# Uk passport due for renewal.



## Guest (Sep 25, 2012)

Hi
We are currently living in Portugal and have residency here. My four years old passport is coming up for renewal and as I am visiting the uk in a few weeks I thought I'd sort it out then. I've just looked at the website which suggests I need a different process through the foreign and commonwealth office which is more costly and complicated. I have a registered address in the uk can I not just go though the uk process? Has anyone got experience of this?
Thanks


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

j-lo-78 said:


> Hi
> We are currently living in Portugal and have residency here. My four years old passport is coming up for renewal and as I am visiting the uk in a few weeks I thought I'd sort it out then. I've just looked at the website which suggests I need a different process through the foreign and commonwealth office which is more costly and complicated. I have a registered address in the uk can I not just go though the uk process? Has anyone got experience of this?
> Thanks


I last renewed when I was living in Spain and did it through my UK address. It means a couple of letters back and forth but was worth it for less hassle and cost saving.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

If your Resident here then as such you can't use a UK address as your Resident address is here, and UK won't deliver a Passport to Portugal.

You could use the fast track or same day service whilst in UK, but you pay for the privilege, you should pre-book your appointment, plus you have to travel to 1 of the 5 centers, chancing standard service might mean you wouldn't have a Passport to travel back.

Residents here should use Madrid the Passport Centre. Passports

use menu on left, we've found them extremely efficient, the major thing apart from filling form correctly is to get passport photos right as some places here don't match criteria, information on site.


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## jerryceltner (May 15, 2012)

Canoe is right about the size of a photo.

My wife applied for a passport renewal for herself and our 15 year old daughter and we sent the documents and form to Madrid expecting the passports to be back here in 2/3 weeks but nothing.

My wife gave her email address but doesn't go on the computer very often and low and behold there was an email asking for different sized photos and the email was sent 6 weeks earlier. This time they said that the photos didn't need to be certified. Once sent we got the passports in under 3 weeks.

The funny thing is that they check the paperwork in Madrid then send it to the UK where the passport is printed and then sent directly to you from the UK.

When I renewed mine it was printed in Madrid and when they sent it back to me it first went to Germany, then Amsterdam, followed by Manchester, then back to Spain followed by Lisbon.
The passport has visited more places than I have.....lol

How do know this. You get a tracking stamp on the parcel at each venue.

The other thing is that the cost of an Adult passport here is 170 euro plus 27 euro courier fee and our daughters was 108 euro plus 27 euro courier fee but as we applied for 2 passports they only charged for one courier fee.

In the UK an Adult Passport is £72.50 and a Childs Passport is £46.00.......Big Difference !!!!!!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Yes UK cheaper but if you apply to UK they won't send Passport to Portugal, if your visiting UK and use fastrack or same day add travel and time to one of 5 centrrs it's cheaper to do via Madrid, when we renewed through Madrid returned direct to us via courier, although at the moment passports seem to being printed in UK but then passports have changed again so maybe Madrid no longer has facility to print.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

canoeman said:


> ...plus you have to travel to 1 of the 5 centers... /... add travel and time to one of 5 centrrs ...


CM. A couple of times you have mentioned visiting a centre and my fuzzy old brain seems to recall mention being made of that when these centres were set up. However, there is no mention of that on the UK Passport website. The only mention they make of needing to visit a centre is in the section about applying for a passport for the first time.

"Who needs to be interviewed?

Only adults who have never before had a British passport in their own name need to attend an interview."


Are you sure that all renewals have to be interviewed. With only five centres I imagine very long queues forming!


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

The interview is for first time applicants, if you need the Fastrack or same day service for renewal it can only be done by a personal visit and delivery of completed paperwork, photos, fees etc to a ISP Centre, for which you must have an appointment which can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance. If you've got to travel to a centre better to pay for same day service, so at least you leave with Passport.
Table of passport fees, how to pay and refunds : Directgov - Travel and transport

Unless you live on the doorstep of one, bit of travelling involved
Directgov: Maps - Identity and Passport Service (IPS) Customer Service Centres


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

So no interview for my next renewal then. I'll do it by post via my UK address. Cheers CM.


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## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Providing you can get it received and forwarded to you safely, or unless you intend to be in UK long enough to get it back. 
Dangerous to be without a Passport here, unless you'd proof you'd sent it to Madrid for renewal.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

I'll keep my head down and be a good boy!


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. I think what I will do is get all the photos signed etc by an old work colleague when in the uk and form, then get my parents to post it off when they also return to the uk and get it sent to their address and then they can bring it back to Portugal when they return ( they come here every six weeks). Sounds the easiest and cheapest option!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

j-lo as you are renewing you may not need to have the photos signed. From the passport website:L

"However, if your appearance is very different from the photo in your current or last passport, you should get your form countersigned at section 10."


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## Guest (Sep 28, 2012)

It's for my four year old, his original photo was taken at 3 months old so I think he's changed a lot! Thanks though.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

j-lo-78 said:


> it's for my four year old, his original photo was taken at 3 months old so i think he's changed a lot! Thanks though.


lol.


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