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Hi,

Wondering if anyone has gone down this route.
We have requested for our passports back. Straight forward application.
QP is French national been exercising treaty rights for over 15 years, working in the same company. Wife (married for 14 years)
applying for (FM). Got my COA etc, and we requested passport back. Yesterday was 10 working days from
us asking the passports back, so we send in the 2nd form.
Husband called the helpline and was told that minimum they have to keep passport for 3 months? Apparently it's stated. Is that correct?

We have to travel on 1st May, and that was booked more than 9 mths ago, and can't be changed. We really need our passports back.

Thanks for your help.

Anybody has the experience of asking their passports back?
If it's urgent then how do you go about?
Is there a number other that you can call to talk to someone about your case specifically?

Please help.

I used the online form to ask for my passport back, I wrote in the extra info bit that it was urgent, and my passport came in 4 days.

https://www.gov.uk/visa-documents-returned

Wow.

You are lucky. I sent the form on the 27th March. 10 working days from tuesday (due to easter holiday)
and nothing. Sent the 2nd form which on the tuesday 5th of April, and I am still waiting for my passports.

hi
I have sent my passports return request on the 4th April, nothing yet, called helpline they said wait till 18th.
My 10 working days are finished today. But I think without checking the dates, she just added in her head two weekends and 10 working days.
I tried to give reference, given to me automatically after passport request, and she said she cant check.I dont know what is the use of it. She said if you don get your passport by Monday check at the bottom of request form there is a complaint tab use it to complaint.
But I couldnt find any such tab.

Yes, it's infuriating that you can't talk to someone on your specific case. I'm into my 2nd part of 10 working days wait.

The email you should send your complaint to is: complaints@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Even that you have to wait up to 20 working days for a response.

Update:

So we escalated the request by kept calling the call center.
First lady we got said they have no access to the information, so she will put our request as an urgent one, gave us a ref no. Said that they will call my wife (non EEA) tomorrow, and it takes 3 working days for them to access our information on their system.

So today, as expected, no one called my wife, I rang up and got another person, who went....what reference number, I have no idea what you are talking about. So I asked to speak to a manager who then told me that for this kind of urgent request, it is 5 working days! Does anyone know what is the standard procedure in that office?
Seriously, if you really do have to get your passport from the home office, it's never gonna happen. Till now no one can tell me what happened to our passports. are they sent out? lost within the home office?

hi,
this is the link to let HO know that you didnt get passport after 10 working


https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... quiry.ofml

woodsdevil wrote:Update:

So we escalated the request by kept calling the call center.
First lady we got said they have no access to the information, so she will put our request as an urgent one, gave us a ref no. Said that they will call my wife (non EEA) tomorrow, and it takes 3 working days for them to access our information on their system.

So today, as expected, no one called my wife, I rang up and got another person, who went....what reference number, I have no idea what you are talking about. So I asked to speak to a manager who then told me that for this kind of urgent request, it is 5 working days! Does anyone know what is the standard procedure in that office?
Seriously, if you really do have to get your passport from the home office, it's never gonna happen. Till now no one can tell me what happened to our passports. are they sent out? lost within the home office?

hi woods,
did you receive your passports today?

Nope nothing.
Going to call them soon.
Even asked MP to help. He said he sent enquiries to MP liaison office, and waiting for reply.
Seriously, why can't we get our passport back

Called again today. Ask to speak to manager. He is not around. Waited till they found someone who can talk to us. In the end is useless, they said we will have to talk to secretary of state?? Really? I would like they connect me to him.

She said that an urgent request has been put in with the referral department and we will have to wait 3 to 5 working days for any response. And they can't do anymore than that? I asked what happens after the 5 working days, she said called and ask? Really? We are hitting a thick wall here. Unbelievable that the Home office can get away with such incompetence.

I don't understand why they can't tell us where our passports are?

Secretary of State for the Home Department is Theresa May.

Her contact details are on her website: http://www.tmay.co.uk/contact

Yep I've done that and sent an email already. Doubt will hear anything back. Seems to the the theme of the home office. You can call, email, send forms and you won't hear back from us - ever.

Basically if anyone is applying for your RC, and need your passports back,
do give min of at least 25 working days according to their procedure:

1. First form - 10 working days
2. If you don't get anything back - 2nd form, wait 10 working days again.
3. Call them and they will give you another ref number and ask you to wait 5 working days.
4. If still nothing, they say call back and who knows how many more working days we have to wait.

This is unbelievable. We found out that the European call center is actually in Newcastle and have
no link or even phone number to contact the case workers unit in Liverpool. No difference from your standard
call centers for let say insurance etc, though I think they know even less.

The more I dig, the more things I find out. Prior to 2015, EEA applications had priorities which was why my previous application took less than a month.

https://www.freemovement.org.uk/expedit ... plication/\

Sigh, I think I am gonna loose a fortune on my holiday, which was planned months ahead as it was requested a year ago for my sabbatical when approved, my holidays were booked.

I feel a little obliged to reply this thread as I was following it for a couple of weeks.

I was in the same situation with woodsdevil - have trips planned before getting the passport back. But I finally got mine just before another long-prepared trip. So here is the time line:

Application (FM & QP) submitted: 30/03/2016
Application received: 01/04/2016
First ROD form submitted: 04/04/2016
Email to QP: 14/04/2016
First "Document not Received" submitted: 15/04/2016
Bio-metric enrollment (lettre & enrollment): 16/04/2016 letter dated 13/04/2016
Second ROD form submitted WITH case ID: 18/04/2016
CoA received: 25/04/2016 with right to work and dated on 21/04/2016
Passport received: 26/04/2016 with letter dated on 21/04/2016

From my point of view, I believe it's the Royal Mail who's the bottle neck of the whole process: 3 days to deliver a mail between two main cities in the UK and 5 days to deliver a Signed-For tracked mail?! They should privatize the sector.

Anyway, good luck to all the EEA RC applicants who are still in dire needs of their passports.

I got my passport back after my MP intervened.
They sent out the passport on the 18/04
and I received it on the 21/04. It wasn't the postoffice, the HO sent out via second class signed for.

Anyway just glad to have my passport back.

HI evry body i hope u all doing well i have an quiery abt retun of documents.how can i aske them to send my documents back without withdrawl of my application i applied for eea(fm)
And for my wife eea(qp) can any body guide me with the basic steps thank you

https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outrea ... ments.ofml

Fill up that form and also select No when it ask that do you want to withdraw the application.