Originally Posted by
RigpigMalta
Chuvash it might be the same for French but UK second passport rules are both your questions 1 & 2 and yes they do check before, letter has to be on company letterhead written by an executive or head of HR etc .... Specific examples of why needed etc (I am just getting my 2nd renewed again because it's full after 3 years and it was a 48 page one too!)
All the people I know in the UK who have needed a second passport (and that is quite a few) have received it. Yes there are rules, but it seems to work at the end. By contrast, I am still to meet any fellow Frenchman who has managed to get the same. It could be chance but I suspect that for whatever reason, the French authorities are just making this difficult.