New Passport Upgrade Service!

[sazzle]

NS1972 thank you as well 🙂

[ns1972]

Hi Sazzle

No problem . .

When you sent over your email to the passport office did you attach evidence of your travel (flight etc) and your accommodation? They use this as the basis to assess how urgent your passport is. They generally ask you to do this when they give you the email details.

Nick

[sazzle]

I sent them by eurotunnel booking which is for Friday 22nd July so hopefully they get back to me! Do you think I should have sent hotel details too?

[ns1972]

Hi Sazzle

I think that will be fine – you can’t get into the tunnel without a passport!

Nick

[COLANDJO73]

Sazzle, I asked a similar question on one of my many recent calls as i live in Glasgow but my application is sitting in Belfast. I was told it wasn’t an issue and the passport could be printed at Glasgow and collected from there (if it ever bloody gets printed!!!)

[Dandaney]

How did you send evidence of flight? As an image in the email or as an attachment?

[COLANDJO73]

I sent a pdf attachment to my email to the expedite email address

[sazzle]

Haha I definitely can’t get into the eurotunnel without my passport!
Keeping fingers and toes crossed, if not a trip to Peterborough passport office on Friday is on the cards.
Thanks everyone for your help!

[mr_cr9]

Hello everyone.

I’ve found some great information on this forum so thank you for everyone’s input.

I’m wondering what is the closest to the departure date anyone has applied for the upgrade service, and if they received their passport in time?

I’m due to fly out on the 24th July which is within the 2week from departure date criteria. However, I don’t tick the second upgrade criteria box which is 6week post application. For me, this will be the 20th July which is only 4days prior to my departure, bearing in mind my departure day is a Sunday so it’s technically 2 and half days to receive my passport from when I can apply for the upgrade.

It will be much appreciated if anyone has been in a similar situation or can advise what I can do to guarantee I get my PP on time.

Thanks in advance peeps.

[hjiki]

to provide some reassurance I applied to the upgrades system late purely because I didn’t know an upgrade system existed
application was hiting 7weeks
date of travel : sunday 3/07/2022

applied to upgrade system (sent the email) on : wednesday 29/06/2022 around 2pm
– received an automatic response email 3hours later from belfast team

– thursday 30/06 –> heard no response or call

– friday 01/07 (48hours before my travel) –> went to my nearest HMPO early at around 6:45
they said to wait for a call back from the belfast team
waited anxiously for 3-4hours then they called me on no caller ID and took payment

– saturday 02/07 (1 day before travel)–> passport was printed and i collected it

– sunday 03/07 –> went on travel

all in all it was possible but i think me going in person to my HMPO early 48hours before travel was what allowed me to get my passport

lmk if you have more questions

[hjiki]

yes my i was on the belfast upgrade team but my passport was printed and collected in victoria so yes it is possible

[hjiki]

sazzle
1. you can queue up in peterborough if you are on the liverpool upgrades team
(to reassure you i was in the belfast upgrades team queued up in victoria london HMPO where i later go my passport printed + collected from so it is very much possible)

2. you are travelling on the friday 22/07/2022 here is the steps you should take if you haven’t heard anything back 48hours before travel (don’t go earlier as they will likely send you back since they are swamped with work)

– wednesday 20/07/22 (this is 48hours before travel) morning —> go early to your nearest HMPO office with all flight evidence etc
– they will make you fill a form the will either print your passport that day or ask you to collect on thursday which is the next day

– thursday 21/07/22 if it wasn’t printed on wednesday they will ask you to collect today

– friday 22/07 — you travel

ik it seems like a close call since you receive passport 1 day before travel and that’s stressful but that’s how i did it

[mr_cr9]

Thanks for the info hjiki.

That will be exactly the same time for me (Wednesday – Sunday). What time did you fly out on Sunday? I read on this forum, if your departure time is early hours in the morning then you can class your departure as the day before (Saturday) so if this is the case 48hrs for me would be Thursday.

I’ve already got it in my head that I’m driving to the HMPO which has my application 48hrs before departure, which is Durham. Even though I live 30min a away from Liverpool HMPO.

[hjiki]

in regards to the first part idk if you should physically go on thursday because a lady that i met queuing at HMPO was travelling on the same day as me (sunday) and she went on thursday and after waiting for 5hours they just told her to come back tommorow (friday) when she hits the 48hour mark

so you can go but i wouldn’t recommend it as they might turn you away

2. yes to the email part (based on my knowledge)
i think my flight was at 3;35pm from luton airport on sunday
on my email subject line: i wrote this ‘ 02/07/2022 + my application reference number’

i did this even though i was travelling on the 3rd however in my actual email i wrote a short thing to explain why i put the 2nd in the subject line this is exactly what i wrote (this is not the whole email just the part relevant to what you asked) :
‘ Travelling on the 03/07/2022 but need the passport by 02/07/2022 at the latest since on the 3rd I’ll have to be at the airport, thus in the subject line I have written the 2nd’

i made it specific because i didn’t want it to seem like i was lying since the flight evidence states i’m travelling on the 3rd (so if i was you i would write something like that)

i tried to be as specific as possible don’t hesistate to ask any other questions
when time are you travelling?

[mr_cr9]

If Saturday was a full working day for them then I would go Friday but with it only being open half of the day I’m worried it may not be enough time if I go Friday. I think it’s worth the chance to travel Thursday at least they can see I’m being active chasing it up.

I’m due to fly at 06:25am on Sunday 24th July. So hopefully they may take the early departure and half working day (Saturday) into account.

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