With the summer season now underway, countless travellers find themselves in need of a passport. The document is essential for anyone planning to venture abroad, and it must satisfy certain specific criteria. For instance, following Brexit, those travelling to the EU using a UK passport need to ensure their passport's date of issue falls within 10 years of their arrival date.
The expiry date must also extend at least three months beyond the intended departure from the Schengen area, which is made up of some 29 countries, including Spain, Greece, France, and Italy.
Standard Processing Times
According to His Majesty's (HM) Passport Office, when applying for a new or replacement document, you'll usually get your passport within three weeks. To help travellers determine precisely when to expect their documents, the independent website UK Passport Waiting Time is monitoring current processing times for new or replacement passports.
The team, which operates independently from HM Passport Office, collects data from members of the public, including when they submitted applications and received their new documents.
Its most recent figures show people are waiting an average of 19 days for a first adult passport, and 14 days for a replacement or renewed passport. According to the website, the average processing time for a first child passport stands at 16 days, while a replacement takes 15 days.
Real-Life Experiences
One traveller using the Corby passport office, who was applying for a replacement passport, shared on the site that they submitted their application on May 19. They said: My passport was initially water damaged (to the point where the signature and previous immigration information had smudged) so required a replacement. No issues with digital photo submission from myself, just making sure to have a lot of light and a white background, and setting a timer to take the headshot (as I had no one else available) seemed to be sufficient.
They subsequently received their new document 23 days later, on June 11. A second applicant revealed they had applied for a first adult passport through the Hemel Hempstead passport office. They said after submitting their application on May 1, they received their travel document on June 6 - 36 days later.
Factors Affecting Waiting Times
Of course, timescales may differ between applicants, and HM Passport Office clarifies that: It may take longer than three weeks if we need more information, or we need to interview you. We'll tell you this within three weeks. There are different turnaround times if you're applying from another country.
Urgent and Fast Track Services
Those requiring an urgent replacement passport can make use of the one-day Premium Service, though this comes at an additional cost, with an adult passport priced at £239.50. A one-week Fast Track service is also available for renewing or replacing an adult or child passport, as well as applying for a first child passport. This option costs £192 for an adult passport and £156.50 for a child's passport.
