UKtravelbear

Just a reminder as well (as it get's forgotten as it is a very recent change) that they no longer add up to 9 months of unexpired time from your old passport onto a new one.

corporate-wage-slave

That doesn't line up with what I thought the position was, namely that at least one passport office would start issuing blue ones from late February. Having said that, this area tends to end up running a few weeks/months later than the initial plans, and bringing things forwards isn't generally the way things work. The turn around time at the moment is very short, renewals being done within a few days, which tends to go upwards as we get towards Easter and the summer half terms and other school holidays. So personally I would aim to do renewals in February, after the key relevant votes in Parliament go through (or not as the case may be).

navylad

squawk

lcylocal

PITBULL1K

I've just renewed my passport, the laminate was coming away in the corner slightly but I took the risk and said the passport was fine - my view was that if there was a problem, they would let me know and I would do the full application. But then I had the time to do it if there was a problem. Interestingly, I filled the application on a Wednesday morning, sent off the old passport in the afternoon (next day delivery)...got a text lunchtime the following day saying it had been received....text that afternoon saying it had been checked and a text in the evening saying it was being printed....and finally it had been sent back to me. All in all pretty impressive and this was the standard service!

This was in contrast to the previous passport where the laminate eventually gave way exposing the photograph itself - I had ignored the growing damage for some time until departing Bulgaria, where the border police got very excited and made sure the damage was complete!

flatlander

How very unhelpful - damage to a passport is exactly when you might need another one in a hurry, just like loss.

navylad

iamnibblypig

Geordie405

I would agree that replacing the passport now is the sensible approach. I had an issue with a previous passport (pre-biometric) where the laminated picture page was starting to peel away and although I was never refused entry on it, I did have some very stern questioning from US CBP when I entered the USA on it, and that also included the immigration officer inspecting the lamination with an eye glass to ensure that I hadn't swapped the photo!

Gshumway

A tale about damaged passport. I went on another trip and when I came back, I had my shoulder bag on the floor at home. A day later my wife found the password out of the bag and dog had tried to eat it. Now all that damaged was the back outer liner (a strip partly bitten off), the actual important page (machine readable part, personally information) and all other pages to put stamps on were fine.

This was a German passport and I had to travel to Germany and renewal for passport wasn't possible before hand. Coming into Germany, border control had no issue with it. BA check-in in SFO, LHR and on the way back in HAM and LHR didn't either. Nor did border control on leaving Germany. But the contractors at the gate in HAM did. Wouldn't let me board for the longest time. US border control never saw the passport, as I have Global Entry and that uses my Green Card for the scanner.

I just loved how BA checkin in HAM and border control was fine with it, but the person at the gate wasn't, even after pointing out that I already had it checked twice...

Often1

This points to the bottom line problem. One is at the mercy not of the law, government policy, or air carrier policy, but rather, of one employee of a contractor to a carrier at one gate on one day.

To be fair, carriers may be fined substantial amounts of money for delivering passengers without proper documents. I am fairly certain that BA takes that out of the hide of the contractor and none of that results in a medal for the employee. So, nothing in it for the employee, why do anything but impose the strictest possible interpretation.

scubaccr

The previous version laminated the supplied photo, as a against the newer ones scanning+printing photo. Any damage to ones photo page is usually a big no-no at any countries immigration. Also if a page gets torn out also for most countries immigration a big no-no, they will suspect deliberately removed to hide overstays/removal-repatriation type stamps.

My laminated version, expiry 2014, with too much travel/use ended up with backing paper around photo getting weeak/tearing around a corner of photo. Entering NL, the immigration booth said that my passport was no longer acceptable, and asked to see extra photo-id to admit me. Obviously unlike NL/Spain etc UK has no national-id-card, but the officer suggested uk driving license card which luckily i had

Since i was working mon-fri as contractor in NL, and would not be able to work if refused NL entry , and thus not paid either, I immediately booked London Victoria Pasport Office , Friday morning Appointment, so you get back new passport circa 3hours later same afternoon.

Was also worried as forms say photo must be signed on back by 'professional' who knows you 2years, doctor, dentist, teacher, registered company director. Maybe not so important if not a postal application, but with my damaged passport and travel needs did not want to risk a refusal.
I even went further, went to company office, as wel as photos being signed, and had company letter written up, signed by MD stating "needed second passport so I could still travel for work whilst main passport away at embassies for visa applications" , so I could get two passports that days visit. So currently have two 10year passports for peace of mind, and so I can still travel abroad whilst my 'main' passport is getting business visa's .

(Apparently the old worn, tried, excuse to try and get 2x current passports, ie Israel stamp so cant then visit country xxx, is no longer accepted by Passport Office, I guess was abused by applicants saying that w/o actually doing such travel)

Agneisse