British Passport application processing timelines (only)

[Nkr0603]

I even called up last week and was told it should be printed the monday thats just gone wven thought its a first time adult they have no clue what theyre on about i sed dont i have to go for a interview and was told no.. Is there nothing i can do.!! Arrgh

[akash08]

Guys,

How do you know which office is dealing with your application?

[Nkr0603]

Call the 03002220000 number and ask them. Or the delivery tracking from the post office

[junk2014]

Application Timeline

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New (Registered Citizen)
Method of application: Online (BETA)
Date of application: 24 Apr 2014 online, 29 Apr 2014 posted additional form
Date application received by HMPO: 1 May 2014 (Signed For)
Date SMS Received: 4 Jun 2014 (after sending in additional paper form)
Date of return of documents:
Date of receipt of interview letter:
Date of Passport Appointment:
Date of Passport Receipt:

Other Updates:
Date: 29 May 2014
Description: Received letter (dated 26 May 2014) saying that I had missed some sections of the form (which I don't think so as the online system says that you can't proceed to the next section without completing the current section). They sent a paper form and asked that I fill it in and send it back. Posted 30 May 2014
As mentioned by Skimatic, it was the parents section that turned out to be missing.

[Pvsc27]

Fantastic form and fantastic info and people
Application Timeline

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New
Method of application: Post Office C&S
Date of application: 2 May 2014
Date application received by HMPO: 6 May 2014 - i did send query using online help
Date of return of documents: waiting
Date of receipt of interview letter: 29 May 2014
Date of Passport Appointment:3 June 2014, Reading
Date SMS Received: 4 Jun 2014 (not for application acknowledgement, but saying passport is being printed)
Date of Passport Receipt: 5 Jun 2014

All the best to other guys

[19eggs]

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New
Method of application: Camden Post Office C&S
Date of application: 5th June 2014
Date application received by HMPO: TBC
Date of return of documents: TBC
Date of receipt of interview letter: TBC
Date of Passport Appointment: TBC
Date SMS Received: TBC
Date of Passport Receipt: TBC

NB: I wrote the details of my grandparents in a separate document and sent. The C&S did not ask for it but when I said incase you need it, they said "More documents, better" as it is a first adult passport. I think you don't need to send as it is via "Naturalisation".

For Parental Grandparents, wrote their names and other details as "Not Known". For Maternal Grandparents wrote their names and dob and Date of Marriage as "Not Known".

[psTier1]

Application Timeline
Passport for: 2 Adult + 2 Child
Application Type: New (Nationalised)
Method of application: Postal (Sent through Special delivery)
Date of application: 13/05/2014
Date application received by IPS: 15/05/2014
Date SMS Received: 19/05/2014
Date of return of documents:
Date of receipt of interview letter:
Date of Passport Appointment:
Date of Passport Receipt:

Hi asadulla, Any update on your family application? My timelines are also same.

[techie_09]

My Application Timeline:

Method of Application: Post Office check & send
Date of Application: 03/05/2014 (Post Office)
Date of Application Received by IPS: 08/05/2014
Date of SMS Received: None
Date of Fees deduction: N.A.
Date of Receipt of Interview Letter: 04/06/2014 (dated 02/06/2014)
Date of Return of Documents: 05/06/2014
Date of Interview booked: 06/06/2014
Date of Passport Receipt: TBC

[UK British UK]

Anyone submitted their application around 23 April and still waiting for interview letter and documents?

[prokabungle]

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New
Method of application: Post Office C&S
Date of application: 6 May 2014
Date application received by HMPO: 8 May 2014
Date SMS Received: 12 May 2014
Date of receipt of interview letter: waiting
Date of return of documents: waiting
Date of Passport Appointment: waiting
Date SMS Received: waiting
Date of Passport Receipt: waiting

[asadulla]

Hi psTier1

I haven't recived any replay from HM office, expecting something next week. Hopefully.

[KimF]

[quote="KimF"][quote="KimF"]Application Timeline
Passport for: Adult
Application Type: New (Naturalised)
Method of application: Check and Send Service
Date of application: 07/05/2014
Date application received by IPS: 09/05/2014
Date of SMS Received: 12/05/2014
Date of return of documents: 02/06/2014
Date of receipt of interview letter: 28/05/2014
Date of Passport Appointment: 04/06/2014 Victoria
Date of Passport Receipt: 06/06/2014

Hooray! It was delivered this morning! A huge thanks to this forum for the information shared, and for keeping me sane! Good luck to everyone!

[zombie]

Update: My interview letter (Dhuram HMPO application) arrived today:

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New
Method of application: Post Office C&S
Date of application: 16 April 2014
Date application received by HMPO: 23 April 2014
Date SMS Received: 24 April 2014
Date of receipt of interview letter: 06/06/2014
Date of Passport Appointment: 10/06/2014
Date of return of documents: waiting
Date SMS Received: waiting
Date of Passport Receipt: waiting

Finally things seem to be moving at Dhuram HMPO

[akash08]

So, I got the reply from online status enquiry and the dreaded response: your application is with our Durham office.

There should be an option in the passport application to pay extra as a special service to ensure your applicaiton does not reach Durham!!

and this is what I replied (I know none will read but)

Thanks for your response. I was praying that my applicaiton should reach any office other than Durham but sadly not the case. I guess the indefinite wait like thousands other unlucky guys whose applications reached Durham starts now!

[BackTrack]

I also applied on the 7th may my application is at durham they are ridiculous ive called about 10 times and i am told something different each time i was told on the 30th june that there was a backlong and they were currently workin on applications from 28th april then i was told there isnt a backlog when i called yesterday is there any hope these people are a bunch of jokers. Its so depressing.

I applied on 24th April. I called them today 08456015175. They told me they are currently processing applications of 24th April 2014 .

They told you they are working on 28th April application , today they are working on 24th April going backwards. Big liars

I think in Durham office its lottery. Whichever application they pick up first

[skimatic]

Hi all,
Thanks for the great help on this board so far.
Here is my journey so far.. posting to also warn folks re the NEW BETA ONLINE SERVICE. Basically, there is a fault in the online form that is still not yet fixed when I last checked. Make sure you check that Section 4 (requesting parents' details) is included. In my case (and many before me based on the posts above), it was missing. 3 precious weeks later I got a 2nd class letter with a full paper form which i completed and sent express together with a letter requesting urgent processing based on planned travel and their website glitch. Thank the powers that be, I received my interview letter a week later..many calls later. Fingers crossed now!! Timelines below:
Passport for: Adult
Application Type: New / Replacement / Renewal : First time
Method of application: Online beta
Date of application: 24/05
Date application received by IPS: None
Date of letter requesting full paper form to be completed: 23/05. Returned by express delivery: 24/05
Date of return of documents: 06/06 (together with passport)
Date of receipt of interview letter: 30/05
Date of Passport Appointment: 02/06
SMS of passport printing : 03/06
Date of Passport Receipt:

06/06 (first attempt 04/06)

Final updates above - passport received this morning - yippee!!!
Thanks as well to this forum and the kind people who post here. Good luck to all.

[WHS]

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New
Method of application: Post Office C&S
Date of application: 22 April 2014
Date application received by HMPO: 25 April 2014 (Durham)
Date SMS Received: 28 April 2014
Date of receipt of interview letter: Not yet
Date of Passport Appointment: 10/06/2014
Date of return of documents: 06/06/2014
Date SMS Received: waiting
Date of Passport Receipt: waiting

My advice is to keep on phoning them. I received a call from Durham yesterday - the returned my original passport immediately and approved my application. Interview booked without the letter. Hopefully this whole nightmare will end by the end of next week!

[farrukhnizam]

Hi All,
Can anyone tell me i applied from Luton post office (passport checking service) how do i know which passport office is dealing my application.
Thanks

[whynot]

I applied on the 29th of april via post office check n send,. they send no sms, no letter of confirmation of application being received , nothing, I called after 3 weeks and was told we have your application, no interview letter so far, no nothing I am so >:( right now.

[whynot]

NOW ITS GOING STRAIGHT TO VOICE MAIL AUTOMATED CALL BACK SERVICE ON BOTH OF THE NUMBER ..OH DEAR ITS 2 DAYS TO 6 WEEKS , AND WHERE IS MY PASSPORT ?

[mgoblue]

So here are some things I have learned during this ludicrous process (in which I am still yet to receive my passport or any info about it!) which I hope will be helpful to some of you. It should be noted that my application is at Durham, so I'm not sure if this information will be useful (or necessary) when dealing with other offices.

1. When you call the 0300 number, it asks you to select whether you're calling from Britain or overseas. I have only ever selected the latter (since I am calling from the US) and each time I am transferred to someone within 30 seconds. So for those who have been put on hold for up to an hour when calling this number, I would suggest dialling "2" (the one for overseas applicants) and then, when you are transferred to someone, just claim that you must have "accidentally pressed the wrong number on your keypad". At least you won't have to wait.

2. The 0300 number is merely an advice line and their employees can do very little to help you. Moreover, these people generally give you attitude, which is understandable as I presume that they spend their entire livelihoods dealing with unhappy applicants, so don't contact them with high hopes or expect them to be overly helpful. As I understand it, the only way you can make some progress with your application is to have your case escalated, wherein an actual passport examiner contacts you directly. The call centre employees are able to commence this process - so this is what you should use them for.

3. As I postulated, the call centre likely deals with a plethora of unhappy applicants, so you're just a normal caller to them. In order to have your case escalated, it is essential to call them on multiple occasions. The way this happened for me was to call the office once, and demand that one of my supporting documents be returned immediately (I asked for my Australian passport to be returned because I need to travel very soon) - they then submit a note to the Durham office, asking a passport examiner to contact you directly within 72 hours to discuss the situation. After 72 hours passes without contact (it will - all they do is send you a generic email which you should disregard as it is entirely unhelpful), call the 0300 number again and say that no one has contacted you yet and your situation is absolutely urgent. They will then escalate your case and ask you for your contact info again so that someone from Durham can contact you directly. At this point, make sure that you request to be contacted by phone (as opposed to email) so that you can actually speak with the passport examiner.

I just completed this step this morning and will provide more information after they contact me.

4. The phone operators at the advice centre (0300 number) claim that they do not have the phone numbers of the Durham passport office and that even they can only contact them by email. Thus, if you ask them for a contact number for the Durham office, they cannot indulge you. However, another forum has posted this number as a direct contact to Durham: 0845 601 5175. I tried it once but was on hold for too long so hung up, but many others have reported success when using it.

Best of luck to all, you will be needing it!

[littlewing1]

Application Type: First time (overseas Adult, citizen by descent)
Method of application: Beta Online
Date of application: 20/03/2014 (confirmed receipt by HMPO)
Date SMS Received: n/a (I don't think online apps get these)
Date of return of documents:
Date of receipt of interview letter:
Date of interview appointment:
Date of SMS that Passport is being printed:
Date of Passport Receipt:

For anyone complaining about long wait times, I applied BEFORE the price decreased when the wait time was expected to be 6 weeks, and am in my 11th week of waiting. Gave them my life story in the "notes" section, and filled in EVERY "optional" section supplied to me online. As instructed online, I sent in my documents to the black hole that is the Durham office. Do not have my "foreign" US passport back, and need to renew that passport (expired in May) it in time for July/August travel- so apparently I'll not be travelling this summer at all. Have emailed the HMPO, and received the canned "your application is being processed" response, which is EXACTLY the unhelpful status on the tracking site.

[rilakkuma]

Application Timeline

Application Type: New, first adult passport
Method of application: Special Delivery (Self)
Date of application: 28/04/2014
Date SMS Received: 01/05/2014
Date of deduction of fees:01/05/2014
Date of return of documents: 05/06/2014-DX
Date of receipt of interview letter: 28/05/2014
Date of interview appointment: 28/05/2014
Date of SMS that Passport is being printed: 30/05/2014
Date of Passport Receipt: 02/06/2014

Finally, after 11 years, I end my journey of applying all sort different visas. I will feel free to settle and travel away.
Many thanks for people who shared experiences and information. It was great help!

[Eirikur]

Passport for: Adult First Time
Application Type: New
Method of application: Post Office C&S
Date of application: 2 May 2014
Date application received by HMPO: 6 May 2014
Date of return of documents: waiting
Date of receipt of interview letter: waiting
Date of Passport Appointment: waiting
Date SMS Received: never
Date of Passport Receipt: waiting

[AlexClark75]

Hello everybody :

I applied via Beta on line on 13/05/2014 and sent the documments on 16/05 the track number say received on GLASGOW office on 19/05/2014 .. I sent last week a e-mail to HMPO to track the application and they said my application has been received on 22/05/2014 in Peterborough office and in process of examination.

Someone know why they ask to post a Glasgow if next they transfer to Peterborough ? There is some checks in Glasgow first ?

Alex