The Green

What business of the UK govt is it what visas are in a passport submitted for renewal?

Section 107

What is and what we are taught to think it should be are often not the same....

catandmouse

If I remember correctly it says somewhere that the passport is the property of HM Government (and therefore doesn't belong to the holder).

HkCaGu

Do I need A4 paper (something not easy to find in the USA)?

:D!

British passports contain the wording "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State Requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary."

Therefore it would seem to me that the countries you travel to on that passport are their business.

The correct question to ask is - what business is it of the UK government what other passports you hold (and by extension what visas are in those passports, which in my opinion are none of their business)?

I don't know of any other countries that do this; some countries which do not permit dual citizenship may require a declaration that one has not obtained another passport from another country or such and such, but they are hardly going to request to see the other passport especially if one is deceiving their government already.

The Green

I asked a similar question of the Irish government as regards their passports. Their response was they had zero interest in what stamps or visas were in passports submitted for renewal/cancellation. The only reason they wanted the old passport back was for verification of citizenship and cancellation of the old passport book. My passport happens to be full of stamps from countries that would not be considered friendly by HM Government but the Irish don't bat an eyelid and they never take more than a day or 2 to renew.

stifle

No. Letter is fine.

thadocta

I posted mine from the Blue Mountains, about 100km west of Sydney, one Thursday. The following Thursday, it showed as "Received - Processing" - 12 hours later it showed as "Despatched" (on the Friday. I received the new passport the following Friday, so 15 day turnaround, all but one day of which was postage (and NO expedited delivery requested).

Dave

Bartolo

Does anyone know if it's still required to provide photocopy of passport from another country for a BR passport renewal? I read the 30 page booklet about passport renewal but didn't see anything about that.

Also upthread somebody mentioned colour copy If a photocopy is needed, is colour copy absolutely required?

HkCaGu

The 30-page booklet you're reading (probably the one updated 30 March 2017) is apparently for applying in the UK. There are other booklets I found on HMPO's website if you click on applying from abroad.

Reading the "within UK" booklet it seems to me they actually want you to send in the physical other passports themselves, while the "outside UK" chart still wants the color photocopy of every page.

TemboOne

My wife and I are in our 70s; live in Canada and have dual citizenship.

Our British Passports expired in 2014 and we would like to renew them, but are reluctant to do so from Canada as we are now required to send applications to the USA.

Ideally we would like to visit the UK and renew them using the premium same-day service, but there seem to be a few snags. (We can enter on our Canadian passports).

Firstly, we cannot obtain the required passport renewal forms for UK applications from here - is there any way to get them by mail?

Secondly, how much in advance must an appointment be made to use the premium same-day renewal service?

Finally, do our British Passports fall within the class that can be processed under the premium same-day service?

Any experts out there able to offer advice and/or suggestions please?

Thank you!

Bartolo

Just did this last week. Appts can be booked 3 weeks ahead by telephone or online. Mon-Sat appts offered. Be aware the fee is paid when one books and is non-refundable. No longer possible to renew thru US. Everything is now thru the UK.

The premium service costs more. £128 gets it in 4 hrs unless you have a late day appt. if you are in the UK longer, they offer a one week service -- cheaper.

To renew with premium, one needs a UK address and a cell number. Your hotel or similar seems to be acceptable.

One needs a hard copy of the application for premium service. They will not post it. Got mine at the post office in London. Must use black pen to complete. They were very specific about that.

Not all post offices have applications but easy to find one that offers a passport click and collect service on the internet. Of course they have it because they offer a service. Not on the counter. Must ask for it because they want to sell you their service. There were also hard copies at the passport office behind Victoria station. Suggest you take two. I had to redo mine and the second copy was important.

Read in the booklet that I needed to provide a colour xerox of my Canadian passport. Confirmed this ahead via email with passport office. Was laughed at when I got there. They will want a cooy of the ID page only. They can make it there.

Had the photos done in Canada and they were not acceptable, despite following all the rules. In London, there's a machine at the passport office that does it for £6 and accepts credit cards. Easier.

As you can imagine, building security is very tight. Had to have a follow up appointment. No problem for a friend to come on initial visit. Friend not allowed on second visit. I witnessed a mother being separated from her infant due to this rule. Once past security, it moved very quickly on both my visits. Still finishing pictures when number was called.

Can't comment on your eligibility for premium service but you can email them to enquire. Having a paper trail could be important. In order to make the appt online, one has to answer a series of questions. Guessing that answers will stream you if not eligible but I don't know for sure. Best to email.

They replied fairly promptly to my questions. I would lay out your situations and clarify exactly which supporting documents you need. Not easy to go home and get something you are missing.

All that being said, premium is the way to go. The renewal plus two way international courier is almost the same price. Not sure about you but I wasn't willing to surrender both my passports for an unspecified amount of time to a courier service.

Be prepared to spend the time. Uses up most of a day. Also, for four hours you must surrender all your documents. That was a bit unnerving. Was told to return at 5:23 pm. They actually were quite serious about the time. It was honoured.

Good luck.

SwissBritMiss

Just take the forms at the passport office... if you're not applying for your first UK passport then the form is really straightforward: no more than details about your passport, your personal details and address... I cannot find the form online (and neither do they accept home-printed forms) but this document gives you a comprehensive overview of the questions and what you need to bring: https://www.gov.uk/government/upload..._44_03.17_.pdf


The appointment itself only takes about 30 minutes, including waiting time. Then you're free to go until collection. Enough time for a long lunch somewhere. However, a warning - the Saturday I went the IT system was down, and everyone was being asked to go back on Monday. I had to fly on Sunday back home, and luckily they fast-tracked me. Anecdotally, this was not an isolated incident, though also anecdotally, all of us did indeed receive our passports same day in the end. Just a warning.

HIDDY

Yes that's how it worked when my wife renewed hers on our last visit using the same day service. We were in Glasgow for the first few days of the holiday anyway so I deliberately chose a hotel just a few minutes walk from the passport office. Certainly worth paying extra for.

I had hoped to renew mine this year using the same service, unfortunately we have been unable to travel so I have had to do it by post. It's a simple process for renewals. You fill out your application online, pay the £120 fee which includes the return courier fee, print out the declaration form, sign it, include two passport photos and your expired passport then post it.
That was last week so we'll see how long it takes.

Mizter T

Just kinda curious as to your thinking here? (A desire to have no dealings with the US, even if only their postal or courier systems?)