May 26, 2022

Passport Experiences 26th May 2022

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Passport Application Experiences

Feedback, experiences, timelines, tips and useful information from people that have recently been through the UK passport application process.

1st Adult Passport

Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport

Submission Date:
2022-05-04

Date Received:
2022-05-24

Overall Experience:
Please Rate out of 5

Comments:
Wanting for the documents to be logged as received was the longest part.

Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport

Submission Date:
2022-05-04

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Passport received 25 May 2022
Passport printed 5:34am on 24 May 2022
Application approved 2:40pm on 20 May 2022
Documents received 10:51am on 18 May 2022
Application received 7:28pm on 4 May 2022
Application submitted 7:27pm on 4 May 2022

Very straightforward, using a photo we took at home.

Adult Renewal Passport

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-01

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Delay was in them processing the returned old passport.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-06

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Applied online with photo taken in a photography shop, Liverpool office.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-03

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
A lot faster than I thought it would be, a long wait between sending my old passport back special delivery and them marking it as received.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-02

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Longest part was waiting for them to confirm they’d received the old passport – 12 days after they’d signed for it we got confirmation it had been received.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-03-23

Date Received:
Not Received

Overall Experience:
1 Star – Very Stressful

Comments:
Still not received 3 passports.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-05

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Online application, 20 days from submission to delivery of new passport. Constant updates via text message and email from passport office.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-03

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
No issues. I used a photo taken at Max Speilman with an online code so nothing was knocked back.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-04

Date Received:
2022-04-30

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Really good

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-04

Date Received:
2022-05-24

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Submitted and sent off same day. Took ~2 weeks to confirm receipt, then more than 5 days to print and receive the new one.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-02

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Both my wife and myself renewed via online and one went to Durham the other Hemel Hempstead both arrived back on the same day just over three weeks.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-28

Date Received:
2022-05-19

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Quicker than anticipated.

Type of Application:
First UK Adult Passport

Submission Date:
2022-05-03

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Waited over a week for tracking page to update to say the documents were received but other than that, everything went really quickly. completed in 16 working days!

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-14

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful

Comments:
Mine was damaged. Even though I applied online had to go down manual process route. Call centre no help. Contact your MP. Things started to move with his intervention. Found information via Web chat but hard to get a slot.

ype of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-04

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
Please Rate out of 5

Comments:
This was my sons adult renewal from child passport:
4/5 digital post office check and send service used to apply, old passport sent via special delivery.
18/5: passport acknowledged As received by HMPO
20/5: application approved
24/5: passport printed
25/5: passport delivered through letterbox by TNT, received text to say delivered but no update or tracking received prior.
Took 3 weeks
Mine arrived after 3 weeks 2 days
Youngest sons 1st passport still processing. that was sent 19/04!

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-07

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Delivered 3pm 25/5
Passport printed 10:22am on 23 May 2022
Application approved 3:41am on 20 May 2022
Documents received 1:02pm on 18 May 2022
Application received 10:32am on 7 May 2022
Application submitted 10:31am on 7 May 2022

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-04

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Submitted via Post Office Digital Renewal Service. Total cost £90.90 for check and send service. Excellent service from Durham Passport Office.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-04

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Tracking information only appeared on the day of delivery.
Passport arrived 1 day after printing.

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-03

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful

Comments:
Arrived today – a week before I travel abroad

Type of Application:
Adult Passport Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-03-02

Date Received:
2022-03-02

Overall Experience:
Please Rate out of 5

Comments:
Shocking service can’t get past first line agents, passed to customer service management team queue then cut off as there are too many calls they cannot handle.

1st Child Passport

Type of Application:
First Child Passport

Submission Date:
2022-04-04

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful

Comments:
No option but to use HMPO, if there was I would use other.

Type of Application:
First Child Passport

Submission Date:
2022-04-18

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Sent away in same envelope, to the same office and still waiting for his twin brothers to be approved and printed!

Type of Application:
First Child Passport

Submission Date:
2022-03-31

Date Received:
Not Received.

Overall Experience:
1 Star – Very Stressful

Comments:
Not received go away 6am tomorrow. Spoke to and emailed upgrade team Durham who sent reply saying note your date of travel, don’t contact us as this will delay things. Meant to be taking my children and grandchildren away to celebrate my 60th now looks like I will lose 10k

Type of Application:
First Child Passport

Submission Date:
2022-04-19

Date Received:
2022-05-24

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Was straight forward(ish) headlines made us panic as did a long wait for receipt of documents on the system v’s when they were actually received, 2 weeks to show on system even though were received the following day. 3 weeks from their document receipt date to receiving passport. 5 weeks total so half the press hype. Press hype made us very nervous as we applied 8 weeks from our holiday.

Child Renewal

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-13

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
3 Star – Average

Comments:
Used the post office paper check and send service as have always used this and never had issues. Wish I had used online as it appears to be quicker and easier to get updates. I submitted both of my children’s renewals together and received them back together exactly 6 weeks later. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have been worried, but it has been a stressful few weeks due to the press coverage and I have a holiday booked, flying in 3 weeks. In the future I won’t be booking travel until passports are in my hand!

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-10

Date Received:
2022-05-24

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Still waiting for our baby’s first passport though.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-04

Date Received:
2022-04-30

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Really good

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-09

Date Received:
2022-05-24

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Applied 09/05, identity confirmed same day online. Posted old passport 10/05 first class. Marked as receive by Bootle passport office 17/05, application approved 19/05.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-20

Date Received:
2022-05-23

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
If you are required to send in additional documents such as a birth or marriage certificate, the receipt of those documents is not updated in the online tracking page.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-18

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful

Comments:
The big worry for us was that it took -4 weeks for HMPO to acknowledge receipt of the old passport. During this period they continued to send reminder via both text and email. However, once logged as “received”, things went very quickly.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-03

Date Received:
2022-05-03

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
It took 2 weeks to register a special delivery of my child’s old passport. They signed for it on the 5th May but acknowledged it online on the 18th May saying received old passport. Today 25th May it has updated to processing application.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-03

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
This went to the Peterborough Office.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-03-15

Date Received:
2022-05-13

Overall Experience:
1 Star – Very Stressful

Comments:
Everything we sent sent them was apparently lost.

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-09

Date Received:
2022-05-23

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Excellent service

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-04-28

Date Received:
2022-05-20

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Quicker than anticipated

Type of Application:
Child Renewal

Submission Date:
2022-05-05

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
5 Star – Very Easy

Comments:
Just under three weeks for an online child renewal. Biggest wait was for the passport office to acknowledge receipt of the old passport, then things progressed quickly. Sent old passport special delivery so had peace of mind that it got there. Tips: we stayed on the digital route which is faster, apply online, make sure all details are accurate and make sure the photo is acceptable- plain white wall, no shadows. Renewals go through quickly then. If it is a first passport it will take longer, and if it goes to ‘processing’ it has fallen from the digital route to manual checking route which takes much longer. Be proactive and get in touch with them then. To save stress look into the possibility of changing passenger details to another eg family member so that you have a plan B and don’t face losing £1000s of pounds if the passport doesn’t turn up in time. This can be a useful backup and only costs about £50.

Overseas Passport Application

Type of Application:
Adult Renewal (Overseas Application)

Submission Date:
2022-03-29

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
2 Star – Stressful

Comments:
My old passport (sent the day ofter online application) took 3 weeks for Australia Post to get it to the UK – so beware Aussies ! It was delivered by registered mail on 21/4/22 and then it took 3 weeks for HMPO to acknowledge receipt of the old passport. Once this happened it was dealt with fairly quickly. Posting back to Australia by courier took 5 days till it arrived at the door. Very stressful time as it has arrived 2 weeks before we travel, 57 days for the whole process.

Applied online – 29/3/22
Old passport posted – 30/3/22
Old passport received – 21/4/22
Old passport acknowledged as received -12/5/22
Approved – 16/5/22
Printed – 17/5/22
Posted. – 18/5/22
Received. – 25/5/22

Type of Application:
Adult Renewal (Overseas Application)

Submission Date:
2022-04-22

Date Received:
2022-05-25

Overall Experience:
4 Star – Easy

Comments:
Applied for a renewal from Ireland, after sending the old passport on the 22nd of April it took until the 15th May until they updated that they received the document. Now on the 25th of May have confirmation that the passport is printed and sent out for delivery. Due to travel on the 11th June and midway through May thought there was very little chance of receiving it on time but surprisingly it went quite fast after they received the old passport. For an overseas application it was faster than expected after reading people’s stories about their long delays especially those who live in the UK. I hope this message gives people some hope who are due to travel soon. Peace out JB

2 Replies to “Passport Experiences 26th May 2022”

  1. Frank Hatch says: May 27, 2022 at 10:46 am

    Type of Application:
    Child Renewal

    Submission Date:
    04-05-2022

    Date Received:
    27-05-2022

    Overall Experience:
    5 Star – Easy

    I only realised at the start of May that my daughter would require a new passport for our trip to Tenerife in June as it needs at least 3 months left on it. Why they have expiry dates if that’s the case I’ve no idea but that’s another story. Anyway, was panicking amd sent the application away on the 4th. It took about 2 weeks for the old passport to be logged as received which was stressful but after that things moved fairly quickly. This website was a big help in that regard and the time frames posted on here were pretty much spot on so dont despair if the government website says 10 week waits etc, from my experience on this occasion the information was bang on as it arrived this morning!

  2. Xanthe says: May 27, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    I sent off for my and my daughter’s passport renewals on April 26th. Mine came back 2 weeks later but there is no sign of my daughter’s (still says ‘processing’. Hers went to Belfast, whereas mine went to Newport. So
    I’m now wondering if Belfast is particularly slow. Does anyone else have experience of Belfast office?

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