Morning, sorry if this isn't in the right section, just need some advice. I am applying for my first ever passport tomorrow as I have booked an holiday for January, 6, 2019 as I am going to send of my form tomorrow at the Post Office with check and send and my foam contains pictures for my passport and other supporting documents. Does anyone know how long it takes? will I get it before January? Also, is it 100% that I will get a passport? or could I be refused one? as I never had a passport and I am also a British citizen as I was born in the UK. I am just worried that I will get refused a passport, should I be worried? as I am looking forward to going to Benidorm for 7 days in January and I am excited to be going on a plane for the first time. Any advice would be great thank you.

Does anybody know if a new passport has to be declared for new addresses every time they move and is another fee still payable if move more than the occasion intending or would it just be the single fee for a new passport renewal.

Hello, How far in advance can you renew your UK passport? If lost or stolen i guess it would be from the date of it reported lost or stolen? Thanks.

Hi Asking for a friend Can someone please confirm that a straightforward passport renewal doesn't need a counter signature. There's no change of name or much change to appearance so from what I can see just need to fill forms out and supply new pictures? They've got an appointment at the passport office on Wednesday so just want to make sure everything is correct before travelling up there. Thanks

Hi there. I'm having some issues trying to find the information I need. Here's my situation: I'm finally in a position where I would like to learn how to drive. Unfortunately, my provisional driver's licence is no longer valid since June of 2017. I'm applying for a new licence on the DVLA website but I am running into trouble. I am being asked to provide a passport (which I don't have and have never had). I need to provide 3 years of address history, but until about a year ago, I was homeless, and there's no option for this on the sign up page I was sofa surfing for a long time with no fixed abode, then became homeless after a relationship breakdown for a few months. Before that (I don't even remember the dates or have any documentation), I was living and working in a different city in the UK. I have my mother's address on the provisional card, but I've not lived there for a very long time. I was wondering if anybody knew anything about this? Many thanks for your time, L.

Does a UK passport holder need at least six months left on there passport in order to travel ?.

Hello Ive been through many posts already all of them said to ignore the RLP letters I dont have to say the obvious that I am very ashamed of what Ive done so Ill just come quick to the centre of the matter Got caught at Primark this November, with a value of stuff around probably £25 which of course they took away from me... They scanned my passport which is not English and they told me to log on on my student ( I am studdying in London) website from which the woman took my current polish address.. I was instructed to call RLP in a week time to say that I will not be available at the address provided (polish one) and to ask them to send the letter for a different english one... I called them and the man over phone told me that they can send me letter through e-mail.. I would like to post the letter I received here; LETTER BEFORE CLAIM We have been instructed by Primark in relation to the incident at Oxford Street West on 2nd November 2016 where it is alleged you were involved in Theft of Goods. As you are aware you were apprehended as a result of your actions. Your conduct gives our client the right to pursue a civil claim for “damages” against you in the County Court as this caused significant disruption to our client’s business at those premises. Our client has sustained losses as a result of your wrongful actions which include the value of the goods, if not recovered or fit for resale; the cost of the diversion of its staff’s time and associated security and administration costs. The average cost to our client of an incident of this nature is between £300 and £500, before taking into account any goods or cash not recovered. Please read the attached information in conjunction with this letter. Recovering the goods or cash does not mean our client has suffered no loss. Our client is entitled to seek to recover from you the cost of the disruption to its business caused by your wrongful acts. This cost is calculated by reference to, amongst other things, the time spent by staff in observing, apprehending, interviewing you, and undertaking all necessary internal and external procedures thereafter. Given the value of the claim, our client is required to process it expediently, cost effectively and proportionately. A fixed contribution to all of the losses is therefore sought, in sum of £149.50. This does not include any amount for the property or cash as these were fully recovered. This is a civil claim and is separate from any criminal proceedings or police action. If you believe you have a Defence to this claim, or there are other factors you wish to be taken into consideration, please advise us and provide any evidence in support, within the next 21 days. You will appreciate that our client can only take into consideration information if it is provided. Our client relies upon its investigation file and the evidence of its personnel in the investigation to prove its claim.If you require any further information to understand the claim against you, or think that this letter is in any way defective, please let us know within the next 7 days. We are required to refer you to the Practice Direction for Pre-action Conduct which has been published in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. The Court has power to impose sanctions on any party who fails to comply with the Practice Direction. There is an obligation upon each party to set out their case in full, to exchange documents and information, and generally to engage in attempts to settle the dispute without the need for Court proceedings. We are also required to inform you that ignoring this letter may lead to our client starting proceedings which may well increase your liability for legal costs. We would therefore recommend that you take independent legal advice if you are in any way unsure of your position. We have put your case on hold for 21 days for you to consider your following options: · If you believe you have a Defence, to provide the details along with any evidence upon which you rely. · If there are other factors you wish to be taken into consideration, to provide the details. · Settle the claim by paying the amount stated £149.50 (see reverse). · If you wish to settle the claim, but cannot do so within 21 days, contact us to discuss payment options which include instalments and deferred periods, dependent upon the circumstances (see reverse). · Negotiate an alternative settlement by contacting our Collections Department (see reverse). · Advise if you require more time to take legal or other advice and consider your position. We look forward to receiving your response. Please ensure you send correspondence to us, and not to our client directly, as this will cause unnecessary delay. Obviously I am super stressed as the 21 days already passed, beside the one phone call, I did not contact the RLP office, I just want to make sure my case is like everyones else and that I dont have anything to worry about... (hopefully) But if that is otherwise please do you have any formulas of letter I could send them ? Thank You in advance for an answer

Britons travelling to the United States have been warned to check they have an e-passport, or risk being turned away. New rules requiring US visitors to have passports with a biometric trip came into force on 1 April. Tour operators have urged customers to check their passports. Biometric passports are identifiable on British passports by the camera logo at the bottom of the front cover, and have an embedded electronic chip holding the carrier's facial details, in a bid to combat fraud and forgery. Passports issued in the UK after October 2006 should have one of these logos on them and it means there's an embedded chip in it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36228034

Hi all, We have someone living with us who is estranged from his parents and is 17 years old. He was born in South Africa but his dad is a UK citizen and mum South African. He has dual nationality and HAD a UK Child passport. He now needs to apply for an Adult passport and has no current ID. How do we proceed from here? The birth certificate will be in South Africa, His parents wont speak to him although they both live here and he can't get in his house to get his child passport or the South African passport This cannot be the only time that this has happened? What is the best thing to do to help him get an adult passport thanks

Hello Caggers, wonder if you can help me out with a dilemma I am having with DX Services. On 26th November this year, I received a message from DX saying that they had attempted to deliver my passport to my home address. I was given the opportunity to arrange a redelivery. I chose to have my passport redelivered to work. I also completed the special delivery instructions to deliver to the main reception, where I would be in a position to sign for it. I gave the building names as 1-9* and this was on the confirmation email I received. Fast forward to 1st December, the agreed delivery. I received the passport, though I was surprised not to be asked for ID considering that DX advised that I would not ID or anyone signing for it on my behalf would have to provide both mine and their IDs. When I was signing for it, I noticed that the new label on the envelope was for 8-10* on the same road. The company name was what I provided, however 8-10 also has a building name, which was included on the envelope. I asked the delivery driver whether he attempted to deliver there but he said he pulled into their place before realising that we were on the opposite side of the road. Given that I gave the correct address, I can only assume that someone at DX looked up an incorrect source for my workplace and used that instead, without checking with me. My workplace has been at these premises for about 6 months, so there are some sources with different numbers (including 8-10). If this had been something else I would have accepted that mistakes happen and be pleased I got the delivery. But my passport contains a lot of personal information and could have easily ended up in the wrong hands. I sent an email to DX, their response was to send a letter acknowledge the negative feedback but nothing that indicated they had actually seen what my feedback was about. I sent a formal complaint in the post but am getting nowhere with them. Please can someone advise what might be the next best step to take? Should I be approaching HM Passport Services? Many thanks in advance. GS. Numbers changed to protect identities, but you get the idea.

Apologies if I have posted under wrong section but could not find any relevant threads. My OH and my 15 year old daughter were travelling back from Italy yesterday and on arrival at Gatwick were directed to the e-passport gates as the queue was shorter but then my daughter was stopped because she was under 18. They both have valid UK E-Passports. Can someone kindly explain why this is and why was she issued with a E-Passport if she cannot use it at the moment ? Thank-you for your time and would appreciate an explanation.

Hello everyone I would like to know if my boyfriend who is spanish can apply for the british passport. Last month he got a warning from the police because of domestic violence ( he fought with his neighbours...). All I want to know if that is gonna be a problem if he wants to apply for the british passport. Thank you so much.

Thousands of people face having their summer holidays ruined because a growing backlog at the Passport Office means they may not receive their documents in time. Some new applications are now taking as much as two months to process and there are warnings things could get even worse as the holiday season gets into full swing. The backlog has already reached half a million according to some estimates and staff from other departments have now been drafted in to help deal with the growing crisis. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10885195/Passport-backlog-threatens-summer-holiday-chaos-for-thousands.html

My sister travels to Barcelona next weekend for her hen do and this evening her three year old daughter has used her mum's eyeliner to scribble on her passport. She has done it on the page to the left of her page with her photo and details on, NOT the biodata page as gov.uk advertises but rather if you were to flip the passport as they will at customs control the one directly above it. Obviously she's very worried and gov.uk's categorization of a damaged passport is not very clear. It says that one of the definitions of a damaged passport is "any chemical or ink spillage on any page." Would this cover eyeliner markings on a non-relevant page? If the worst news is that yes, it's now classified as a damaged passport what does she do? Can she realistically get a new one by next Saturday? We already have the details for the Passport Customer Service Centre but can this be done within 5 days as I know they offer a premium service in which you can obtain a passport within 4 hours directly from the office but it also seems to suggest you have a waiting period to book that appointment? Any ideas? Any help? Previous experiences welcome. It's all much appreciated! Thanks

Hello, I have a question relating to sending a copy of a passport via email to a recruitment agency. It's for a friend, who is insistent they are not going to send a copy, to the agent, but I just wanted to ask here as I know there are some excellent and knowledgable people on here who will know more of the legalities. My friend saw a job advertised, contacted the agent advertising the job etc and went for several interviews with the company. The agent has been the go-between, and my friend will not be working at any time for the agent, it is merely a job finding service (for which the agent will receive a very hefty commission). He has received written contract from the company, the contract states provision of P45/passport etc required to prove right to work in UK. We both totally understand the company which will be his employer is obliged to do such checks etc. He has signed contract, and will take all docs necessary on day 1, and new employer is happy with this. Meanwhile, after the agent arranged interviews, and job has been accepted and contract signed (with prospective employer) the agent is now insisting on my friend providing a copy of passport to them via email. This is over 4 months after initial contact with the agency. Due to fraud concerns, friend does not intend to send any copy of identity docs over email. He also thinks that as the agent is not the employer then he is not legally obligated to provide such proof. Surely if this is a legal requirement, the agency should have requested (and received) required documents before any CV was forwarded never mind 3 interviews and a job contract signed? Also my friend has not seen and T&C for the service which agency has provided, and has not signed anything with them. Is my friend legally obliged to send copy of passport to the agent?

My son had to apply for his first adult passport and decided to do it online. After using the Google search engine he logged onto what he thought was the official passport website. He filled it it in and paid the fee of £62.50. 3 weeks later he got the form back there were issues with the form and they wanted the fee. After contacting the passport office we were told that it does happen all the time and these websites are not official. So now my son has now to finish the form return it and now pay a further fee of £72.50. It was his mistake and unfortunately I do not think he will be the only one. Lesson learned but he doesn't have the £72.50 to now pay the fee for the passport. I googled problems with companies who charge for an online application service and found an article in the Guardian by Miles Bignal who also got stung by thinking he had filled in an official form. We are gutted for my son who innocently thought he was doing the right thing, the form is identical to the official form. This post is to warn everyone just to make sure they don't make the mistake we have !!:sad:

Hey all, Not sure if this is the right section, had a look though and there doesnt seem anywhere else to post it. Just trying to get my first adult passport. Decided a few months back I was going to have a few holidays overseas, so of course I would need to get a passport. Complete horrified at the requirements as it seems like this government are forcing us to stay in this country. Problem 1: I have to send my mothers birth certificate and mine to them. As quoted from the government website "You must send originals - photocopies or certified copies won’t be accepted". Problem.... I only have a "certified copy" of my birth certificate. I have never seen my original birth certificate, perhaps it was even accidentally thrown away years ago. I'm not sure if my mothers is just a "certified copy" either. I know my fathers name wouldnt be on mine... but would that matter? Problem 2: Countersigning. Is that essential? I barely know any people but I have gone through the list of who can countersign and have already asked people who match that criteria. Either they don't have a passport or haven't known me long enough (So have refused to sign the form) This is really irritating me as I just want to have a few visits overseas before it's too late. At this rate I may as well just rip the forms up and forget about the idea

Hi, I requested a CCA from welcome and sent a £1 postal order, they have sent the postal order back to me with a letter saying they need to see a copy of my passport before they can send me a cca. I am reluctant to do this as not only do I not want them having any more information on me than they already do, but they continue to write to me with spelling mistakes in my name. (they add an extra letter onto the end of my first name) I'm a bit stuck as to what to do now..... Thanks

Hi I'm just wondering how long it takes for a passport fee to leave a bank account? I sent the passport application form on Friday second class recorded delivery with the mandate form for taking it from my debit card and wonder if it will leave my account today when it should be received? Looking for peace of mind that the application is being processed. Thanks in advance.

Hello all, I am a 21 year old female who has never left the UK or held a UK passport. Last year in October I sent off my application, paid for it etc. and was excited at the prospect of finally leaving the country for the first time. I included both my mother's and my own original birth certificates for proof of identity. Here's where it gets a bit confusing, so I'll try and explain as best as I can.* *I've changed the names for privacy reasons. They declined my application because on my birth certificate, it says Nicola Adams, but her real name is Nicola Smith, so it says Nicola Smith on her birth certificate. The reason it says Nicola Adams on my birth certificate is because years ago, when she was with my brother's dad (different dads) whose surname was Adams, she changed her name unofficially (without deed poll) to Adams also, because at the time there was a stigma around having children out of wedlock apparently. So she took it upon herself to just change her second name to my brother's dad's second name, without any legal records of the change. Now because she never changed it by deed poll, there are no records of her name change, and the passport authorities want proof of this name change so they know that my mother really is... My mother! When they said they declined my application, she called them up and asked how we would go about proving this. They said that we would have to get a solicitor to get my mother to sign an oath or something of that nature, but this costs a lot of money. Does anybody have any advice for me? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

My son carries dual US/UK citizenship however he is not allowed to enter theUS on his UK passport. My son's US passport has expired; he has spentevery summer of his life since birth in the US. He is now 10. His father &I are divorced but the custody issue was not dealt with in the divorce. In order to get my son's US passport renewed both parents have to attend theUS embassy in person with the child. I asked my son's father back in January 2013,to go with my son & I to apply for the passport, he did not & has not responded. US rules state as follows; Important Notice: the written consent from the non-applying parent that accompanies an application for a new passport must be less than 3 months old. If not available, you will be required to furnish evidence of the appearing parent's sole authority to apply for the passport in the form of one of the following: Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) or Certification of Birth Abroad (Form DS-1350) listing only applying parent; Child's birth certificate listing only applicant parent; Adoption decree (if applying parent is sole adopting parent); Court Order granting sole custody to the applying parent (i.e the absent parent has no access to the child. Child's travel must not be restricted by that order; Judicial declaration of incompetence of non-applying parent; or Death certificate of non-applying parent Can someone please advise me if the court can force my ex to go to theembassy with my son & I or can I can secure sole custody? My son requiresthe passport by Early July 2013. Can I make an application for a Special Issue Order to get my ex to goto the embassy? I cannot afford to engage a solicitor. I'd be gratefulfor any advice. Thanks

I went to a group interview with a Merlin Entertainments establishment in December, and was asked to provide my passport for verification of my right to work in the UK. I did so willingly and they collected everyones in and took them away to copy. Later, in the middle of our session, they went round handing them back to the 'correct' people and it wasn't until I got home that I realised I had been given the wrong one. I tried contacting them by every way possible asking if they could just contact everybody else who was at the interview and ask them to check whether they had mine, but they were completely uncooperative. They said they couldn't do anything, said I should just buy a new one, and basically just ignored all further correspondence I tried to have with them. It was such a simple request that they could have helped me with and I feel like if they had done it, I would have got my passport back. As it was in the end I had to buy another one at 130 pounds in order not to shatter my christmas plans, money I did not have as I was job seeking in the first place. I then contacted them again with a very polite, formal letter explaining everything and asking whether they would at least acknowledge the serious neglect that happened on their part, but again I have been absolutely ignored. My other worry is of course that someone has used my passport to gain a false identity, so it could be a very serious matter. I have followed up the letter with calls and emails, which have been passed on through different departments and again, ignored. Could anyone tell me what the situation is here, I mean are they liable for anything at all? Is there someone else I should contact, or do they just get away it scott-free? It makes me so angry as I have been through so much hassle and none of it was my fault- I applied in good faith for a job I believed in and ended up forking out around 200 pounds in phone calls, transport and new passport. Anything anyone could suggest would be GREATLY appreciated!

Hi, hope this is right place! If I applied for my first adult passport would that flag me up with my esa and compromise my claim? As they will see me applying for that may not look good? Not sure how it works Thanks

my son applied on line and selected the option to send his own photo as his passport exp in may and s from when he was 12/13 everything went through using the passport number online, even 'knew who he was' but now the form is here its still going on about wanting a valid passport and/or an unlaminated Birth cert sent back with it is there anyway around this? can we show docs locally to someone. not a driver so never jumped through these hoops dx