It is what it is, I have another country that requires me to go in person, with the kid, to the embassy - a 4 hour total journey just to apply for a renewal when we're supposed to be in school or at work!
Bureaucracy eh?
Maybe it's because in some other passports there might be notes and details which are counter to the UK delivery somehow, no clue, but I too had to scan 2 other passports for the kids UK renewal.
Same! Same! but with Schengen border control.
To be honest in the UK, they have only ever been polite, especially when you leave
FWIW I had a SMS from DHL that the passport would be delivered today. No time specified - and still waiting. Is there a DHL-gripes thread I can make use of?
The Dutch one requires the applicant to fill out a form online - using a very buggy app that is in beta-testing - print it, then make an appointment to go to the embassy in Bern for the biometric part. They have to go to the embassy again to collect the printed passport.
Cheers,
Nick
Oh, I think we can just hijack this one.
Mine is still stuck at East Midlands airport, but with an expected delivery of "27. September 2022 - By End of Day"
And DHL were a no-show. Phoned their lukewarm line - the consignment is still in the UK. Barstewards - I used up one of my WFH days to wait in.
All my days are WFH.
Next rant - the passport arrived and it had a massive mistake. It says “Her Britannic Majesty” on the first page. The confirmation the passport was being printed came after Brenda popped her clogs. With all these computers, surely somebody could have done a quick edit before printing it.
Cheers,
Nick
#MeToo
Well, is it still valid, Nick? Or will you have to have it reprinted?
Might be worth a bob or two in a couple of generations being a "rare" print of a passport bearing the name of a former monarch after her death.
I think it's valid, but since it will be one of the last ever printed with that text, it'll be worth a fortune in years to come.
Yes, I agree with u.
I would be very proud if I had HM The Queen's name on my passport.
For 70 years she was one of the most famous public figure. For sure also the most popular globally.
Anyway, Im glad that you and nickatbasel got ur passports quickly.
Wow just wow, inconvenience aside that sounds like a ridiculous level of beurocratic overreach. I had no idea.
I doubt it, far too many are printed !
I have a pristine,unused passport from my great aunt, issues in 1920's she could have travelled to 3 European countries, France, Austria and Switzerland, it was signed by hand, aas they all were at the time by the home secretary in person .
As a curio,somewhat interesting but very little value !
Now an Edward VIII passport, that would be worth something to a collector
Being an ardent royalist I shall hang on to it - it will make up for not having had the time to stand in a 5 mile queue to look at a coffin.
I will keep mine next to my collection of stamps and coins with Brenda's likeness on.
In fact, why can't they make passports downloadable like SBB tickets?
A downloadable phone app with a link to testable bio-metric data is entirely feasible with today's technology.
More modern countries have driving licenses and main documents as a phone app with QR code for validation.
I think passports will take longer, due to the need for ALL countries to accept it.
....and if the machine is down at the passport office, the wait could be very long, where a passport is easy to read manually as well as electronically. It is also often used in hotels etc, so they also would need access to the software to read passports which could then lead to other problems down the line.
Electronically is not always an improvement over what we already have, but nobody considers this once they hear the famous word "electronically" !!
Great. I got an email today and a text message saying "When your passport arrives, sign it in BLACK ink, or it won't be valid".
I got my passport yesterday. No mention of black ink - just that I must sign it.
Fortunately, I signed it in black. Tip: Don't sign it until you need it...
Just realised NickAtBaselJnr signed with blue ink. Though it looks very black. I’ll get him to go over it with a black pen.