The General Chat Room

[teamsaint]

Yes to question 1: use the government website (easily found if you google passport renewal).
Don't be tempted to use a site other than gov.uk

https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport

You CAN use your own phone etc, but I thought it worth going to an approved passport photo taker, to get the magic codes.

I decided to use my decent camera, and upload via my laptop. The instructions for photos on the guidance are pretty clear, though they do add some extra advice ( eg stand a few feet away from the wall ) later in the process.

( If it wasn't lockdown I might have gone the Pulcers route for photos, but maybe photographers are “ essential” and open.)

Avoiding “ red eye” might be tricky on some kit.And it comes in handy to have somebody to click the shutter !!

[Pulcinella]

I decided to use my decent camera, and upload via my laptop. The instructions for photos on the guidance are pretty clear, though they do add some extra advice ( eg stand a few feet away from the wall ) later in the process.

( If it wasn't lockdown I might have gone the Pulcers route for photos, but maybe photographers are “ essential” and open.)

Avoiding “ red eye” might be tricky on some kit.And it comes in handy to have somebody to click the shutter !!

I sensed that lockdown was imminent, so got in while things were still functioning.
The studio's website now says:

We are closed on the High Street due to Covid but will remain open online to fulfil all orders the best ways we can.

So they must not be deemed essential.

[french frank]

So they must not be deemed essential.

Everything is 'essential' to a customer for whom the items/sevice turn out to have some urgency. I wanted some (rechargeable) batteries, for the heating programmer and landline as neither had had new batteries for some years and I wanted to be prepared. The electrical appliance shop where I would normally have bought them was closed so they had to go on my list for Tesco - supermarkets not yet restricted to selling essentials only.

[jayne lee wilson]

Need to do mine in the next couple of months. Is the link obvious to find?

Did you take the photos at home using your phone?

I did this all online using my phone. Be careful with the photos though - they must be completely free of any background detail - make sure there's a perfectly blank wall/door etc behind you. The tiniest hint of frame or ornament may see it rejected.

I put mine through in 2018 to make sure it still had European Union on it! I guess that's gone now and they've gone blue? Blue is the mood indeed...

[teamsaint]

Although it all seems a bit of a technicality right now........

[cloughie]

My passport expired in March -as I’m not planning to go anywhere in the near future, maybe longer, so I’ll do it dreckly!

[BBMmk2]

Not sure what to do with mine. Whether to or not to do, what with my health situation.

[oddoneout]

My passport expired several years ago. It had been useful as ID when I was dealing with my mother's affairs, but her death, and a house move giving me a photocard driving licence, removed that necessity. The only foreign travel I had done in the previous decade was a couple of trips to Holland so I decided that renewal wasn't a priority. When the Brexit blue cover nonsense erupted I did think about renewing to get the EU-cover one, but at a time when finances were stretched I couldn't justify the cost, especially for something I was unlikely to use. There was a bit of anxiety about being unable to visit family if an emergency arose but Covid has put that to one side for now.

[Pulcinella]

The sneaky bit (I can't remember when it was introduced) is that the new expiry date is now based on the renewal date, not the original expiry date, so anyone renewing a passport to maintain 6-month eligibility automatically loses any remaining period of what they have already paid for!

[oddoneout]

The sneaky bit (I can't remember when it was introduced) is that the new expiry date is now based on the renewal date, not the original expiry date, so anyone renewing a passport to maintain 6-month eligibility automatically loses any remaining period of what they have already paid for!

This came in a couple of years ago, and it does seem sneaky as the requirements of many countries means there has to be a certain number of pre-expiry months on a passport to be able to travel there, so no way to avoid losing the months.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...0nine%20months.

[Pulcinella]

This came in a couple of years ago, and it does seem sneaky as the requirements of many countries means there has to be a certain number of pre-expiry months on a passport to be able to travel there, so no way to avoid losing the months.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...0nine%20months.

The implication from the Guardian article is that no other countries (assuming that they all follow the international guidelines) have passports with more than 10-year validity:

A Home Office spokesman said: “To meet international guidelines relating to maximum passport validity, Her Majesty’s Passport Office no longer carries over any validity from a previous passport.

“This will ensure that people travelling abroad will be compliant with border entry requirements around the world.”

I hadn't appreciated that.

[BBMmk2]

Going for my zometa infusion treatment this morning. The first since beginning of the last lockdown! I’ve missed four sessions in all. This infusion, helps to strengthen my bones.

[cloughie]

The implication from the Guardian article is that no other countries (assuming that they all follow the international guidelines) have passports with more than 10-year validity:

A Home Office spokesman said: “To meet international guidelines relating to maximum passport validity, Her Majesty’s Passport Office no longer carries over any validity from a previous passport.

“This will ensure that people travelling abroad will be compliant with border entry requirements around the world.”

I hadn't appreciated that.

It also means the government trouser the overlap money!

[oddoneout]

It also means the government trouser the overlap money!

But it won't be as much as before given the rather gloomy prospects for international travel?
Just as well that 10 year passports are available to spread out the sting, because this would happen each time it is renewed.

[Serial_Apologist]

Sorry to bother people, but can anyone remember the title of the thread started by Lat Literal a few years ago in which he and others offered recommendations for interesting places to visit? I have some spirits-lifting guided London walks on youtube which have dispersed the gloom I have been feeling this season, and would love to share them on here.