has anyone had any problems with red eye in the photographs i have tried 1 booth and the local pharmacy and all pics are coming out with red eye, the passport office have returned the 1st lot i sent new ones on sat still with slight red eye.. you see my daughter has really blue eyes which i think are the problem because the other 2 kids have darker eyes and theyre not coming up with red eye..we go away in 5 weeks and the midwife who countersigned the photos & forms is away to germany for 3 weeks so i cant get her signature on anymore till she gets back which is cutting it fine for my wee ones passport...fingers crossed they accept the last ones okay.

Anybody know how long the passports are taking to come back at the moment?

Sent my renewal last week and am always on tenterhooks until it comes back. I usually leave it three weeks before I start flapping mind you.

hi, we renewed hubby and daughters passports in february and got them back in just over a week, which I thought was pretty bloomin quick ! They also now come back registered post, so we had to sign for them, makes sense really nowadays.

Thanks Juby!

no probs, scottishmum, glad to set your mind a rest !

Just got my kids passport delivered the one with the red eye problems , they accepted the last lot of photos which had a wee bit of red eye ...thank god its here now. All in has taken about 2 weeks and were in belfast

can anyone please advise me. I have just booked a last minute holiday to Turkey for 27th May for one week and has just got my passport out only to find it expires in september. Has this happened to anyone before? Do you think they will allow me to enter. Have been many times before and am now worried as I will not have time to re new and can't take time out from work to go miles to a passport office. really worried now and would appreciate any help or advice.
thanks
Shaz150

Hi Shaz150 ... that is a very difficult one, as it's not just a case of whether you will be allowed entry into Turkey, it's a question of whether you will even be allowed to check in for your outward flight.

Because passports require to be valid for at least 6 months from date of entry into Turkey, airline check in staff should be checking your passport validity before accepting you, as the airline or tour operator would ultimately be responsible for flying you home again if Turkish officials denied entry.

An urgent passport renewal would be your safest option, but that would obviously be expensive, assuming that you could even get an urgent appointment with the IPS at this stage. It may be worth speaking to your travel agent or tour operator to see what their opinion is, or what the chances are of perhaps switching to a destination which does not have the 6 month passport validity requirement.

David

Hi David
After numerous calls to the passport office this afternoon, I was offered an appointment on Monday at Durham passport office on Monday. Problem is my son is on my passport and it takes 7 days for a first child passport to be processed and as next monday is a bank holiday they could not guarantee it would arrive until Tuesday as our flight is at 10am. Even offered to back to Durham to collect it on Friday, but they are printed in Manchester and then sent on by courier so that was a definate no. Finally rang freedom Direct who were really helpful, she went to ask someone and came back to me stating it won't be a problem. Really hope not, so asked her name and asked if I could ring her if we have a problem. So fingers crossed. Thanks for your help.
Shaz150

Hi Shaz150 ... I really hope that whoever you spoke to at Freedom Direct has taken proper advice and is correct in saying that it won't be a problem, as obviously information from the Foreign Office, the Turkish Consulate and even Freedom Direct's own website is that 6 months passport validity is required. But perhaps Freedom Direct are aware or have recent experience that entry requirements are being less stringently enforced.

David

Shaz150
my daughters passport was due to expire sept08 and we are travelling 23rd june -7july i was just going to chance it until a friend of mine warned me she tried at belfast intl and they refused to let her fly It took 8 days for her passport to come back & my youngests was 2 weeks ..i wouldnt chance it. The passport office added another 5months to her passport instead of the expected 3months .

I am really impressed.

I posted off my passport renewal paperwork last Wednesday and my old passport was returned yesterday and my new passport arrived this morning.

The only disappointing thing is that my passport photograph shows that I am not as gorgeous as I thought I was!!