Urgent passport renewal - anyone got some experience of this???

[WillfredJohn]

We're due to go on holiday on 29th of June. In error, I'd misread my children's passports thinking they had an extra year on it, when in fact they've got only 2 months. I'm an idiot.

Son A is 15 and the Son B is 17. I've paid and booked for 2 different services to try and get their passports here on time. Booking them together only gave me Belfast.

Son A, is being driven tomorrow to Wales for a 7-day fast track. That should get it back on the 28th (Yes I'm already sweating!!). Son B is booked in for the Online Premium, which should result in collecting it, on the 27th from Liverpool.

Son A, is getting an new child passport, though he's 16 in 4 weeks.

What is confusing us is that Son B - is currently on a kids passport, but would be moving up to an adult one. The guidance for this service says only suitable for adult passport renewals. The application wizard asked for his DOB and current passport number and accepted all of the details.

Both my wife and I have a little cry about this tonight because we've had a really tough year and the thought of not going away as a family is heartbreaking. I should add that we know we screwed up and this is on us.

There are lots of threads on this recently that might help/ reassure - tips on how you can guarantee getting it from the courier and the like.

Adult renewal just means an adult renewing a passport rather than the previous passport being an adult one if that's what you are worried about.

I know this doesn't really help, but turnaround times for some 'normal' passport applications are really fast. We applied for a renewal (from child to adult that had expired about 5 years ago) on 9th June and it's being delivered tomorrow! So you'd hope the fast track would be substantially quicker! Good luck.

Good luck!

For an adult passport you have to be 16 or 16 in 3 weeks.
sounds like you have the quickest service possible for both of your sons, as your 15 year olds quickest route is 7 day FasTrack and the 17 year olds in eligible for adult premium.
hope it all works out and you have a lovely holiday.

Adult renewal is right for your 17 year old - meant to say 😊

Thank you for all of the warm words of encouragement. We've done everything in our power to get everything booked in asap. As I said to my wife, at this stage, we still have a fighting chance to sort it out. If she'd not checked today, we'd be at the airport and brokenhearted.

To clarify Son A is 17 on the 22nd of June, he's the one going from a child to an adult. Son B is 16 on July 25th, so he'll end up with an expensive extension of his child one.

I may be clutching at straws here, but where are you going? Not everywhere requires validity beyond your return to the U.K.

Sadly the country we're going to requires 6 months - (Asia)

Very similar experience..and so common!.one thing to note, they update the passport appointments randomly for different places and you can cancel 48 hours before and reschedule. I went to Peterborough for a child passport and got it less than a week later. I was stressed to my eyeballs though!

I don't want to make excuses, it's totally our fault. My mother passed away suddenly and it's been such a big distraction from normal everyday life. We only had the funeral last week and the worst part is she loved her grandkids so much - and so I feel doubly terrible because now we're having the run the gauntlet and there's a real risk they might not get sorted. But I'm going to try and remain optimistic.

Fingers dropped for you. I think you’ll be alright. Dh and so did ours a fortnight ago online- weirdly old passports had to be posted to different places. Mine was back in a week and his today. They do seem to be fast at the moment.

Hopefully all will be fine, thank goodness it was spotted, and it’s great there were appointments available albeit miles apart.

Double/triple check your paperwork especially for the 7 day FasTrack - I used to work at the PPT office and it’s amazing how many people spell names etc wrong which can cause delays.

All the best and have a safe journey today - it sounds like you all need a well deserved break.

Sorry to hear about your mum.

So happy to report we’ve got one of the passports, in hand. The appointment at Newport went very smoothly and it arrived back with us at home in 3 days. Which is a minor miracle. I’ve still got to take the other son to Liverpool on Tuesday where hopefully we’ll be able to collect in person. So if anyone else is wondering about the speed and efficiency of the fast pass service, that’s a pretty amazing service.

I have been trying to sort mine out, but couldn't travel to Belfast or Liverpool.
It is worth reminding everyone that for most countries you need 6 months left on your passport from when you enter the last country outside the UK during your trip.
We have had to cancel a stop over to visit family on our way home because of this.

I'm so pleased for you

Enjoy your holiday

Well done passport office

Fantastic news, hope Tuesday goes smoothly too - how far do you have to travel to get to Liverpool?

It’s about 3 hours for us to Liverpool, I’ll share an update on how it goes…

I’m hoping Willfred had a successful day yesterday and is busy packing for the trip.

Hi all. Happy to say I’ve just got back from Liverpool and we’ve got it. Thanks so much for all of the positive vibes. Again beyond the moral of the checking - don’t ring the passport office helpline because they’re not helpful at all. Just get yourself online and book a space.

Oh brilliant news! Have a fabulous trip.

So glad you got sorted. Have a fantastic holiday.

Brilliant! Have a nice trip.

Having worked for the passport office helpline, I think you'll find they can't work fucking miracles. They are paid minimum wage just to listen to people try and place blame on everybody else for their own mistakes for 9 hours a day. It is the most soul destroying job having to listen to entitled people threaten to put their little darlings on the line so you can tell them they can't go to Disney because their parents didn't provide a valid passport.

When I called the helpline, the lady I chatted with had a very basic level of spoken English, she literally provided zero advice or help. I remained super polite and asked what my options were and she responded with “You’ll have to cancel your holiday”. I’m neither entitled or expecting miracles, and I’d owned my mistake from the start. But based on my experience, feels like there’s a training need , like guiding people to the website and explaining what actual options exist for them depending on a given situation. Beyond the helpline, everyone was super helpful and efficient - with that process being really quick.