UK passport online-premium-service

[anothernotherone]

Has anyone used the online premium service to renew a passport during a visit to London while living overseas? Is it a practical option during a short trip - say a 3 day midweek stay?

Thanks Rage

One reason I want to keep mine up to date is 14 year old DD wants a British passport - she had one as a baby but it expired 9 years ago and I can't find it I've never got them for my boys, who were born here, but they're not bothered and DS1 especially can't imagine wanting to live anywhere but Bavaria DD has wanderlust like I did at her age and is talking about doing A levels in England ... So will need to sort her a British passport but might wait til 3 weeks before her 16th birthday so she can get a 10 year one. It will be easier if I have a valid British passport number.

MollysMummy2010 I could use my parents' address but I really don't want to. They're in their 70s with an awe inspiring talent for making mountains out of mole hills...

www.gov.uk/overseas-passports I don't have your details but this should give info on doing it from Germany

We also live overseas and booked a 1 day service online, think you had to upload a photo of sufficient quality in advance but we did that at home, then went to one of the Passport Office centres during our holiday in the U.K. (not London) for the appointment and had the new passport within an hour. It was for an adult renewal and no countersignature was required. It was very straightforward.

Thanks dementedpixie and catmack16

I really fancied a spur of the moment urgent mission to London but perhaps it isn't necessary Sounds as though it is a feasible option though... Will read up on doing it the sensible postal way then decide.

Thanks all.

Ah okay. Are you me in a parallel universe - my eldest DD passport #5 we have lost her passport. That makes renewal for hers trickier so have reported it missing and are jumping through hoops atm. But the other renewals online were a breeze, I am a convert.
Also, just so you know your DD can only access A-levels from 17-19 years old at the latest, just in case they end up resitting/freiwillige Rücktritt at all. They will also need an equivalent grade 5 in Engllish and Maths (so at least befriedigend on their y10 Jahreszeugnis) and sixth forms will want the Jahreszeugnis translated by Naric.
University in the UK will require 2 years residency in the UK to count as a home student, otherwise you'll be paying overseas student rates.
Sixth form college applications have closing dates in the autumn/spring terms but will take later applications but cannot confirm/interview until you have the mittlere Reife equivalent/Jahrezeugnis.

ignore typos. English ffs
www.naric.org.uk/naric/
(this can be done online too)
Although with Brexit am not sure whether A-levels will necessarily have more value than Abi and might make it more difficult to apply for a German uni course?

I’ve just done mine from South Africa. Changed to my married name too. Was the easiest thing ever. Took 2 weeks. Surely from the EU it would be even faster than that. Also uploaded a selfie as a photo....

Thanks RageAgainstTheVendingMachine

She's at Realschule atm and doing really well (just finished 8 Klasse). She's a September birthday and was the first year of the new entry criteria in Bavaria which made September children the babies of the year - this is the first school year of her entire school life that she hasn't been the youngest in the class - this year there's a boy 8 days younger than her So she'll actually possibly be too young (by 3 weeks) rather than too old to start A levels when she finishes Realschule ... Will have to talk to potential 6th forms about that certainly.

She's never had anything but 1s in English so far and was assessed as C1 standard on her school English trip to one of those language schools on the south coast . I used to teach GCSE English many many years ago and don't think I've got rose tinted glasses on believing that she'd have no trouble with A levels - she reads adult and young adult fiction in English as well as German depending on which the original language is, and generally prefers to read in English, and she writes stories in English which according to my rusty secondary school teaching memory seem a bit above native speaker average...

My boys would struggle, at least with spelling, if slotted into the English school system, but I honestly think DD would thrive.

She does rather live the idea of maths not being compulsory as it would be if she went to Fachoberschule to do her Abitur here She wants to do English, French, German and history A levels, and her french is already more advanced than the French I learned for GCSEs so I imagine french and German will be very easy but history and English more demanding, so could be a good balance...

She is not going to university in the UK though! That would be pure idiocy - it's free here!

Oh no, I wasn't saying she wouldn't manage with the English - mine has just finished year 10 and got a 1 and she's a lazy sod - It's the maths that's been a killer for us and although Bavarian maths in year 10 I genuinely believe is AS equivalent in the UK, my DD getting mangelhaft means she is going to have to do her Abi here and cannot do her A-levels instead (it's the only 5 she got so she passed/can do Abi. As you might suspect, I am highly sceptical about her doing maths in yr11 and 12).
Unless you can afford for her to go private, just to warn you that state sixth forms do not always offer languages at A-level. The take up now is the lowest it's been for a while and some colleges offer one or neither. I would have had to pay 250 pounds to enter DD as a private candidate and taught her the syllabus myself as no college were offering German German depts in universities have also closed down. I despair really. Just heads up so you can plan accordingly.
Some colleges will also ask you for English essays/examples of work - as the German system has English as a second language the Green Line assessments/referats might mean she writes a different essay as part of her application.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine oh wow that's crazy - both the horribly ironic situation that effectively means being weaker at maths means your DD will have to do maths, and the situation with language A levels in the UK! My state sixth form college in the UK offered the combination of subjects DD fancies doing (in fact it's what my best friend took) but it didn't occur to me that they wouldn't any more - if course things will have changed

DD has so far always had a steady befriedigend every year in maths, which is her weakest subject, but I am very aware she can't count her chickens on keeping it that way in 9 and 10 Klasse; it's a subject she's always had to work harder at to be just satisfactory.

Your poor DD that situation must be so frustrating! Is she going to FOSor is she at gymnasium?

She's at Gymnasium and is fine about it - we applied in the UK (Art, Graphics, History and would have done German privately) and did her Abi options sheet here as well, so we had options.
In actual fact I still have to contact the college - it could be there might be wiggle room (she couldn't take maths GCSE in November when others resit because of the coursework element iirc but possibly instead of a 4th A-level in the college she could have done maths GCSE not sure - just know they wanted what we had when we were younger - the equivalent of a C pass at O-level/GCSE in maths/eng and 3 other passes. DD took 16 subjects in year 10.
The whole UK system now becoming grades 9-1 and fact that the two systems don't really equate makes it more complex.
But DD was in two minds about doing A-levels anyway because it is so specific compared with the Abi and because Brexit complicates things further. Hopefully it will work out for her here (she is staying with her Dad, I am coming back to the UK with her siblings. Another story). Her form tutor insists they'll get her through.
We shall see. Basst scho!

I was shocked that three colleges did nor offer German at A-level. Really struggled to get my head round it as a former teacher of MFL. But essentially, Gove's focus on STEM subjects has meant more uptake of science at A-level, Italian and Spanish are increasingly favoured as second languages after French, lack of MFL teachers, decision to revert to MFL as option as opposed to compulsory to 16, and possibly Brexit effect...it's a crying shame.

Glad it's working out either way for your DD - DH was of the opinion DD should apply for everything (FOS, apprenticeships and A levels) and decide at the last minute! She really wants to go to England for the experience of living there, not for university entrance qualifications - she's not even sure she want to go to university, and we're of the opinion that getting just any degree isn't necessarily worth while, so wouldn't push her to go unless she had a long term career plan.

Bavarian DH was two years older than DD at the same point in his schooling and nearly 21 finishing FOS, so it feels as though DD has a couple of years to play around with, so the value of A levels isn't a deal breaker but not being able to do her languages would be! I suppose we could stretch to state boarding if they're more likely to still offer MF languages, but not private especially as it's really a luxury, not remotely essential.

I'm glad I derailed my own thread talking to you about this Rage - a lot of food for thought!

Good luck with your new life back in the UK!

Just curious but are you a German citizen? Possibly not if you're worried about post- Brexit travelling. I'm just wondering because I have an Italian id card but it can't be used for cross- border travel. Is Germany different?

timeforakinderworld yes I'm a German citizen, in terms of being organised DH is the organised stereotype of a German and nagged me into sorting it out as soon as the Brexit referendum was announced.

I can travel freely in the EU just like any other German (though I have massive imposter syndrome saying that I'm German ) and was considering letting my British passport expire and not renewing, but DD's interest in living in Britain in the not too distant future, plus the unknown quantity of Brexit makung me worry slightly about potential faff getting in and out of the UK as quickly as possible (say in an emergency related to aging parents) have made me decide to keep a valid British passport.

Why can't you use your ID for cross boarder travel timeforakinderworld ?

You can apply overseas, if it's a renewal you only send in your British passport, not your German one. It's quite simple but costs more than the normal service in the U.K. (not sure about premium). You won't need a counter signature as it's not your first adult passport. Check the consulate info as it does change , it's been a while since I did one, now it's online

Unless you are thinking about a private school, be aware that most schools restrict to 3 a levels now, 4 is quite unusual even in specific circumstances like native speakers (DD's friend had to pay for her German a level because they wouldn't allow 4, she's a native speaker but "only" got a b because it's not just about being able to speak. My DD's friend has also been told she cannot apply to university in Germany because she needed science or maths (she's done history, classics, English and German)

Why can't you use your ID for cross boarder travel timeforakinderworld ?

You have to be a citizen for it to be valid abroad. (I guess because a passport is a legal document that guarantees you assistance from your government if needed and the Italian government would not be interested in helping a foreign citizen!) I also applied for citizenship but it is a loooong process (and has just been made even longer). I bet the Germans are speedier!

Thank you nother - It is not ideal. I was eligible for German citizenship and should have applied to get dual status but I couldn't face the paperwork, ridiculous I know, still thought Brexit wouldn't happen, in denial I know, and possibly would have had to force DH to apply as well to meet the financials as I was only a minijobber here: he can get an Irish passport and didn't want German citizenship.
So although I could meet the residency, German proficiency and citizenship test criteria, the ability to support myself financially might have flunked.
In the back of my head I also thought UK would be awkward eventually and it was always my intention to return - the habitual residency test is in itself a pain. I don't know - it might all be a huge error on my part but my son has undiagnosed special needs and I cannot advocate for him here in the same way as I can in the UK.
Thank you for your kind wishes though - Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt spits 2 times
noue now that's interesting - they allowed 4 back in the day but for certain combinations and many did general studies as a fourth one. The B grade doesn't surprise me completely - it's never a shoe-in getting top grades as a native speaker and depends I guess on the syllabus and whether any literature based essays are completed in English (mine were half-half) - DD did two texts this year that I did at A-level and at uni. I think I read somewhere that even if they get 9 at GCSE and A at A-level that being a native speaker counts against in terms of totting up points for uni applications but I might be out of date on that too.
It's a minefield feeling 'denglish' - am trying to catch up as I go

spits 2 times? oops 3 times!
The fact that SN budgets have been cut so greatly and EHCPs are like golddust and even when you have one are not always followed properly disturbs me greatly but the fact is that my son cannot speak German like his two sisters who are fluent, railed against it completely, and I cannot afford international school. Montessori, Jenaplan, Waldorf or Waldschule were considered but there are still sensory, anxiety and aspie issues that those options won't address.
Plus I have no pension in German and my PGCE does not count for much here. Am hoping I am doing the Least Worst thing but who knows anymore - DH is a Brit so it's not any easier for him, many expats I know are married to Germans so it's a different proposition really. Good luck with everything OP

timeforakinderworld I think it's taken a long time for people in cities, but I live so rurally that mine went through really quickly - there were 5 or 6 of us "Brexit Flüchtlinge" applying at the same time apparently, and the longest wait was for a language test, because they are done locally and they don't run them until they have enough applications. I had to go to a nearby city for the Einbürgerung (citizenship) test itself, but also not a big expat destination (opted to avoid Munich which is about the same distance away) and got an appointment and results quickly. The paperwork was all processed locally very quickly. It took about 6 months start to finish - from deciding to do it to having citizenship.

RageAgainstTheVendingMachine wow that does sound difficult - it's hard to imagine one of the kids just blocking out German and not speaking it.

I work with adults with special needs so I know how far behind everything special needs related is here, especially education. I'm doing the Heilerziehungspfleger qualification whilst working in a supported living house, and the teaching on autism is so regressive and out of date (we're told people with autism are incapable of empathy and can only learn to mimic it for example, and old statistics suggesting autism is very rare in girls are stated as gospel truth), and we get marked down for using more up to date theory or statistics than the 20 year old stuff we're taught The qualification to work with people with special needs is very demanding and the workload is huge (4600 hours of study over 3 years) but the theory is so out of date! It's beyond frustrating! There are lots of good people working in the sector, but the training is just crazy and obviously reflected in people's beliefs.

I hope you and DS settle in well to school and work - will you go back to teaching in the UK? Nobody here can believe that my UK teaching qualification is worthless here, but that's basically what it comes down to. Tbh I wouldn't go back to secondary school teaching in the UK unless it was really the only way to avoid poverty - I much prefer what I do now despite going through the motions of the obsolete training. Once qualified the pay is better than for teaching in the UK too, without any marking and preparation to do at home!

I will be spending the first term trying to settle the kids in and living off savings/maintenance from DH - not ideal but a joint decision. Had he come back with me he'd have had to take a 50k euro paycut without the job stability he has here so we had to make the decision to separate for the foreseeable future. If they can manage DS without excluding/asking me to collect all the time then I hope to offer my services as supply to the local secondary. They already have a learning cover supervisor but maybe I could persuade them they need a second one!
The paediatrician told me my son could not be autistic as he made eye contact, was verbal and could show affection. FFS. The fact that I worked with autistic and aspie kids for three years meant bugger all. She also refused to prescribe ergotherapy despite the fact that he is still (aged 6) holding a pen high up with his fist. And they have never heard of pathological demand avoidance here. I decided last year to cut my losses and go home. Except I am not sure it is home anymore. Good luck with your studies - Germany needs more like you