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I submitted the application March 14th and documents were acknowledged April 18th. The status has not changed since and we are past the 12 weeks mark since April 18th. I emailed the expedited service on June 30th with prove of travel in two weeks. An automated message says the status would be update within 48 hours, which is does not. On July 7th though I received a reply from the Belfast upgrade team:
“We have received your upgrade request and noted you need your passport by 18/07/2022
Upgrade requests are prioritized by this date – we will be in touch as soon as we can. Please do not email us again or call the Passport Adviceline as we cannot process your application any quicker.
Please do not send more emails as this may delay your upgrade request.”
Since then numerous calls to the passport advise line which are unable to track the application. They confirmed though that the status often is updated later as they prioritize printing the passports.
I also contacted the MP today…
We are a few days of travel away. Flight is Monday at 6:40am !! so need passport by Saturday – in 4 days.I have to move countries and accomodation for work. I cannot wait 10 weeks from ‘documents received’ which took then 3.5 weeks to do after the documents actually were signed for at HMPO. I e-mailed the expedited service on Thursday and of course have still heard nothing.
@vegele is that from the upgrade team or the expedite team? they are different teams…We had similar date of documents acknowledged and emailed the expedite team (being overseas and also first passport were not eligible for upgrade). Only response from them was the automated message and then on Monday we got notification our applications had been approved.
This was automated message we got from expedited service (ExpeditedService@hmpo.gov.uk):
We have received your email. Please do not send any more emails as this may cause delays.We can only consider expediting an application if you submitted your application at least 10 weeks ago
If this does not apply to you, you will not receive a response from this mailbox.
You cannot expedite your application face-to-face at a passport office – please do not visit us.
We are unable to reply to general email enquiries. You can track your application at: http://www.gov.uk/track-passport-application
To get passport information or to find out how to contact us, please visit: http://www.gov.uk/browse/abroad/passports
We got a response from the expedited service July 3rd. Then on July 6th the Belfast Upgrade team sent an email. Until then we had not solicited them per phone or other emails. On July 7th and identical email to the one of July 6th from the Belfast Upgrade team has been sent.
We are calling since Monday, as my application could not be found when I typed in the application number over the phone and he various agents over the phone who propose to make a progress check can’t find the application either. This is when one agent said that this is likely because it is with the Upgrade team.
We are Wednesday today and hoping for a miracle.
Did anyone write to the Upgrade team despite their email saying not to write them as this could delay the application?
Anyone experience with the Belfast office ?Just read on other forums that the expedited service usually calls back 3-4 days prior travel (in our case tomorrow) and in worst case people go to the passport office where people are seen w/o appointments if travel is in 24 or 48 hours. They prioritize the ones with 24 hours travel and later 48 hours travel to be seen.
Worst come worst I have to go in person and prepared for a day at the passport office on Saturday to catch my 6am flight on Monday.I have applied for replacement of my lost passport on 3-Apr and waiting. After 10 weeks I requested for urgent processing on compassionate ground for my mother’s illness to travel to India. Still I am waiting and have to travel to Paris for work. I just telephoned the HMPO today to request again for my travel to Paris. And they have arranged a call-back. I am now waiting for the call. Was very stressed until I found this forum yesterday. I saw people applied for replacement are also waiting as I am doing. So that relives the worries a little. Please help and suggest what can I do now other that waiting for the call. Many thanks to all that shared their experience.
Hi @vegele, you said you send the urgent request at ExpeditedService@hmpo.gov.uk. Can I also send the request to this mail address or did the HMPO staff suggested you to send the request. And what info did you include in that mail please?
@biswajitmitra I received a message on my status (when checking online) saying I have to right to ask for expedited service given it has been more then 10 weeks. They instruct how to write, basically putting in the subject line the application reference and name of applicant and in the text the proof of travel within 14 days. If you write and have travel less then 14 days they wont acknowledge.
I emailed the expedite team at the address ExpeditedService@hmpo.gov.uk and put the passport ref and all other details in the subject line.
There was no message from HMPO saying we were eligible – it was another member here who suggested I email them.
In the body of the email I outlined all the dealings we had already had with HMPO and the dates when things were sent and received. Our travel is not for 3 weeks and I did mention at the end that we were worried it would not arrive in time. I didn’t have to supply any proof of travel – pretty sure that is not required when you are over 10 weeks. I did not get a response but the passport applications were approved, printed and despatched very quickly, and we are now just waiting for them to arrive.
It does say they won’t do anything unless it is 10 weeks – and I believe they count this from when your documents were received, not application submitted.
Is there a difference between EscalatedService@hmpo.gov.uk and ExpeditedService@hmpo.gov.uk or do they end up at the same place?
Thanks
how long did it take you to get a response?
Tomorrow will put me at 11 weeks and the unhelpful call operator I spoke to today said they won’t do anything until 13 weeks for overseas applications.
I need to have had my passport for a visa application by the end, so if it is only approved in 2 weeks that is far too late.
Useless people.Nawa is that 11 weeks from when your documents were received? I emailed the Expedite team on Saturday and got an automated response which said they will do nothing if it is less than 10 weeks. Then on Monday at about midday UK time we got an email that the applications were approved. Two hours later another email that they were printed, and a few hours later a text message that they had been despatched.
We had stopped calling as the operators couldn’t really tell us anything and seemed to be pretty useless.
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