With less than six months to go on my current passport I applied to renew it. Renewal form and old passport sent by Recorded Delivery to Millburngate House in Durham at 3.40pm on Thursday 07 July. Passport Office website quotes at least three weeks to renew a passport, which isn't shoddy.
Anyhow, my new passport was delivered by courier at 9.35am today. Pretty amazing service. The only disappointment is I didn't get the other one back.
I received mine in double quick time too
DX courier delivered my new one and the old came back via Royal Mail later that day. Very impressive
My Wife just renewed both's my Sons and her own Via the post office service they said 3 weeks turn around and they all arrived back within 10 days.
You should get your old passport back with the corner cut off, this will be delivered my Standard Royal Mail, note this is case you have any valid work visas,
They don't send the old and new together, you will get the old separately .
The Passport office and DVLA seem to have really got it together in recent years.
Good to know I'll get the old one back. I didn't pay the extra fee charged for the Post Office clerk to cast his or her eye over the form. There's only a few sections of the form to complete for a renewal and the instructions for acceptable photographs are pretty clear too. In my mind, it's a bargain at £72.50. Mind you, I also hope to supplement it with an Irish passport in due course.
They took 4 days to do my partners, mine posted a day earlier took 2 extra working days!
Considering we'd stupidly waited till the start of the holiday season I thought it was pretty amazing service.
I've had cause to use them a few times and have never been disappointed.
First time went to London office and there was a problem with documentation not our fault not there fault either just a really odd set of circumstances, they couldn't proceed without more paperwork so had to go to Peterborough office as it was the only slot available before our holiday turned our to be the day of the 7/7 bombings.
Passport was delivered less than 12 hours before we were due to leave for the airport we knew it might not have made it in time but they pulled out the stops and it did.
Next time Newport office same day service excellent.
Then last year I needed 6 months remaining on my passport on my passport to get a visa to work in Azerbaijan but it wouldn't have had six months to run on the date I flew out or back. Got an emergency appointment for next day went to London a couple of hours later I had my passport and next day got my visa.
I was quoted 3 weeks which I could live with but it came with in a week which I thought was preety good.
I've had things turned round quickly when I've renewed in the past. Must be about 20 years ago but I managed to get one the same day once - from, I recall, a pretty dilapidated office just off the Mall, rather than from Petty France. From memory, I was given a 12 month passport that I could later exchange for a full 10 year one. Not sure if they still offer that facility.
Does Brexit mean we will all need new passports?
That was the case when the old passports were phased out, I recall.