see her British one. Completely separate, neither is aware of the other!

Yes they want the actual foreign passport!

Yes she said for all dual citizens….

I know my first thought was it’s none of their business but they won’t renew his UK one without it, so they have me over a barrel🤪

YES, I had this... in late 2018 maybe(?), adult DS. We had to change his foreign passport name to satisfy British Passport Office. The British Passport office insisted that Other Country would also care greatly about 2 names (In reality, Other Country made clear they didn't give a shiny what any passport said, and also made it difficult for us to change the name. DS did have legal right to use both names). DS had to attend Other-Country Embassy in person to change the name, and DS was working away a lot, so couldn't easily attend Other-Country Embassy. And had to get forms notarised... The problem took many months to fix.

Sympathies.

Oh fuck.

My DC are dual nationals and have an extra bit in their name in their non-British passport (to comply with naming rules in the other country). Their British passport matches their birth certificates.

I had this when I renewed my daughter’s passport in June. They did send it back (we got it back about 4 days after she received her new British one). You get a tracking code for both deliveries.

Lljkk - far out that’s annoying for you and a mega hassle for your DS. Nothing is ever simple. I once renewed an Oz passport for DS and forgot to get him to sign it (first time, he was only 11 and didn’t even have a signature) went all the way to Oz House and they rejected it, luckily they gave me an appt two days later so had to go back again and repeat. Australia House couldn’t give a fig about his UK passport or the name on it, considering We only use it every few years to enter/leave Oz to visit family!

MythicalBiologicalFennel - my husband said we should have kept quiet but they will have it on record from when we previously applied as it’s his 4th passport. They only have to connect the dots on ours, would they, could they, probably will!

LittleredMummy - thanks that’s reassuring to know. Will tell DH😁

I have this issue too and my British passport is in my married name whereas the French passport won't allow this, they require you to have maiden name - married name, you can't get rid of your maiden name. Luckily my French one has just expired so I will renew my British one early and then renew my French one afterwards instead of the other way around as you are only required to send in 'valid' passports.

Strange…renewing a British passport from the US they are happy with color photocopies of your US passport. Maybe it depends on location. As you are in the UK the Oz passport is an “extra” passport, IYSWIM. Whereas I am a dual citizen UK/US and if I sent my US passport I’d be stuck if I had to leave the country urgently. It’s a federal offense here as a US citizen to enter the US with any other passport. Also it’s my only proof that I am here legally and I would have to show it if I applied for a job or welfare. In other words, here my US passport isn’t an “extra” one, it’s my main one.

DH just renewed his British passport and had to send his Irish one to be checked. He paid extra fir recorded delivery but this only covered his British passport and the Irish one came back a few days later.

How strange, DD is a triple national applying for a renewal outside the UK. She was asked for copies of her other passports but not the originals - which was just as well because she needed them for travel.
She did a renewal for her Irish passport on the same day - it arrived 5 days later, and that included postage time across Europe. Amazing service! That was several months ago, still no news about the British one. It doesn't feel terribly competent or efficient.
Having to send in your other passports reminds me of the first time I renewed my British passport from abroad, in the 1990s. I sent off my old British passport, and at the time that was my only identity document. Where I live all citizens have ID cards. So when I went to pick up the new passport from the post office they wanted to see ID, which of course was in the parcel I wanted to pick up. The stand off lasted 15 minutes while the staff debated this thorny issue, finally they allowed me to open it in front of them and take out my ID to show that I was entitled to do so...
I clearly wasn't the only person with that problem because soon after that new British passports came to the door by courier instead.

Hi All

DH found this article below. Interesting reading. Seems to me UK gov haven’t really thought it through as different countries have different requirements for their own passports and they have applied one generic rule here!

www.gov.uk/government/publications/dual-citizens/dual-nationality

Sent off DS Oz passport yesterday so fingers crossed they process it quickly and it comes back to us😂

Update - Today received a message that DS new UK passport has been sent by secure delivery…. So that didn’t take long, am very surprised but pleased…. Glad it didn’t take 10 weeks!

Final update - UK passport was delivered by courier through our letterbox at 6.30 am this morning 😲 so much for secure, sign for on delivery……

Still waiting for Oz one to be returned….

Sorry late to the party but we had this as DD has dual Nationality.
Her German passport was returned 2 days aster her new UK one arrived

Oz and old UK passport arrived in today’s post. At least I know what to do when the others come up for renewal.

Thanks to everyone who commented😁

I was just going to say my BFs passport renewal was done in a week despite the long time lead times quoted