Renewing my British passport - HMPO totally lost the plot and the I lost the will to live!

[cliveshep]

Well, following Googled advice although my passport does not expire until 16th January next year I decided to play it safe and apply now. At 79 I figure I can afford to loose a few months, So after initial hiccups with VFS caused by their web site being down and complaining I did get to make an appointment for 21st May once they settled in to their swanky new offices.  I downloaded the form, filled it in, laboriously scanned and printed colour copies of every page of my extended passport (only used about 6 pages so won't do that again) and put together proof of residence and address - an AIS bill in my name with full address all in English and scans of my car and motorbike licences also giving the address in English. This will be my 4th renewal and HMPO have mailed the wrong email address needing more info, in spite of VFS Global emailing me from the address on the application form confirming sending the docs to the UK but the HMPO muppets were too careless. I only realised when they sent a text advising email sent but it never arrived.

 

So I emailed the help line who came back quite quickly asking for various info like proof of address etc and sundry other info they already had. After the 1st 3 0r 4 replies to me it became clear they could not find the application based on what they said. However, each time they emailed me it was to ask a different question but the real killer came with their email no 7 where they basically refused to renew the passport unless I submitted documentary proof showing the town or village where I was born and proof I was British. Now I was adopted and apart from my parents telling me I was born in Herts there is nothing in writing. They have been dead for 40 years so I cannot ask them. HMPO apologised for waiting over 30 years (3 passports to date) to discover they didn't know the town or village I was born in but demanded documentary proof like original birth certificate. I have the one my parents were given after the adoption order in 1946 - but I have no Adoption Certificate nor am I likely to ever get one. The UK birth certificate notes I am an adopted child. Doesn't say where from of course and adoption details were mostly kept secret. 

 

So I am waiting HMPO email no 8 hopefully answering my query about if I send them this nearly 80 year old document, the original birth certificate, will they undertake to (a) not lose it and (b) send it back safely. Unspoken of course is how much more do they want to know that they've already been told

 

This is  totally farcical and with high blood pressure I don't need all this effing stress from morons. Who can I complain to as I feel a formal complaint is justified?

[cliveshep]

Update - decided to bite the bullet as there is no way I can go back to the UK and if no passport Thailand will boot me out and I'll be effectively stateless forced to leave my home and wife. What a showa'o'<deleted>e our Government civil servants are? We are only here in the first place because Theresa May, wicked witch of Maidenhead while Home Secretary and refusing to endorse calls to leave the EU to cut immigration instead attacked foreign spouses and students instead. She raised financial thresholds way over twice the UK Standard Pension rate meaning those whose wives failed the Life in the UK test (designed for failure of course) would, unless their retired spouses could prove income over £18,650 , be deported irrespective of the family breakups this would cause. That figure I understand has now been increased dramatically. There has to be a special place in hell reserved for Theresa May and Priti Patel.

 

So seeing this red light I sold everything and we fled here to stay together and 10 years later I do not miss the UK and it's over-reaching laws one bit. We have a nice home and apart from the minor inconvenience of annual extensions and 90 day reports life is good  - until now!

 

HMPO promised to return document with passport this morning so beloved wife has toddled off in the car with it and a letter in the packet to the nearest DHL Express some 10 miles away to get it expensively transported to HMPO in England. Letter tells them there is no documentation of what town I was born in, such details are sealed to protect the birth parent's anonymity so all the Birth Certificate does is prove I am British, adopted, and entitled to the last 3 passports and the new one applied for.

[brewsterbudgen]

What a complete nightmare and shambles.  I can't understand why any of this should be an issue for passport renewals, as everyhting must have been in order for the original passport and subsequent renewals to have been processed.

 

It seems everything was running relatively smoothly when the renewals were being processed in Liverpool, but the move to Corby and obvious gaps in the staff training have to lead to many issues, like yours.

 

I hope you make a vociferous complaint once everything is resolved!  Good luck.

 

The official email for complaints related to UK passport renewal issues is: complaints[at]hmpo.gov.uk

This is the contact for Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO), which handles UK passport services.

[chickenslegs]

 

What an absolute pig's breakfast. I hope it gets sorted soon.

 

Regarding complaints:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office/about/complaints-procedure

 

If you get no satisfaction you can escalate:

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do

 

Best of luck to you.

[cliveshep]

This is the next to last mail I got from them, the last one promises to return documents. Of concern is the insistence I prove what town or village I was born in. No problem, I'll track down the midwife via a seance.  I hope and pray the original birth certificate that gives details of adopted parents suffices else I'll be in deep dodo.

There is no way I can prove that almost 80 years later especially in the chaos so close to the end of the war.

https://static-logos.notifications.service.gov.uk/bc9eb012-fd36-4bf0-a201-b915f203ddec-homeofficecrest.png HM Passport Office

	Dear CLIVE SHEPPARD, Application reference: 537 452 2543 We need you to send us more documents We cannot continue with your passport application because we need more documents. Send evidence that confirms your place of birth We need you to confirm your place of birth before we can continue and print your passport. Unfortunately we cannot accept Herts as your place of birth because it is a County name. We need to know the village, city, or town you were born, so we can add this to your new Passport. Not doing so when issuing your previous passports has been an oversight on our part, please accept our apologies for this. Send your birth certificate or adoption certificate. If your birth certificate does not show your place and country of birth or you do not have the original you can order an official copy at: https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate The formats we can accept We usually cannot accept photocopied documents unless we have told you we can for that type of document. Only send laminated documents if that is the only format the issuing authority provides for them. How to send us documents When you are sending us documents or letters, make sure you: we only want the items we have asked for use a strong envelope that is the right size for anything you need to send us check the weight and pay the correct postage – consider using a signed and tracked service send to this address – this includes the application reference so we can match anything you send us to your application HM Passport Office INT-DOCS 537 452 2543 Three Cherry Trees Lane Hemel Hempstead HP2 7HQ UK We will return any evidence you send us when we are finished with it.

[josephbloggs]

5 minutes ago, cliveshep said:

This is the next to last mail I got from them, the last one promises to return documents. Of concern is the insistence I prove what town or village I was born in. No problem, I'll track down the midwife via a seance.  I hope and pray the original birth certificate that gives details of adopted parents suffices else I'll be in deep dodo.

There is no way I can prove that almost 80 years later especially in the chaos so close to the end of the war.

https://static-logos.notifications.service.gov.uk/bc9eb012-fd36-4bf0-a201-b915f203ddec-homeofficecrest.png HM Passport Office

	Dear CLIVE SHEPPARD, Application reference: 537 452 2543 We need you to send us more documents We cannot continue with your passport application because we need more documents. Send evidence that confirms your place of birth We need you to confirm your place of birth before we can continue and print your passport. Unfortunately we cannot accept Herts as your place of birth because it is a County name. We need to know the village, city, or town you were born, so we can add this to your new Passport. Not doing so when issuing your previous passports has been an oversight on our part, please accept our apologies for this. Send your birth certificate or adoption certificate. If your birth certificate does not show your place and country of birth or you do not have the original you can order an official copy at: https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate The formats we can accept We usually cannot accept photocopied documents unless we have told you we can for that type of document. Only send laminated documents if that is the only format the issuing authority provides for them. How to send us documents When you are sending us documents or letters, make sure you: we only want the items we have asked for use a strong envelope that is the right size for anything you need to send us check the weight and pay the correct postage – consider using a signed and tracked service send to this address – this includes the application reference so we can match anything you send us to your application HM Passport Office INT-DOCS 537 452 2543 Three Cherry Trees Lane Hemel Hempstead HP2 7HQ UK We will return any evidence you send us when we are finished with it.

Wishing you all the best, hope it gets resolved soon.

[Denim]

The worst of problems like this is that it is very difficult to actually  speak to a live sympathetic human being as you could do many years ago.

 

Everything  has to be done online and you are reduced to being just another case number in a sea of applications .

[Quentin Zen]

17 hours ago, cliveshep said:

At 79 I figure

Good on you for still fighting with complete morons at 79.  Don't worry, this will be sorted.  Maybe there's an emergency passport, embassy letters, there's always a back-up plan.   My anxiety has gone parabolic in my 50's (can I blame the vax??? lol) and this is one legit worry.   I'm anxious about great financial news because I don't have a timeline on when all the paperwork will end.  I was never like this.  lol  I seem to have some minor issue every year, and every year I wonder which one will be the proverbial straw.  I have a feeling venting online feels good, it does to me.   My blood pressure is almost too low, so I'm not sure about the opposite end.  Anyhow, laugh, keep venting, joke some more, and in a year you will forget all about this.   

[chickenslegs]

4 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Best of luck to you.

Another thought.

Contact a UK newspaper, email your story to them, e.g. -  news[at]dailymail.co.uk

[cliveshep]

Just checked if I can get pre-adoption details and came up with the answer which is yes but as I was adopted at 6 months old (presumably the papers were submitted a whole lot earlier) the law says if the adoption was before 1976 which if course it was, before the details can be released I have to attend a counselling session in the UK which is mandatory.

 

So I would need around £1000 air fares, pay for hotel accommodation and attend this counselling all to satisfy the little minds in HMPO that I am British and was born in xxx town or village if the gnomes insist on that detail. At that point it is official complaint time and probably have to go the ombudsman route if I am still alive. No way can I on a fixed tiny pension afford that, we struggle to survive now. Catch 22 - left or right I'm screwed over by mindless moron jobs-worths perhaps.

[Thingamabob]

What a nightmare, and a warning to all of us Brits. I last applied for a new passport 2 years ago via VFS with no hassle. Things have clearly deteriorated since then, as with most public services in the UK. Hope you get this resolved soon. and grateful for any updates.

[renaissanc]

On 6/6/2025 at 10:51 AM, chickenslegs said:

 

What an absolute pig's breakfast. I hope it gets sorted soon.

 

Regarding complaints:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-passport-office/about/complaints-procedure

 

If you get no satisfaction you can escalate:

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do

 

Best of luck to you.

I feel your frustration. If the above suggestions fail, then try a national newspaper. If that fails, sit outside the UK Parliament and tell the media about what your complaint is about. 

[sandyf]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:11 PM, cliveshep said:

They have been dead for 40 years so I cannot ask them. HMPO apologised for waiting over 30 years (3 passports to date) to discover they didn't know the town or village I was born in but demanded documentary proof like original birth certificate. I have the one my parents were given after the adoption order in 1946 - but I have no Adoption Certificate nor am I likely to ever get one. The UK birth certificate notes I am an adopted child. Doesn't say where from of course and adoption details were mostly kept secret. 

My mother died quite young at 49 in 1976 and  a few years ago I was told that I had a half brother. Not taking anything at face value I went online and initially obtained a copy of my mother's birth certificate and from that a copy of the original birth certificate of my half brother, he had been adopted at birth. I met up with him a couple of years later and he had different birth certificate that did not show my mother's name and a bit surprised to see the original, coincidently from 1946.

It was all relatively easy.

[sandyf]

On 6/6/2025 at 4:26 PM, cliveshep said:

Just checked if I can get pre-adoption details and came up with the answer which is yes but as I was adopted at 6 months old (presumably the papers were submitted a whole lot earlier) the law says if the adoption was before 1976 which if course it was, before the details can be released I have to attend a counselling session in the UK which is mandatory.

 

So I would need around £1000 air fares, pay for hotel accommodation and attend this counselling all to satisfy the little minds in HMPO that I am British and was born in xxx town or village if the gnomes insist on that detail. At that point it is official complaint time and probably have to go the ombudsman route if I am still alive. No way can I on a fixed tiny pension afford that, we struggle to survive now. Catch 22 - left or right I'm screwed over by mindless moron jobs-worths perhaps.

I was one of the first to try renewal after they moved overseas renewals from the FCO to HMPO back in 2014. It was an utter shambles and I started to get concerned that there would be no passport by the time I became an illegal.  I contacted the Embassy and they were extremely helpful and intervened, passport back with a couple of days to spare.

I can understand your frustration and it wouldn't do any harm to get in touch with them.

BTW When mine came up for renewal last year I wasn't prepared to run any risk and went back to do the renewal. Appreciate not really applicable  for you now.

[OJAS]

On 6/6/2025 at 3:06 PM, cliveshep said:

This is the next to last mail I got from them, the last one promises to return documents. Of concern is the insistence I prove what town or village I was born in. No problem, I'll track down the midwife via a seance.  I hope and pray the original birth certificate that gives details of adopted parents suffices else I'll be in deep dodo.

 

But did you not have to provide HMPO's pals in DWP with your original birth certificate when you claimed the State Pension way back when - and which is presumably lurking somewhere where you live? This surely included the town and village where you were born.

 

That said, it is clearly outrageous that you are being subject to all the hassle that you are, thanks to a blatantly shining example of complete and utter cluelessness on the part of those dimwits in HMPO and predecessor passport-issuing organisations.

[luckyscruff]

Well what a total farce,

 

I to have had similar problems as you , Sent details through an agent , got a message on my phone paperwork incomplete have sent you an email       ( did not come to me ) phoned agent did not go to them ? . I then phoned Ukpo to find out was was wrong , gave them all my details , Name , Address , Email , Phone Number , ok we will pass it to the correct department , Waited about 1 week , get sms saying the same thing , Phone again , give all the details again , ok we will chase it up for you , Then got an email , please provide details  of all the above again , paperwork incomplete, ( BUT YOU CAN NOT REPLY TO THE EMAIL ) So I completed another application form with all the details on it , all the paperwork attached , quoted Ref number and sent it to them , along with a letter quoting all the details and Ref No . Then got another email from them with a New ref number and stated no payment received ?. Phoned , confirmed payment had been received on original , and would get it transferred to the New  application  . Then got another email with New Ref No on Stating No Payment received .

I then found out that there was a complaints email address , so I used this , About 6 complaints later , after inputting my details , then completing my Complaint again with all the details typed again , I finally got a sms message saying Application Processed , and then another sms your local contact will be in touch to collect passport , No contact from then , but 2 weeks later got a phone call from the agent , they have my New Passport , only took 5 months , 1500 bhat in phone calls . 600 bhat in postage to get it .

Why can not people do as Requested in phone calls or in letters , could have been sorted out 2 months earlier, Less hassle for customers and for them , Times this each time for each application and the cost is astronomical. 

[sandyf]

8 minutes ago, OJAS said:

But did you not have to provide HMPO's pals in DWP with your original birth certificate when you claimed the State Pension way back when - and which is presumably lurking somewhere where you live? This surely included the town and village where you were born.

 

I am fairly sure there is no requirement for a birth certificate if claiming the state pension in the UK, often done over the phone, I think only physically required for overseas claims.

From what I gather the OP would have his pension long before coming to Thailand.

[OJAS]

58 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

What a nightmare, and a warning to all of us Brits. I last applied for a new passport 2 years ago via VFS with no hassle. Things have clearly deteriorated since then, as with most public services in the UK. Hope you get this resolved soon. and grateful for any updates.

 

Unfortunately, what the OP's experience clearly demonstrates is that, even where agents are used to mitigate the worst bureaucratic excesses of the UK passport renewal process from Thailand, there is still no guarantee of immunity against blatant displays of crass stupidity and idiocy on HMPO's part.

 

[Zapitapi]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:11 PM, cliveshep said:

Well, following Googled advice although my passport does not expire until 16th January next year I decided to play it safe and apply now. At 79 I figure I can afford to loose a few months, So after initial hiccups with VFS caused by their web site being down and complaining I did get to make an appointment for 21st May once they settled in to their swanky new offices.  I downloaded the form, filled it in, laboriously scanned and printed colour copies of every page of my extended passport (only used about 6 pages so won't do that again) and put together proof of residence and address - an AIS bill in my name with full address all in English and scans of my car and motorbike licences also giving the address in English. This will be my 4th renewal and HMPO have mailed the wrong email address needing more info, in spite of VFS Global emailing me from the address on the application form confirming sending the docs to the UK but the HMPO muppets were too careless. I only realised when they sent a text advising email sent but it never arrived.

 

So I emailed the help line who came back quite quickly asking for various info like proof of address etc and sundry other info they already had. After the 1st 3 0r 4 replies to me it became clear they could not find the application based on what they said. However, each time they emailed me it was to ask a different question but the real killer came with their email no 7 where they basically refused to renew the passport unless I submitted documentary proof showing the town or village where I was born and proof I was British. Now I was adopted and apart from my parents telling me I was born in Herts there is nothing in writing. They have been dead for 40 years so I cannot ask them. HMPO apologised for waiting over 30 years (3 passports to date) to discover they didn't know the town or village I was born in but demanded documentary proof like original birth certificate. I have the one my parents were given after the adoption order in 1946 - but I have no Adoption Certificate nor am I likely to ever get one. The UK birth certificate notes I am an adopted child. Doesn't say where from of course and adoption details were mostly kept secret. 

 

So I am waiting HMPO email no 8 hopefully answering my query about if I send them this nearly 80 year old document, the original birth certificate, will they undertake to (a) not lose it and (b) send it back safely. Unspoken of course is how much more do they want to know that they've already been told

 

This is  totally farcical and with high blood pressure I don't need all this effing stress from morons. Who can I complain to as I feel a formal complaint is justified?

hey.. ask for a "remedy" there is always a way around everything..i hear your frustration it is a nightmare dealing with those bastar...! i had similar issues with the "schermans" the point is that a passport is NOT a documentation that proves you are british ..hence they asking for additional paperhowever there might be a process to get a paper proof that u are british and that eleminates the need for birth cert. etc. in germany it is called "schtaatsburgerschaft ausweiss" or yellow paper.. but looking at your age it might be too much trouble fighting with idiots:)

[Blueman1]

On 6/6/2025 at 3:06 PM, cliveshep said:

This is the next to last mail I got from them, the last one promises to return documents. Of concern is the insistence I prove what town or village I was born in. No problem, I'll track down the midwife via a seance.  I hope and pray the original birth certificate that gives details of adopted parents suffices else I'll be in deep dodo.

There is no way I can prove that almost 80 years later especially in the chaos so close to the end of the war.

https://static-logos.notifications.service.gov.uk/bc9eb012-fd36-4bf0-a201-b915f203ddec-homeofficecrest.png HM Passport Office

	Dear CLIVE SHEPPARD, Application reference: 537 452 2543 We need you to send us more documents We cannot continue with your passport application because we need more documents. Send evidence that confirms your place of birth We need you to confirm your place of birth before we can continue and print your passport. Unfortunately we cannot accept Herts as your place of birth because it is a County name. We need to know the village, city, or town you were born, so we can add this to your new Passport. Not doing so when issuing your previous passports has been an oversight on our part, please accept our apologies for this. Send your birth certificate or adoption certificate. If your birth certificate does not show your place and country of birth or you do not have the original you can order an official copy at: https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate The formats we can accept We usually cannot accept photocopied documents unless we have told you we can for that type of document. Only send laminated documents if that is the only format the issuing authority provides for them. How to send us documents When you are sending us documents or letters, make sure you: we only want the items we have asked for use a strong envelope that is the right size for anything you need to send us check the weight and pay the correct postage – consider using a signed and tracked service send to this address – this includes the application reference so we can match anything you send us to your application HM Passport Office INT-DOCS 537 452 2543 Three Cherry Trees Lane Hemel Hempstead HP2 7HQ UK We will return any evidence you send us when we are finished with it.

@cliveshep I'm Not trying to Hijack Your Post My Friend,But I'm having Similar problems with The DWP ( Another Bunch of Beaurocratic IDIOTS ) They have only been Paying me 23/30ths of a Singlemans Pension and also 23/30ths of the NEW Pension Since it changed, Despite them having PROOF Of My / Our Marriage certificate which is even stamped by the British Embassy in Bangkok on the day of Marriage in 1993,All The DWP Have done for the past 3 Months is IGNORE My emails, But they have sent me 15 emails asking for MORE Information,So I've had NO Other choice than to ask my last MP In England to Intervene which I'm Happy to say he now has done,I DON'T Think they will IGNORE Him, Or WILL They ??..BTW, My PITTANCE Of what they've paid me was FROZEN Whilst I / We were living in The U.K. In 2014 ( My 1st Pension ) & IS Still frozen at the same rate until the present day.....I've asked THEM In the Past " How Could a Married Couple be expected to Live on 7  Pounds a Day After Expenses" Of Course I Was IGNORED...!!

[Blueman1]

What IDIOT Has Thumbed Down my Post.....YOU are a D***Head....

[Unamerican]

Probably not a thumbs down for you or the post, just sympathising with you and directed at your  situation and its causes. 

[Purdey]

25 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

What IDIOT Has Thumbed Down my Post.....YOU are a D***Head....

I suspect it is the same d*ckhead who used to press the "confused" icon on nearly every post previously. Some idiots have nothing to contribute.

[renaissanc]

Don't give up. You'll get a new passport in the end. Just keep trying. Eventually, you'll find someone in the HMPO who says: "We are being so stupid! Just give him a new passport!"

If I was in your situation, I'd tell them how the UK was different during WW2 and I'd even say to the JobsWorth officials that I had tried seances with the midwife and your adopted parents, but they said that they are unable to give a written statement any longer. (I can't stand brainless civil servants. They might have an Oxford degree, but they lost their common sense years ago.)

[Blueman1]

 Eventually, you'll find someone in the DWP who says: "We are being so stupid! Just give him His Correct Pension!" Afterall IT IS His Money & NOT Ours ........ Well I THINK I have a Much better chance now that I've got My MP Involved.....Yeah ?? 

[sherlockh]

On 6/6/2025 at 10:26 AM, cliveshep said:

Just checked if I can get pre-adoption details and came up with the answer which is yes but as I was adopted at 6 months old (presumably the papers were submitted a whole lot earlier) the law says if the adoption was before 1976 which if course it was, before the details can be released I have to attend a counselling session in the UK which is mandatory.

 

So I would need around £1000 air fares, pay for hotel accommodation and attend this counselling all to satisfy the little minds in HMPO that I am British and was born in xxx town or village if the gnomes insist on that detail. At that point it is official complaint time and probably have to go the ombudsman route if I am still alive. No way can I on a fixed tiny pension afford that, we struggle to survive now. Catch 22 - left or right I'm screwed over by mindless moron jobs-worths perhaps.

 

On 6/6/2025 at 9:06 AM, cliveshep said:

This is the next to last mail I got from them, the last one promises to return documents. Of concern is the insistence I prove what town or village I was born in. No problem, I'll track down the midwife via a seance.  I hope and pray the original birth certificate that gives details of adopted parents suffices else I'll be in deep dodo.

There is no way I can prove that almost 80 years later especially in the chaos so close to the end of the war.

https://static-logos.notifications.service.gov.uk/bc9eb012-fd36-4bf0-a201-b915f203ddec-homeofficecrest.png HM Passport Office

	Dear CLIVE SHEPPARD, Application reference: 537 452 2543 We need you to send us more documents We cannot continue with your passport application because we need more documents. Send evidence that confirms your place of birth We need you to confirm your place of birth before we can continue and print your passport. Unfortunately we cannot accept Herts as your place of birth because it is a County name. We need to know the village, city, or town you were born, so we can add this to your new Passport. Not doing so when issuing your previous passports has been an oversight on our part, please accept our apologies for this. Send your birth certificate or adoption certificate. If your birth certificate does not show your place and country of birth or you do not have the original you can order an official copy at: https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate The formats we can accept We usually cannot accept photocopied documents unless we have told you we can for that type of document. Only send laminated documents if that is the only format the issuing authority provides for them. How to send us documents When you are sending us documents or letters, make sure you: we only want the items we have asked for use a strong envelope that is the right size for anything you need to send us check the weight and pay the correct postage – consider using a signed and tracked service send to this address – this includes the application reference so we can match anything you send us to your application HM Passport Office INT-DOCS 537 452 2543 Three Cherry Trees Lane Hemel Hempstead HP2 7HQ UK We will return any evidence you send us when we are finished with it.

This sounds like a non-British individual, working for HMPO, and probably working from home (?India?).I wish you luck in your efforts to avoid becoming a stateless person.