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Living overseas

Whether you're considering emigrating or an expat abroad, you'll find likeminds on this forum.

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Original poster

Desperate for help! Renewing passport.

23 replies

kickassangel · 07/12/2013 03:07

Has anyone renewed a child's passport from the US (or elsewhere if you have relevant advice)?

Do I send the papers to the UK, or to the nearest consulate?

I cannot find out anywhere on any of their websites/documents. There's a document that helpfully tells me to go to their website to get the address. The right part of the website tells me that the document will give me the answer!

I have spent over an hour going round in circles and cannot get the answer.

Anyone know?

OP posts:

AdoraBell · 07/12/2013 03:12

Could you phone the consulate and ask them?

I had To send my applications To Washington from Chile a couple of years ago but I'm told that's been changed. Last time we did DD's it was still done locally.

Sorry, that's not very helpful, but I would speak To the local consulate.

humblebumble · 07/12/2013 03:15

I renewed my son's passport last year. You send everything to Washington. I will look it up for you.

humblebumble · 07/12/2013 03:20

Things seem to have changed:

Send your application
Her Majesty’s Passport Office recommends you send your application using a secure delivery service or courier.

Her Majesty's Passport Office
OVS-D
Millburngate House
Millburngate
Durham
DH97 1PA

humblebumble · 07/12/2013 03:21

renewing passport

humblebumble · 07/12/2013 03:22

I hope that helps. Good luck!

AdoraBell · 07/12/2013 03:28

Your link works humble I just did a dummy run in case we ever need it.

Original poster

kickassangel · 07/12/2013 03:29

HumbleBumble, I think I love you! BUT are you 100% sure?

wtf they can't just put it on the form! One of their things implies it should go to the consulate, but you have to pay in pounds. The consulate webpage says they do passports, but gives no address. The link says the UK, so why would the consulate say they do them.

Maybe it doesn't matter?

OP posts:

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 07/12/2013 03:33

I'm in Canada. I'm in the process of renewing my son's UK passport. I had to send it to Durham (the first one went to Washington IIRC). They've just processed my credit card details, so it must be right :)

humblebumble · 07/12/2013 03:40

Original poster

kickassangel · 07/12/2013 04:29

mn - better than HM gov for knowing how to run the country

OP posts:

Original poster

kickassangel · 07/12/2013 12:42

Amazingly I got an email back to my enquiry!

They recommended the website that does not have the address, but then did give me the Durham one. Off to the post office now.

OP posts:

Wibblypiglikesbananas · 09/12/2013 19:33

Kick - if you need any more help, I live about ten mins from the embassy in DC so can go and ask in person for you. Just PM me!

baggyoldcow · 10/12/2013 16:08

Just adding a hint here from my recent experience with the new 'we only renew overseas passports in Durham' business. They say it takes a minimum of 4 weeks from the date they receive your documents. They deduct your money pretty pronto, but may not actually look at your application for weeks. BUT, if you phone them to enquire about progress, say after 10 days, they will contact you within a couple of days and this - in my case at least, it meant a caseworker was looking at my application, and thus seemed to kick-start the process. I then got the passport within a week, so the total time was less than 4 weeks.

Original poster

kickassangel · 11/12/2013 02:48

Thanks sonics for all the advice. It has been in the mail for 2 days so not getting edgy yet.

OP posts:

FrauEnglischLehrerin · 11/12/2013 12:45

Just wanted to add a note for anyone reading this thread from somewhere other than the US/Canada:

Where you need to send your overseas passport application depends on the country you are resident in. Not all applications go through Durham. I've just renewed my passport from Germany and was told by the website to send it to Liverpool. Another recent thread by a poster in Spain talked about dealing with the passport office in Belfast.

My application was also processed much more quickly than the 'minimum 4 weeks' quoted - more or less within 1 week . I guess straightforward renewals are very easy for them to process.

AphraBane · 11/12/2013 13:00

Thanks for that tip, Frau Lehrerin. My experience of renewing British passports from Germany in the past has been appalling (when it was all done in Düsseldorf) - impossible to get any info online, by email or by phone. I've just realised this minute that it expires in Feb 2014, so I need to get a move on!

AphraBane · 11/12/2013 13:08

Ah yes, when you go to gov.uk/overseas-passports you're asked for your country of residence, then under Sending Your Application it autmotically gives the right address. For Germany that is Liverpool, as Frau said. And there's also a standard-rate phone service (previously it was a premium rate one that we couldn't use as I have disable premium rate calls on our line). Sooooo much better than five years ago.

AphraBane · 11/12/2013 13:14

One more thing, Frau Lehrerin what did you do to get round the ID problem? I've been faced with the situation in the past that I send off my old passport with the application and then get back the new passport by registered post, which includes the old cancelled passport. But in Germany you can only receive registered post from the post office if you present ID - which is of course in the package.

One time in the early 90s I was in a post office in former East Berlin, trying to pick up my passport with a huge queue behind me, while the post office woman battled with a situation that the GDR had signally failed to prepare her for (passport applications for filthy western capitalist countries). In the end we agreed that I could open the package there and then and prove that my passport was inside, which would then retrospectively count as ID!

Ah, I've just seen it gets couriered directly to your home - presumably that solves the problem.

Original poster

kickassangel · 11/12/2013 14:31

I was wondering how come people seemed able to find the Durham address so easily - it is now on the website. Fri eve, I am SURE, when I scrolled down, it just said 'send it to the UK' without the address there. It didn't even mention Durham.

Maybe they were just doing some maintenance or something, but I read that website from start to end several times, and did not see the address!

OP posts:

baggyoldcow · 13/12/2013 14:59

Don't worry kick, it was extremely difficult to find and I have to say that the FCO websites were, all in all, utterly unhelpful. They seem designed to provide as little information as possible.
Interestingly, when I was recently trying to contact the BHC in Kenya, during opening hours, I was repeatedly directly to full voice message boxes and no-one responded to emails. In the end I rang the 'emergency consular assistance number', thinking that at least would connect - but no! Same full voicemail.
Eventually through connivance and contacts I got the Deputy HC's email! Even then, and even after being put in direct touch with the Consul, he didn't seem to know enough about his own office to advise on the basic services they (no longer) supply. Extraordinary.

RaspberryRuffle · 17/12/2013 20:30

AphraBane and anyone else who needs a renewal soon, they will add up to 9 months that are left on your current passport if you renew it early, you don't have to wait until really close to expiry. Useful especially if you are travellingto a country that requires a minimum validity on passport. So if you have 4 months left, but need 6 months minimum validity on padssport to travel to US, if you renew right away it will be valid for 10 years 4 months.

FrauEnglischLehrerin · 18/12/2013 12:45

Aphrabane yes, the old and new passports were delivered (separately) directly to me at home. I would make a photocopy of the old passport before you send it off - I think that would be enough to satisfy the post office or the police were you to get spot-checked while your application is being processed. I'm pretty sure last time I renewed my passport I had to collect it from the post office and when they asked for ID I said "it's in that envelope" and they were fine with that too (mind you, I probably had a student id card or bahncard back then).

AphraBane · 18/12/2013 20:37

Thanks Frau, I sent off the passport application today to Liverpool (runs out soon so fairly pressing). By the way, a few days ago I printed out the form and filled it out by hand. Then when I looked last night, having given in Germany as country of residence, it said I HAD to apply online - so I did the application there and then online, paid by card, got a reference number and just had to print out that one page and send it off with the two photos and the old passport. I get the feeling that's all quite new, but it was terribly efficient. I should hope so too for nearly 150 quid!

Good to know the two passports are delivered separately - I bet Düsseldorf got fed up of all the complaints! Yes, I've made a colour copy of the passport and I can always show my German driving licence, which is sometimes accepted.

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