Passport Application

Hello gurus,
Hope you're all doing great.

Next week, my partner will be attending her British Citizenship Ceremony, following the recent approval of her application, after which she will formally become a British citizen.
She is then planning to apply for her first British passport.
She is an EU citizen. While awaiting citizenship approval, she renewed her EU passport through her national embassy in London. She has now received her new passport by post; however, her previous passport was not returned. We assume it has been cancelled, as the new one has been issued, although she was not informed as to whether the old passport would be returned separately or retained.
My question is as follows: when applying for her first British passport, will she only be required to submit her current valid passport as proof of identity, or will she also need to provide her previous (now presumably cancelled) passport, which she has not received back?
I ask because, whilst the process for EU citizens is often relatively straightforward, there can sometimes be ambiguity in the requirements, which may lead to misunderstandings.
Thank you!

You can't provide something which you don't have - many authorities don't return old, expired passports, destroyed presumably. Just provide the current passport together with a note explaining. If you should have a copy of the old passport provide that as well. This happens regularly and HMPO are aware of how other authorities work. It is not a reason to refuse a passport.

alterhase58 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 20, 2026 11:16 am

You can't provide something which you don't have - many authorities don't return old, expired passports, destroyed presumably. Just provide the current passport together with a note explaining. If you should have a copy of the old passport provide that as well. This happens regularly and HMPO are aware of how other authorities work. It is not a reason to refuse a passport.

Thank you very much for your prompt reply alterhase58!!!
As always your replies and perspectives are quick and to the point. We will provide colour copies of the old passport, which we have -for all pages - along with the new one + an explanatory note.
Once again a huge thanks for all your support through the years!