If my passports do not arrive back can I do a fast track appointment even though they are in the process of being renewed.

I don't think the process can be stopped

If you used check and send through the Post Office you should have a reference number which you can use to give the IPS a ring and they'll track your application and give you more solid advice to see if anything can be done

0300 222 0000

Hi I have sent them check and send its only been a week so no problems yet will phone after two, just looking at options if they are delayed heard there may postal strikes.Do they come back normal post or do they come back special delivery and do you have to sign for them thanks.

I recieved my passport yesterday & only waited 2 weeks for it, just sent by normal post, not check & send. Was not delivered by normal postman but i didnt have to sign for it.

I don't know if this is true of other offices but the one in Durham has a sign up stating

'You told us that Royal Mail was too slow and losing your passports so we've changed to a dedicated secure courier'

Nice morale boost for the Royal Mail there

cfc fan wrote:

Do they come back normal post or do they come back special delivery and do you have to sign for them

We had new ones this year, got mine in February, delivered by courier (not Royal Mail) who knocked on the door and asked me to sign for it - just as well I was off work. Got daughter's in March, no idea how it got here because I was out at work all day, I'm assuming it was a courier again but they must have just posted it through when they knocked and got no answer

I think they are sent via courier, if you are in then they will get you to sign but if you are out they will post it as long as they can see it'll be secure. Mine came when I was out but was posted through my porch letter box as luckily as always I'd locked it.
Used the check and send service and it took exactly 2 weeks from the day I did it which I thought was good until one of my neighbours told me they'd done theirs around the same time by normal post and it had taken 2 days less

From my experience yesterday I was told by the lady who served me that the Durham Passport Office was serving on that day 190 people with 4 hour passports thats a cool near £19,000 for the PPA and it had been pretty much the same for all of July

That's a hell of a lot of money, I wonder what the profit, if any, on passports the Government make when they take out technology and staffing costs

JKKne wrote:

From my experience yesterday I was told by the lady who served me that the Durham Passport Office was serving on that day 190 people with 4 hour passports thats a cool near £19,000 for the PPA and it had been pretty much the same for all of July

That's a hell of a lot of money, I wonder what the profit, if any, on passports the Government make when they take out technology and staffing costs

The IPS pays for itself.

It is not allowed to make a profit.

Help please, my son has booked a holiday for Sept , on checking his passport it expires
March 2010 , will he need a new passport ?

Llindy,

It depends where he's travelling to and what the entry requirements are for that country. It's 6 months for some, 3 months for others. If there's time to get it renewed, then it might be better just in case. It normally takes around 4 or 5 weeks for renewals, but it might be worth contact the IPS for current lead times. If he's travelling at the beginning of september, there might not be enough time. There's also the option of fast tracking as some have done above.

Darren

Thanks Darrenh for the quick reply , he is going to Majorca, just sent him into town now as we have a passport office locally Newport South Wales

Off to Ibiza 17th - 24th of August. My Son's passport runs out (25th Feb) 6 months and 1 day after our return. Im sure passports have to be valid for 6 months after return, does anyone know if this will cause any problems?
Thanks.

EU rules state that passports only have to be valid for the dates of travel. The six months is something that some tour operators have implemented in the past, though some countries not in the EU have this rule. In any case don't worry as your son won't be affected. Enjoy your holiday.

Many thanks.

My passports are back Roll on the 29th August majorca here we come All done in 2 weeks with check and send.

Hoping someone here can give me advice!

I'm due to travel next Wed 19th August, and I needed to have my passport replaced due to water damage (washing machine). Actually the main page of the passport was 99% ok, but I thought better safe than sorry.

On the 23rd of July after making the last minute booking of the holiday (I hadn't planned on travelling), I did check & send at the post office. The people there seemed encouraging, one member of staff telling me her son did the exact same thing as me and got his passport back replaced in ONE week!

Fast forward to just last week, and I used the online system to check the status of my application - I got a message back saying that they hadn't received my application till the 31st!!! What?!

From then its went bad to worse I phoned them twice today, and what began as "its marked down as to be examined since 3rd of August" then turned into "I think you will get it in another 1.5 to 2 weeks" from a supervisor.

It seems I'm going to have to cancel if what he says is true, since I'm travelling a week on wednesday.

So my main questions are, is this normal? Why did it take them so long to receive it and then why has it sat around doing nothing?

AND, is it possible for me to drive to durham, pay extra and get the one week fast track? I tried asking the girl on the phone and she kept referring to the one day premium which is not what I asked. Lastly, if the crap really hits the fan, can I just cancel the application and get my old passport back?

I really want to go on this trip and I'm getting no concrete answers from IPS

Hi takayanagi ... although the IPS aims to process Check & Send applications within two weeks, this is not guaranteed, especially at peak periods. Your application may well have been caught up in a backlog.

Unfortunately you cannot just turn up at the Passport Office and expect be to dealt with, even on payment of the upgrade fee for the one week fast track service. You need to pre-arrange an appointment, and hope that one may be available at short notice, as the IPS does advise to allow up to 2 weeks for an urgent appointment. There is also a premium one day service, but I don't think it is available for the replacement of damaged passports.

Have you verified that your application is actually at Durham, or are you assuming so because that is your local Passport Office ? At peak times, applications can be sent on to another Passport Office for processing, such as Glasgow.

I think all you can do is get back on the Passport AdviceLine on 0300 222 0000 to verify which office is handling your application, and see if it is possible to have an urgent appointment so that you can upgrade to the fast track service.

Good luck
David

Durham Passport Office is suffering from a backlog of 'normal' and Check and Send Applications due to a reduction in capacity as the result of flooding in Durham City in late July. Fastrack applications are currently being processed ahead and at the expense of normal application and the IPS told me there's a high demand for Fastrack across the country at the moment but a lowering of capacity at Durham (coinciding with the surge in last min hols no doubt!)

Since they have the application they may allow you to Fastrack but you may as well take the 4 hour service if its available as its the same price