UK passport renewal March 2020

snpark

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Just curious, do they really still insist on a full colour photocopy of EVERY page?

And just fyi, I emailed today to renew one of my adult ones (I have 2, will explain how and why later), and they said come on Monday at 10a.m
Last time for me was 3 years ago, this one again is already full but doesn't expire for many years yet, I know they give it back on Monday but I don't remember giving them 50 pages of photocopies, seems excessive and expensive.

Anyway also for me I do not need a counter signatory - little know fact if you renewing one that is not expired and your basic facial features are unchanged, you don't need to faff about finding some other responsible bule to sign a photo and pretend he has known you for 20 years

It is still 128 quid for the jumbo 48 one, last time they couriered it directly to my residence, this time it says I will have to collect it from VFS, again will see what happens.

I am hoping for a new blue one but even at least the old burgundy colour will not mention EU on it anyway

Then I will renew my 2nd one (also filling up but still 6 years to go before expiry) in 3 or 4 months and hope that one is blue

Anyway, I emailed today for the appointment, they emailed me back to come on Monday at 10 so they are not busy

Will update this after Monday and when I get my new one and where they sent it, just to latest pre Brexit progress
 
For those with kids, I believe they are trying to coerce people into paying £200 for a DNA test. When in actuality they state in their own documents that this is OPTIONAL.
So for anyone doing UK passport things online in relation to children expect to be told you won't get an interview unless you have the DNA test done. It is wrong/incorrect and very naughty of them.
Happened to a friend of mine very recently.


@snpark I am hoping to just do mine whilst over there this year. I have had my fill of P.I.T.A documents for the time being :) Wishing you luck with it.
 
Ironically I also got the autoreply about DNA. And she told me ignore that

I asked and she said yes they want colour copy of every page even blank in lieu of them keeping the original

Wonder if they check for my entry stamp etc etc. I better make sure I renew the right one

No. Never black. Navy. Always has been very dark blue. We are not Kiwi thankyou very much
 
Same as me last time but this time they seem insistent. Yeh save the environment. Print off 52 pages in colour of blank passport pages
Well I mean all of them even any blank ones too
 
I think we've had this discussion before but I have two old expired passports from the 80s downstairs and they are definitely black. I looked at them under various lighting conditions, and asked a lot of others for their opinion, and no-one thought they looked even a little bit blue. Anyway I still have 4 years before I need to renew both of mine. By that time VfS probably won't even allow us to enter the building, and we'd have to pay £500 or more (looking at how their service has developed over the last few years).
 
I recently did my British passport from Australia last year, i did it all online and sent my old passport to the uk and 3 weeks later the new and old one arrived safely back to me in Australia, no problems at all, did not have to provide photo copies of anything
 
I guess they don't have a partnership with VFS there? Here they have a kind of monopoly position for many countries (passports and visa).
 
I recently did my British passport from Australia last year, i did it all online and sent my old passport to the uk and 3 weeks later the new and old one arrived safely back to me in Australia, no problems at all, did not have to provide photo copies of anything
That's great but totally irrelevant as this is indonesia and the process is totally different. In Asia we have to go through a VFS office and submit papers to them and we keep our passports and collect the new one from their office a week or 2 later
But thanks anyway
 
I think he's saying you can do it from Asia by directly dealing with the UK passport office, and sending it there yourself, rather than go through VfS.
 
This is news to me ,last time I used the consulate in bali ,no fotocopies of anything ,it seems vfs "aint" as good as people say ,unfortunately hmmmm !

Now the brits want F@#$%*!&N photocopies !! , whats going on with the uk ? losing the plot like here , Boring !!!
 
I think he's saying you can do it from Asia by directly dealing with the UK passport office, and sending it there yourself, rather than go through VfS.
you cannot do that, what if it gets lost or you need to travel

UK applications for people living in UK

Thats the whole point of doing it here if you live here, because they return your passport so you can travel until the new one arrives.
 
well today I helped the environment by printing 52 full colour A4 copies of every page of my passport, even the cover, which made the page so wet from all the ink that I had to let it dry

Ridiculous but hey thats the UK for you
Been here a decade and a half in Jakarta and never once been invited to any Embassy event, not even Queen's bday etc etc but yet all the ayam and ceweks seem to get invited, and not even the ones married to Brits
 
Of course. Esp. the Embassy knows how Brits behave abroad.... :hug:
 
Yeh maybe they know I'm racist and hate my fellow countrymen
 
FYI there is a good chance you need a full colour photocopy of both of your passports and a letter from your company that you still need 2 for frequent travel or visa reasons etc. Thats what i had to do when renewing one of the two UK ones.
 
While I was using my friends colour printer to print off 52 pages of my passport, I cleverly did both at the same time then cut the pages in half, so at least im 95% ready for the other one. I shall of course take both sets with me but keep one in my bag. I already completed application for the other also, just in case they say I can't renew the one I want because my last entry stamp last week is in the other passport.

So I am fully prepared. Letter? They haven't asked me for that for the last 20 years, technically there is no link between them, even when renewing directly through UK or the old days of sending it to HK also, not once has anyone ever commented or asked why I have 2. Of course now I will jinx myself. But technically there is no connection between them, both have been renewed so many times, it is just a coincidence 2 people with same name and DOB from UK, I even use different photo (of me)

I live across the road so it will not take me long for my "office" ahem cough cough to make a letter and stamp it.
Besides I always tell VFS I am a special case and it is my own loss if they send it to UK and it gets rejected, means I have to reapply and pay them again another fee.

1 hour to go, so exciting. Still surprised they gave me the first appt on Monday just from emailing Friday. I guess not many Brits here and even fewer renewing a passport. I expect to be out by 10.05 and receiving a text from BCA by Wednesday or Thursday that my card has been debited and my passport in my hands next week as per previous exp.
 
Ok so I pitched up at 9.59, went through all the nonsense of why am I here, show my appointment email, strip search, hand wash, through 5 more locked doors etc and sat and waited where I was told, to renew an existing British passport with my appointment set at 10 to purely submit my docs.

Some teenager came up and mumbled about sorry, system down, sebentar etc etc

10 mins later he came back and said let me see your docs. So he through everything unconvincingly and then took them. I said to him I am ok if you just want to manually check now and I come back tomorrow to get the receipt, but he gave me the blank look.

I said don't worry, I have done this before, it's not expired, only full, I don't need countersign, I look the same, here is 2 pics, credit card form, etc etc, 52 pages in order of colour copy of the original, etc etc

Anyway he took everything and came back 5 mins later. "Just wait here a minute please sir"

By now I'm getting cranky because I have another appt at 10.40 and if I had been 15 mins later for VFS they don't let you in, and I am the first one (only one) but yet there is a problem and I've been waiting 30mins.

Eventually they find the power switch and I get served. Again the boy unconvincingly goes through everything 16 times then goes to get his friend. Apparently I need to include a non existant check list, so his friend finds one and of course turns out that is what HE needs, not me, so he goes through it, ticks 2 boxes, asks me to sign it and then gives it back to me! Weird but whatever.

He then says I need proof of address, I say no disrespect but I don't. it is not even mentioned on the app forms. He said he is just worried it will get rejected. I said I know you just doing your job but I can assure you it is not needed and not even requested. My address is clearly stated and anyway I have to collect it from here, you are not even sending it to me anymore.

He seems convinced, takes everything, shuffles it, and says ok we call you when it's ready.

Now interestingly, he also took my passport, which I know is wrong, because it is still valid and I need it, although he hadn't actually looked or mentioned entry stamps etc - which is lucky because I enetered on my other one. I thought well the new one will be here next week and I have the one I need to leave if I have meeting outside anyway, so I didn't push that too much. But I did think he was wrong.

So I managed to leave by 11 - so disregarding the 35 mins of watching paint dry and people trying to work out to press a button marked "press here to exit" before they can open a door, I was with the guy about 10-15mins but purely because he obviously did not have a clue what he was doing. I guess hardly any Brit passport renewals?

Then 30 mins later I get an email:

Dear Sir/Madam

We would like to inform you that your old passport is left at our office. It was no necessary to leave your passport with us, so please take back your passport immediately at working days between 10.00 am – 17.00 pm.
We were very sorry for your incovenient and misunderstanding.

Best Regards,


On behalf of Her Majesty’s Passport Office
----------
UK Visa Application Centre
HM Passport Office Local Service Provider, Jakarta




1. This is from a company representing the British Government and there are more spelling mistakes and grammatical errors than on the FB page from "English teachers"

2. They don't know what they are doing obviously.

3. You don't need to leave your existing passport, which I already knew. In fact even when you go to collect its replacement, it is only cancelled "online" so you can still use it for ID and domestic flights (maybe Int'l too, I never check to see if they do cancel it). Years ago they clipped a corner off the back cover (before technology lol)


Anyway I replied and said hang on to it, I will pick it up next week with my new one, which hopefully will be BLUE (not black) but worse case will be burgundy with no mention of EU etc


That's it really. Will update when I get it. I expect the BCA sms in a day or 2 confirming they took my 128 quid and that means it was processed and I should have it next week.

After that up to admin to close this or pin it or whatever.

The original link to download the forms etc is here:

https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/overseas/information/indonesia/renew/adult

https://assets.publishing.service.g...s/attachment_data/file/462278/OS_Form_010.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-passport-creditdebit-card-payment-authorisation

https://assets.publishing.service.g...file/190989/OS_Payment__Instruction_07.13.pdf


2 passport photos, white background 4.5cm x 3.5cm

128.51 GBP for 48/50 page jumbo adult.
 
Thanks for your experience and detailed info .
Hmmm vfs not so good !
I will find out later later in the year when I have the pleasure of the renewal ,with the "document dance".
 

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