Supporting docs first Passport Application

[RichardJ]

I’ve just had my naturalization approved and moving on to the next step of booking ceremony and finally passport.

My question is regarding sending my current passport and supporting docs when applying for my first British passport.

Can I send certified copies of my current passport rather than the original passport along with a cover letter explaining I need original passport for travel? I will be sending my expired passport along with the original ceremony certificate (could this be a certified copy too?) but as I have travel coming up I don’t want to send my current passport.

The alternative is to wait until this batch of travel is done and I think I have a 6 week gap and apply then but at this stage I just want the whole process over!

I searched old topics for this issue to no avail so apologies if it’s come up before.

Many thanks

[RichardJ]

I found this article on the Gov website from Sept 2016. Can anyone verify this is still policy or not?
Thanks

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/avoi ... -documents

"Photocopies, or copies certified by a Justice of the Peace, are not accepted in support of a UK passport application unless otherwise stated on GOV.UK. If photocopies or certified copies are submitted, HM Passport Office will write to request the original document and your application will take longer to process.

There is one exception: if you are an Australian citizen (or hold any another nationality) you can submit a colour photocopy of every page of your non-British passport, rather than the passport itself. This is to allow you to continue to travel on your other passport while we process your application. Please note that you may be asked to produce the original document at a later point."

[RichardJ]

If it's of use to anyone I spoke to someone at the Passport Office and they confirmed colour photocopies of your current passport and a cover letter explaining why you need to keep your current passport (ie work) will be sufficient and should not make processing time any longer.