Email your local MP if waiting

[yardo20]

Someone else had mentioned this on another thread and that’s what prompted me to try and speed things up by emailing my MP. They took a few days to come back but said they had emailed the passport office and marked my application as urgent. Before that, I had tried calling, twitter etc without any movement. Within 6 hours of the MP emailing back to say they had sent email, my passport had been approved, printed and sent. Of course it could be a coincidence but it’s worth a go for those who are still waiting. Just provide all the details, mark it as urgent and then they can easily forward it on.

[jamesd1974]

I have done that now And waiting for a repose so hopefully will get somewhere

[AnnaP]

Could you send a copy of how you worded your email to your MP at all please?

[yardo20]

here you go:

I hope you are well.

You may be aware that there are some delays at HM passport office and I wonder if you can help me in relation to this. I sent off applications back in May for both my daughters’ passports to be renewed, and it appears they are both stuck in the process since then. As a family we are due to fly away to Spain in just over a week for a holiday, including to visit my unwell father-in-law – it is not an emergency or compassionate reason for travel so I have not claimed this – it is however a trip we have already spent thousands of pounds on, which we would lose if we can’t go. There seems to be no logic to the application process, with some that were submitted after us going through very quickly (and some who appear to have been waiting longer) and I’m concerned ours has just got lost. Given our urgent predicament, I am asking if you could please use your standing to contact HM passport office and enquire on my behalf because they will not commit to anything over the phone when I call them. I understand from speaking to someone that their application moved forward quickly after help from their local MP.

I realise you will have a lot on your plate but hope you can quickly assist with this for me. My reference numbers are:

x
x
Thank you very much in advance

Best wishes

[anxiously waiting]

Did this and passport was approved in a week. Had been waiting three months prior to this.

[yardo20]

this is the feedback i’ve seen – seems to be definitely working. I think when you are travelling within 2 weeks they will try but you need to be a bit of an ahole with them and get onto the complaints team etc as well. I also said I was flying a week earlier than I am because TNT are slow to deliver and need passports to check in and secure flight (flight places are getting cancelled too – something else to worry about!)

[AnnaP]

I sent my sons renewal off 29th May, was received by them (Peterborough) 1st June. Heard nothing from them for weeks other than to say It was waiting to be checked. Sent them a DM on Twitter Monday, got a text this morning to say it should be here in a few days. Not sure if it’s related and until it’s in my hand I’m not going to relax.

[jamesd1974]

Got a reply today from my mp with an apology asking for the reference numbers so that he can chase the home office about it and will let me know once they have replied to him

[MrJones]

Thanks for this idea, I was really wondering what my next step should be. 53 days since I applied and 37 days since they received my documents and they’ve not even approved a straightforward renewal. The staff member I spoke to on the phone was rude, she just told me there is no timeframe to get my new passport and there is no way to speed it up, still waiting for a reply on Twitter.
I’m an ex-pat living in Hong Kong and am going to be having hassle/inconvenience with Immigration before too long if I don’t get my documents.
Tip, make sure you include your full name, telephone number and voting address in your email or you will have to do it again!

[jamesd1974]

I got a message back from mp today saying They have contacted them home office and once they get a reply they will let me know

[MrJones]

My MP has completely ignored me so I will now have to complain about him too. Absolutely useless. Still no movement at all on passport.
Had a call from Immigration department today reminding me I need to collect my visa which I cannot do of course.
The problems at Passport office were featured on This Morning yesterday, apparently they have a backlog of 400,000 applications. They are not processing them in order though, which would be too sensible, so some people are getting them in a week and some are taking months.

[JL]

@Mrjones

I am in a similar situation. My visa is valid until 30th of August, applied on the 2nd of July (wasn’t aware my passport was expiring as I hadn’t looked at it in about 4 years), shipped documents off same day and they arrived at the passport office on the 13th. It’s now the 28th and they haven’t even acknowledged that the documents have arrived – but I’ve received two reminders to ship off my passport to them…

I’ve spoken to the call centre staff on the 15th, got one guy who would “put a manager on” then hung up – no callback. Another one on the 16th was more useful, put a note on my account and emailed someone about prioritising my application. But clearly whoever they contacted ignored that as still nothing has happened.

Contacted their twitter staff who said they would “escalate” my case – that was a lie as still nothing. At this rate I’ll be expelled from the country and probably still have to wait 3 months before they realise my passport is in their mail-room. Probably doesn’t help that the Liverpool office is doing my application as it seems they’re the shittiest.

[MrJones]

@jl
My MP did get back to me eventually and contacted Home Office on my behalf and a few days later they approved the application.
I finally got my passport delivered by DHL today but Passport office had missed a key part of the address off which caused more hassle, having to contact DHL this time. Anyway it is in my hand now.
I still need my old passport back to collect my Visa and as they have my address incorrect and my phone number was listed incorrectly on DHL address slip (but they managed to text me somehow to tell me to update my address), I now have to contact them yet again.
I was actually told they couldn’t escalate cases for people living overseas, just more rubbish.
It took 81 days from start to getting passport.
Anyway hope you get your passport soon.

[Author]

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