UK Passport on line

[AES]

A few weeks back several posts on the above subject appeared here. Until reading that thread I didn't know such a thing was possible, so as my UK Passport needed renewing I was interested and followed the link.

I completed my application about 3 weeks ago and my new Passport arrived by DHL yesterday (roughly 3 weeks, start to finish, instead of the 6 to 8 weeks they talk about).

As a confirmed crusty old Luddite curmudgeon I'm a leading "offender" when it comes to vociferously criticising "software" and "government" (any old government will do for me, and I HATE Mr. Gates!), but this whole process was surprisingly easy, quick, and trouble free.

So just to make a change - WELL DONE "WWW.GOV.UK". This renewal was easier than my last renewal 11 years ago, which involved much more paper work AND a visit to the British Embassy (in either Bern or Geneva, I can't remember which now).

Signed "a satisfied customer"!

 

[Rorschach]

Quite a good service they have, the do it yourself photo bit is pretty good too, it tells you automatically if the picture is not suitable.

 

[CHJ]

Quite a good service they have, the do it yourself photo bit is pretty good too, it tells you automatically if the picture is not suitable.

On the picture acceptance front, the requirement for a light background for the image does not always work for people with added years of experience and White/Silver Hair colour, the image reconition software will not accept them regardless of how you try to manipulate the contrast/brightness levels.


No problem though if you are sure you have a good quality truly representative image, submitting it on line with a simple explanation that White/Silver Hair in the notes is causing automatic reading acceptance problems sees it being accepted.

 

[AES]

Yup, agreed, I had a bit of a go at a DIY pic, but had the "not acceptable" problem (my hair is NOT white, it's silver!) so went to the local photo place who did me 6 off pics while I waited & which were OK for the equivalent of about 15 quid. Nice young girl doing the pics too! (Let's face it, at may age, 99.9% of 'em are all nice young girls)

 

[novocaine]

and the 0.1% are the one's you wish you knew.

I used the service last year to update my passport as the old one was A. nearly up and B. full. it worked flawlessly, including the DIY picture which meant I didn't look quite so demented as I usually do. took them longer to return my old passport than it did to send me a new one and it was in the 2 week margin which I was pretty impressed with as I needed it ASAP.

so yes, good service UK passport office, now can you go sort out the DVLA and VOSA please.

 

[AES]

QUOTE: and the 0.1% are the one's you wish you knew. UNQUOTE: "Yer got me bang ter rights there Guv" - thanks novocaine!!! ;-)

DVLA doesn't apply to me of course, and I don't know what VOSA is, sorry.

But I just wonder, when I hear so much negative stuff on Radio 4 about universal credits, AND look at what a mess EVERYBODY (politician) is IMO making of Brexit (and NO, I'm NOT going there) then it does make you wonder, doesn't it? Especially when the Passport thingy has worked so smoothly.

 

[finneyb]

Next to passports is the ESTA needed to travel to America.
Got mine renewed yesterday you can hold the passport in front of the PC's camera and it reads the digital data on the passport and fills in the form - allegedly. I didn't try it, looks too complicated getting it lined up after the difficulty I had with passport photograph as others have had, above.


Brian

 

[Marineboy]

I have to say that the online HMRC service is excellent. I think that 99% of the time, civil servants are actually very efficient at delivering technical innovation. It’s only when politicians get involved (a la UC) that things go t*ts up.

 

[RogerS]

Not just HMRC but DVLA, DWP...in fact I really think that a large number of Govt websites are all very good. Consistent look and feel. When written text. They have clearly thought a lot about 'What if?'.

I enquired from the DWP about my State pension. The letter that came back was very well written and very clear. Easy to understand. Not only that but as I read it I would think 'Ah but what about ...' only to have the question answered in the next paragraph.

HMRC have taken back 'ownership' of their IT systems and it shows. =D>

What prompted this post was returning to the original topic of passports. How about this for turnround?

Tuesday - Submitted online with photo
Wednesday - Reminder to send in the old passport
Thursday - Posted old passports to them by Special Delivery
Friday - morning...."Your application and photo have been approved"
Friday - afternoon ..."Your new passport has been despatched"

Saturday - just now...Postie dropped them off !!

 

[AES]

Yup, as posted earlier, my experience of the passport process too. Not quite sofast (further to go and come back) but I was pretty pleased, and said so in their subsequent questionnaire (so, broke my "rule" about never doing on line survery)!

Cant speak for the other Depts you mention, but comparing passport to, for example, Bank Santander - what a "horrible lot" I've found them to be. Glad they don't have any branches in Switzerland - they seem incapable of reading and understanding anything - "A has happened, so the system says B must now happen. So it does, regardless". Bunch of idiots (in my experience).

 

[RogerS]

..... Bank Santander - what a "horrible lot" I've found them to be. Glad they don't have any branches in Switzerland - they seem incapable of reading and understanding anything - "A has happened, so the system says B must now happen. So it does, regardless". Bunch of idiots (in my experience).

+1 +1 +1 They really should have their licence revoked. They are the worst, the very worst financial company we have had the misfortune to deal with. Utterly and totally incompetent.

Santander takes ineptitude to stratospheric heights.

 

[sunnybob]

+1 +1 +1 They really should have their licence revoked. They are the worst, the very worst financial company we have had the misfortune to deal with. Utterly and totally incompetent.

Santander takes ineptitude to stratospheric heights.[/quote]

Awww, c'mon, at least they get your country of residence right, which is more than TNT can do.

Sorry, rant over, back to passports and banking. :roll: :roll:

 

[AES]

Well Bob, it took Bank Santander at least 3 months to get my country of residence right. And that was only the START of my problems with them! "Horrible lot"!

 

[sunnybob]

They must have shares in TNT. Three years on and two fake addresses and they still deliver it 60 miles west of me. (hammer) (hammer) (hammer)
But they are being bought out by fedex, so maybe my next parcel will go stateside. :lol: :lol:

 

[Jonzjob]

AE, we had to renew our passports when we were French residents. The service was good, but then, when you are paying almost double the cost you would if you are a U.K. resident then it bleeedin well should be!

I am just wondering if I will have to trade in my French driving licence now? It is quite amusing to see the expressions when I have been asked for it? For a start, it doesn't have my address on it, but it is a rather nice photo and useful for frightening any children who don't behave :mrgreen:

As far as the VOSA is vconcerned AE, this may help and if it does then will you explain it to me please. Just a correction, it ain't VOSA any more, it's DVSA. Now that's much clearer :? :? :? I wonder how much the change cost?

 

[AES]

Yeah Jon, I renewed my UK passport 10+ years ago (in fact as I've been here 28+ years now, I guess I've done it twice). In one case I do remember I had to go to the UK Embassy (was it in Bern or Geneva, I forget?) but that was 'cos I was going somewhere and was in a hurry. There was also the "problem" of getting a Dr (or "Government official") to sign a separate form saying they'd known me for at least X years and the photo was me. And it wasn't cheap either (but nothing in Switzerland ever is)!

Altogether the new (to me) on line process was painless, quicker, and cheaper - AND I only knew about it 'cos someone on here was posting about it!

But I have of course had no dealings with DVLA. That process here is quite simple, each Kanton has the appropriate office (and the car testing station for the equivalent of the MOT test, which starts here when the car is 3 years old BTW). So simple, but again, not cheap.

 

[Jonzjob]

That is really strange AE. My son and daughter-in-law are in the air on their way to Geneva and onto Bern. That's to visit my son's stepson in hospital! He is one of these people who fly, or try to fly, pillow-cases, paragliders to most people,. He managed to crash the thing from 450m and broke his back! I only know 2 blokes who fly them and they have both had bad accidents. We see lots when we are slope gliding our radio controlled gliders. I love flying but you wouldn't get me up in one of those things!

Back on track. France has the same sort of system in that the different departments have their own form of DVLA and Controlle Tecnique, CT or MOT. That starts after 4 years and is every other year after that. Typical of France though is that although the rules are nation wide the various Prefectures, the department offices, have the same rules they all want different things and when you get it wrong they tell you that it's wrong, but not why? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :?

 

[AES]

Yeah hang gliding!!!! Looks very attractive to me, and I do like all sorts of flying (but preferably with at least 2 donks of, say, 25,000 lbs thrust each!) so I've never had the guts to try hang gliding (nor those para-sailer thingies either, which we see lots of here in the mountains). My wife has said "over my dead body" which bearing in mind the recent video on here with a bloke (Instructor I think) who went hang gliding with a student and forgot to clip himself on to the thing is probably just as well. Hung on very well for a few mins though, and landed safely. OMG!

Anyway, at 73 I'm past such adventures now. Also probably just as well!

Are you still flying your RC slope soarers Jon? I remember you posted pix a while back of a very neat looking Fouga Magister PSS.

BTW, the Swiss MOT is after year 3, then at year 5, then annually thereafter. BTW, it's all "shown" by the car number plate here, which belongs to the driver, not the car (i.e. when you change your car you transfer your plate from the old to the new car). "Different strokes for different folks" and all that. Rules seem to be much the same here, though I've only had experience of 2 (in total 26) different Kantons.

Sorry to heat about your relative's injury Jon. But based on my experience here, whatever the injury, he will receive 1st class treatment here. Just hope he was well insured!

 

[Jonzjob]

As for the RC gliders. This is one of my favourites. A scale model of a Minimoa, 1932 German glider. Mine is just 10' wing span and looks lovely in the air with that gull wing arrangement. Flies well too

https://flic.kr/p/2aqA4EE

https://flic.kr/p/297KHva

It's something I really doing missed in France. The nearest club was about 40 miles away and not that friendly. Too much low flying military kit where we lived, so no flying there.

 

[Just4Fun]

Anyway, at 73 I'm past such adventures now.

Wimp! On a flight to Oslo I got talking to a woman in her 80s who was going hang-gliding in the fjords.