First time adult passport applications

[basis]

I just visited UKPA and saw a provision for First adult passport / First child passport - By appointment only at passport office counters - guaranteed one-week Fast Track service

If I am not wrong this was not available for first time applications before. And the advise always was to go for Post Office service. But now it seems there is a guaranteed one week service .

Beg your pardon if it was already mentioned on the board or if there is nothing new in it.

[John]

Basis, having just had a look at the UKPA website I have to say I think it is new. Previously it definitely said that first-time applicants needed to apply using the postal route or the High Street Checking Service, and not in person at a Passport Office. But now I simply cannot spot that restriction.

Indeed I cannot spot everything to stop a first-time applicant paying even more and getting the next-day service.

However, unless there really is a great rush to get a passport, why not just use the High Street Checking Service. The UKPA website says that will take two weeks. In practice it is usually a lot quicker than that. When my wife and step-daughter applied for their first-ever British Passports in June 2004, using the Post Office Checking Service, those passports arrived in just 10 days.

[basis]

Agreed John. Just wanted to share the info for people who are in real hurry - at not much additional cost the one week guaranteed service is now avaialble for first time applicants.

Which means that within three weeks of Naturalisation appliation one could get UK Passport - amazing.

[John]

Three weeks from naturalisation application to British passport? That would also depend upon the length of time a person needs to wait for their Citizenship Ceremony ... and that varies a lot around the country. A general guide would be the bigger the centre of population in which the person lives the more frequent the ceremonies. I have heard of people in very rural areas waiting over two months.

Also, at this point in time, there is a big rush to beat the new Citizenship Test or course requirement that comes in on 1st November. Accordingly it is reasonable to expect that applications submitted now will take a bit longer to process than those submitted even just a couple of weeks ago.

Personally I can't see any great advantage going for the one week guaranteed service for a passport. It involves attendance at a Passport Office which will be distinctly inconvenient for most of the population.

Now if there really is a great urgency I can see it makes sense to go for the next-day service, again at a Passport Office, as that is distinctly quicker than you would get using the High Street Checking Service.

[basis]

Agreed John. In any case I was giving the best case with this service

[olisun]

I got my PP in one week and I had used the Post Office service

[basis]

That's good. But there is a difference between guaranteed service and one where it could happen.

So if one does not want to take chances and if it is that urgent then it is a good option.

[Khurram]

Now if there really is a great urgency I can see it makes sense to go for the next-day service, again at a Passport Office, as that is distinctly quicker than you would get using the High Street Checking Service.

Source : UKPA - Fees
Just wanted to add a few things to the ongoing discussion:
1- For the first time passports, same day (Premium service) or next day service is not available.
2- And if one is thinking of applying at the Passport Office for the first time adult passport, might be worth applying for a 48 page passport. There is £1 difference in the fees, and will most certainly pay one off if you travel (or plan on travelling) extensively !

Regards

[John]

Khurram, thanks for pointing that out.

So given that most people applying via the Post Office Checking Service will end up getting their passport in a week, or not much more, and for many attending a Passport Office is going to be distinctly inconvenient, I think that most people will stick with applying via the Post Office Checking service.

Obviously the sooner an application is made the sooner the passports will arrive. The applications for my wife and step-daughter were checked at our local Post Office just a couple of hours after their Citizenship Ceremony ended. Passports arrived 10 days later.

[Khurram]

The applications for my wife and step-daughter were checked at our local Post Office just a couple of hours after their Citizenship Ceremony ended. Passports arrived 10 days later.

I applied for mine at the Passport Office (sometimes in the afternoon), and was pleasantly surprised when the courier knocked on our door the very next day (in the morning) with both my previous and new passports ! Please don't ask me as to what prompted UKPA for such an expedited processing, as it still continues to amaze me to this day !

Regards

[basis]

So you applied at Passport office and not the Post office Khurram.

[Khurram]

Yes I applied at the Passport Office. Here is a list of UKPA's regional offices, you'll need to make an appointment though if you are thinking of using this fast track service.

Regards

[John]

Khurram, many people are not so lucky as to live near a Passport Office. We are in Birmingham and the nearest office is Peterborough, 81.2 miles away ... says the maps.google.co.uk website.

So of course we used the Post Office Checking Service ... just one mile drive away.

The service you describe ... impressive!