Passport

[237SJ]

I put an application for a new passport in the post last Wednesday and it`s just come through my letterbox. Has anyone every received a passport quicket than that? That`s got to be a record.

[Count-A-Strong]

Mine took about a week also, as did the Countess's. Must be a bit slow at the moment.

[redcrx]

i sent 3 off in the post on the Monday, my renewal and 2 childrens first ones, and got them back on the Thursday of same week

[ummmm]

I got mine back in less than a week.

[237SJ]

Well the passport office is certainly efficient. I`ll say that for them

[redcrx]

i think that, like any other company / service, that people only make noise about things when service is poor. Thats why we are all amazed when we get passports back so quickly :)

[buildersmate]

Its pretty simple really. Number of people contemplating travelling is lower at this time of year, so numbers thinking about passport renewal is smaller.
Number of workers in Passport Office is fixed, unless that agency is thinking of clearing a few out.
Result: backlog goes down - perhaps to zero.
The true activity time in a process like this is only a few tens of minutes - its the queueing time between the steps that has gone down and results in a quicker turnaround time.

[factor-fiction]

Mine was delivered on a Sunday by courier

[237SJ]

factor - a courier delivered mine I think. The ironic thing is that I didn`t answer the doorbell because I keep getting visits from double glazing people. Luckily he put it through the letterbox.

[alexanderd]

naughty, naughty, courier should have got a signature for a passport

[DTCwordfan]

Nice to hear about good government service.

And they had to use a courier to ensure this, and not the Royal Mail, now christened the Royal Snail.

[nightmare]

4 years ago, I took my passport application to the office in Durham on a Wednesday morning. My passport was delivered 3 days later.

[hasbeen2]

good to hear the passport service is so good as we need ours renewed this year.

[boxtops]

Sounds like you ought to do it now, hasbeen, before people start thinking about their summer holidays!

[hasbeen2]

think you might be right boxtops,but it says expires in august i just checked just now,,cheers

[boxtops]

Hasbeen, I've just checked - you can renew up to nine months in advance, and have the unexpired time added to the new passport - August is only 8 months away so you can do it now. Have a look here, I hope this helps http://www.direct.gov...ourpassport/DG_174096

[hasbeen2]

thanks for that boxtops very good of you,i was going to wait till nearer august but not now, will do it at the start of next week,hope i can return the favour to you sometime,you are on my nice person list cheers.

[spudqueen]

I'm the unlucky one then. I used the Post Office check and send service a week last Thursday. Friday this week I got a letter saying there was a problem with my application, today I got a letter saying my photo was wrong (my head is at an angle!?). Still not got my application back to deal with it, and I go away in less than 6 weeks. Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh