Heartbreaking Overseas Passport Delays

Hi guys.. i would just like to know your own personal experiences of obtaining a first time childs overseas passport, through the Liverpool Passport Office.

I applied for my two childrens First Time Child Overseas Passports back in April. My children are British through desent, and the applicatiions were submitted from the Philippines. The Liverpool Passport Office have confirmed they recieved them on 2nd May. The only other contact i had was an email in September saying that they are going through standard security checks. I have called the passport helpline, maybe 30 times, all of which i have logged, but i have had not one response. I've requested callbacks, which have then been escalated further, which have then gone into complaints, but i've only had that one solitary email. I'm at my wits end! I don't know who to turn to. I have tried my local MP, but he has not been able to help either. I know this is a relativly new system, since it moved to Liverpool, but it seems an absolute shambles. I can understand they would have teething problems, but what is unforgivable is the complete lack of communiction, the complete lack of compassion for me and others in the same situation. There is no direct number to Liverpool, everything has to be done through the general passport helpline. 8 months is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for a passport. I don't understand why security checks would take so long.

I'd like to know if its just my application, or are any of you experiencing the same thing, or have gone through the same experience. How long have you had to wait for your overseas applications?

Sorry for the rant guys..hope to hear from anyone on this.

I can imagine your frustration, we went to the Philippine Embassy in London a while back and I thought a three month wait for the passport was bad but your situation is terrible. At least when you do receive the passports the renewal of them shouldn't be too bad, trying to look on the bright side.

What timeline did they give you when you initially applied?

When i applied in April it was 8 weeks for applications submitted from the Philippines, then that was revised on the gov.uk website to 16 weeks around May or June. I'm currently in my 35th week!

The British Embassy informed me last July that it is not accepting any Passport applications for the time being due to the problems with the Liverpool office; and that is still the case. The Embassy is offering to issue emergency travel documents to anyone who needs to travel in the meantime - but at a cost! The Embassy can not say when it will begin accepting and forwarding Passport applications. Maybe not at all.

Whilst I was in the UK last summer, I did speak with the Passport Office in Cardiff to see if I could get my sons' first Passports issued by them. The lady with whom I spoke told me, rather apologetically, that because my sons were not born in the UK, they could not help and I had to apply to the Liverpool Office via the Embassy. She did tell me that had I asked her a year ago, she would have told me that I could apply to the Passport Office in Cardiff and they would have issued them after about 10 - 14 days.

Yet another agency that has been totally mismanaged by Mrs May. God help the country if she is elected as the next leader of the Tory party.

The Embassy simply accepts completed applications and documents which are then sent to Hong Kong - where the Embassy issued Passports from 2009 until 2013. From there they are sent to Liverpool, end up in a box and seemingly forgotten. Not only does Liverpool Passport Office service much of the north of the country, it handles all the international applications as well.

But I have some good news. According to this page on the Government's Web Site, updated in the last 6 weeks, you can now apply for passports for children born abroad in the UK!! That's good news but according to that web site, our wonderful government seems to have closed the Passport Office in Wales (Newport, not Cardiff as I erroneously wrote earlier).

Lucky i got my applications in before July then! I sent mine off in April. I haven't had a request asking for additional documentation, and i haven't had my applications denied either. What security checks would take this long? I asked my countersignatory if he has been contacted and he hasn't, so that's not the problem.
Also i've tried researching about obtaining Emergency Travel Documents for my kids, but as far as i can make out, they would have had to have held a passport before to be able to have one. It seems they are for people who have expired or lost passports, not for those whom have never held one. Please correct me on this, as i'm having trouble finding reliable info on this and where to obtain them.

Thanks for your insights people

hi, I have just gone through the same process as you are going through and it took me 9 months to get our 2 children's passports by decent, so going on the time you have waited you are only weeks away. I have posted my timeline below

We applied online Feb 24th(in the Philippines)
Documents sent March 19th(on return to the uk)
Documents received on March 20th at Liverpool Passport Office
Received 2 British child's passports December 20th (9 months)

not sure if I can post a link from another forum but there is some good information which I wrote on there, which might help. I have also got the direct contact number and email address of the Liverpool office if you need it(not the contact centre)

http://www.filipinouk.co.uk/forum/s...n-(Child)-amp-Spouse-Visa?p=527149#post527149


will

Yes Will.. Please

That would be really helpful

Thanks very much
Ben

this is the contact number and email address, I have for the Liverpool passport office eqa/security team(not the contact centre) 0151 471 2772 or 0845 601 5107 or email address
liverpoolOverseastea@hmpo.gsi.gov.uk
liverpoolOverseasE@hmpo.gsi.gov.uk

hope it helps,

will

Thanks Will..that's a big help.

Good Luck

Wow! I just spoke to the rudest man you wouldn't believe. I rang the number you gave, and before i could speak he cut me off saying "did i send you a letter?" As i tried to speak again, he barked "did i send you a letter?" and when i said no he hung up on me. Wish i had recorded it. I'm guessing that number is for applicants that have been sent a letter requesting mre information. How did you get it Will?

Thanks anyway, was worth a try, hope i have better luck with the emails.

hi ben, yes they were really rude and they said the same to me..........I just told them I had a letter, which I never had and could they check my applications...I must admit that they did put the phone down a few times, but I rang back every time...I also rang the Newport office and made a complaint...as soon as I made the complaint the Liverpool office rang me back with 48rhs...

I made a complaint on this number 0845 601 5403 Newport passport office, this is the nearest office to me, but I am guessing you could do it any passport office

will

ben thinking about now, I think I goggled the Liverpool passport office phone number and found this number 0845 601 5107, I called this number and spoke to a really nice lady called mari...give her a call.

I think the EQA team did send me a letter, but I never received it.. it was about sending more documents which was not on the passport list(cfo certificates and a full colour scan of passport, i sent bio page and stamps). I think when they called me, when I made a complaint that was the number 0151 471 2772. call them again and tell them you have received a letter or ask to speak to there direct supervisor.

will

I'm in a simiilar situation. Been waiting over 1 year. Have you received yours yet?

Hi our daughter passport took 11months, try to contact ur MP