How Long Are Uk Passport Renewals Taking ?

[cerbera]

Has anyone been to Hong Kong to speed up process....Need to renew kids UK passports

[theoldgit]

I'm pretty sure that actually going to Hong Kong will not speed up the process, given that the passports are printed and delivered from the UK you may actually give yourself a problem.

[VisasPlus]

As TOG says, passports are now being issued in the UK, not Hong Kong. This begs the question of why we are still paying almost double for passports to be issued when we apply overseas. The application is ent to the UK and processed there, so why are we paying the same old double price ? In early October I wrote to IPS ( Identity and Passport Service ) asking this question. I am still waiting for a reply to the question, although I have received the following :

> Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:02:48 +0100

>

> Dear Mr ..........

>

> Thank you for your enquiry.

>

> I have passed your email on to your local passport office for a reply. They will contact you within 2 working days.

>

> Thank you.

> Customer service e-mail team

20 Oct 2011

Thank you for your enquiry I am sorry to hear that the Peterborough Passport Office has not contacted you. I have again passed your message on to them. If you do not hear anything within 2 working days please do not hesitate to contact me again. If you need a quicker response, you can call the Helpline on 0300 222 0000. This is a 24 hour service but if you call between 9am-5pm, Mon-Fri, they will be able to put you through to the Peterborough Passport Office. Thank you.Customer service e-mail team

28 Oct 2011

Dear Mr .....

Thank you for your enquiry

Passport fees are set to cover the costs of providing passport services and are levied on the simple basis of covering the cost of our operations. British passports are not subsidised by the tax payer. All costs for producing a passport have to be covered by fees but the issuing authority does not make a profit. By reducing the number of places where we produce passports, we have managed to realise savings that have allowed us to keep costs to customers down and maintain processing times.

If we had continued to produce passports in 90 locations worldwide, the passport fee would have been significantly higher. This is why the FCO and IPS are working together to rationalise the passport service overseas.

Thank you.

Customer service e-mail team

28 Oct 2011

Dear Mr .........

Thank you for your enquiry.

I have forwarded, your last email, on to the office in Peterborough.

They should be in contact with you shortly.

Thank you.

Customer service e-mail team

7 Nov 2011

Dear Mr ........

Thank you for your enquiry

I am sorry that you have received no response to date. This is an IPS Policy matter which we are unable to answer through this service.

If you wish, we can register a complaint on your behalf and forward this to the appropriate authority to obtain a response for you.

Please advise if you would like to begin this process.

Thank you.

Customer service e-mail team

8 Nov 2011

Dear Mr ............

Thank you for your enquiry

As our systems are designed for UK applicants only we are unable to lodge a complaint using a Thai address.

Do you have a UK address we could use for the purposes of the complaint?

Thank you.

Customer service e-mail team

8 Nov 2011

Dear Mr .........

Thank you for providing an address in the UK.

I have logged your complaint and your original question, with the Identity and Passport service and you should receive a letter from them regarding this.

Unfortunately, at present, I am unable to give you a timescale for this, but if you have not heard anything within 3 weeks, please reply to this email.

Thank you.

Customer service e-mail team

Well, I'm still waiting. I'll let you know if I ever get a reply to the original query !

[theoldgit]

It's valid point you make VP, I do agree with the IPS that the cost of issuing passports should be cost neutural and not subsdised by the taxpayer. But they cannot have it both ways, if they are reducing their costs and printing passports in The UK then they cannot justify higher charges for those of us living overseas, save for the extra cost of delivery.

I seem to remember reading a recent IPS Business Plan where they stated an objective to allow "customers", including those living overseas, to order and pay for new passports online, when this comes in there will be even less justification for the higher charges, again save for delivery.

I will be interested to hear what answer you get.

[elliss]

I'm pretty sure that actually going to Hong Kong will not speed up the process, given that the passports are printed and delivered from the UK you may actually give yourself a problem.

is it possible to send your application and passport ,

with DHL direct to the UK passport authority ?.

[7by7]

Who sets these charges? Is it the IPS or the government.

Visa and LTR processing is also supposed to be cost neutral, but the charges are way above the actual cost and this part of the UKBA runs at a profit. A decision made by the Blair and Brown and continued by Cameron and Clegg.

The UKBA have to charge whatever fee the politicians tell them too; is it the same with the IPS?

I should add that I have no objection paying a reasonable fee for either a visa or a passport. As long as the fee is set at a level to cover the cost and not used as an invisible way of raising revenue for the exchequer!

[7by7]

is it possible to send your application and passport ,

with DHL direct to the UK passport authority ?.

I am 99.9999% sure that it is only possible to apply in the UK if you are in the UK.

Applications in Thailand have to be made via Hong Kong.

The process does seem fairly straightforward, and although some people have reported delays in receiving their passports back, most do seem to have had their new passport within the 4 weeks quoted; one example.

See How to apply from Thailand (Renewals)