UKC

So my passport expires in a few months & I can no longer get it renewed at the British consulate here in Paris. According to the passport office I can renew by post but that means putting my existing passport in the post & waiting maybe a month. Meanwhile I'd have no ID papers so would be technically illegal and would be unable to travel by plane or take the train to Brussels which I do frequently for my work. I can't believe that the official advice doesn't mention this problem or are we all expected to have two passports?

So I guess I have to use the expensive 'one day' service while visiting the UK. Does anyone have any experience of using it ? How long did you have to wait for an appointment? can you ask for a specific date ? and is there much to be gained by going to eg Glasgow rather than London (flight to Scotland probably cheaper than Eurostar to London)

In reply to Doug:

Could you get dual French nationality, get a French passport, and then always be able to use one while the other isn't useable?

It's probably a wise thing to do anyway if you're planning on remaining in France for more than about 16 months.

In reply to Doug:

I don't remember details but I used the 1-day service a few years ago and it was very efficient. You can reserve an appointment well in advance and as long as you have the documentation in order there's minimal waiting around. I think we were done in less than an hour and came back later to pick up the new passport.

In reply to Doug:
Renewed my passport in the spring, from Sweden. I had the advantage that I knew I wouldn’t need it for a while and could always use my driving license for ID purposes. Anyway, it was really quick, ten days at most.

In reply to skog:

Probably will apply for French nationality but it can take up to two years (from friends it seems six months is exceptionally quick) & my current passport expires in mid February. I also suspect my case will take longer than average as although I've physically been here for over 15 years, I'm actually on secondment & still pay tax & NI in the UK. Suspect I'll wait until we've got married (my partner is French) before I apply but that's another bit of paperwork to negociate.

In reply to Doug:

In Germany I just went down the local major´ s office and got a certified copy made. If they can´ t (or anyone else) then the consulate will do it.

In reply to jimtitt:
And that copy was accepted at frontiers ?

In reply to Doug:

A colleague used the one day service at Liverpool. Turned up, parked outside, straight in and all done in 5 minutes.

I did mine by post/online (you can upload the photo online to check it is okay, and then post the passport), sent special delivery Wednesday I got mine back the following Wednesday. So they took 3 days to process and return.

In reply to Doug:

I've used the one day service in London twice (yes I'm rubbish at remembering passport is running out until just before needing it!), last was a couple of years ago. Pretty efficient and yes, you can pick an appointment well in advance. Yes, there are queues (mostly security similar to an airport) then a "number" waiting system, but it didn't take too long (maybe half an hour) to get it done. I was then given a time about 4 hours later after which I could pick it up. I seem to remember I went to the Natural History museum.

In reply to Doug:


I didn´ t cross any non-Schengen borders, it was accepted by the police though.

In reply to Doug:

Yes, I tried a "one day" service in the UK a few years ago - and was scammed. I somehow slipped onto a copycat website that looked identical to the real one, except for the URL address. Make sure the address is a uk.gov one.

In reply to Doug:

If you do the online renewal thing you can take the photo on your phone and ping it off online. Mine was back in a week, with accurate tracking on their website.

In reply to Doug:

Not sure on France. But all the Nordic nations have centralised renewal through an office in Germany. It's not the fastest from what I've heard. There might be some central office for north west Europe.

In reply to andy:

Yup. My last renewal took less than a week.

In reply to Doug:

If it's any help it doesn't have to be you in person that does the one day service.

So you could post or otherwise send it special delivery to a relative perhaps?

I've used the 1 day service for Mr marsbar and taken someone else to an appointment and it's very efficient. You do have to leave it with them for a few hours and collect it later that day.

In reply to Doug:

Belfast is also worth considering if you can get ryanair.

In reply to summo:

That used to be system (the Paris consulate was the centre for renewals across a couple of countries) but they 'improved' the system a couple of years ago with, I think, now only one or two centres outside the UK and all in the far east.

To all the others - thanks for the comments, seems I need to contact either Glasgow or London & make an appointment

In reply to Doug:

I've got a couple of years left, need to some how remember to do the same when in the UK just before it expires...

In reply to Doug:

Do you have a French ID card? My wife is French and she travels frequently between France and London just using her official French ID. Might also work when flying.

The home office kept my passport for 6 months once and then turned me down for what I applied for.

In reply to Doug:

Send it by Fed-Ex or similar.

1 day service fine, you can scheule appointments and its efficient, certainly was in Liverpool.

In reply to Doug:

I seem to remember you go online and look for appointments for the date you want and choose date and location online.

In reply to Doug:

I renewed my passport at Newport. It was simple and quick. In at 1000hrs processed some paperwork left at 1020hrs. Back 4 hours later and collected shiny new passport.

In reply to Doug:

Like others said, I renewed mine from Finland by sending it off to Germany. It just took a few days as I recall.

In reply to Doug:

Did mine online recently.

In reply to Doug:

I used the one day service in Glasgow earlier this year - very slick and very little waiting (other than the standard 4 hour processing time - handy for a quick bouldering session at TCA).
Though having booked and paid etc my wife renewed our son's passport by post (from France) and it was back in less than 2 weeks... if I had known it was that quick I would have done that same at a convenient lull in my work-travelling schedule...!