British Passport Services News

Overseas British nationals will now find that they will have to commute back to the UK in order to process or renew their British passport. Citizens residing abroad such as China or Taiwan will have to submit their passport application to Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK.

The British Trade & Cultural Office (BTCO) has reported that new policies announced aim to achieve greater security and consistency in decision making and to strengthen security measures in order to reduce the possibility of fraud, identity theft.

From 9 December BTCO has said all British overseas nationals should seek further information on the UK government websites. Previously, British citizens were able to submit passport applications to regional processing hubs, for example British nationals residing in Taiwan could submit their application to Hong Kong. This service is no longer available. BTCO recent statements have revealed applicants will be required to send off their application to the Passport Customer Service Centre in Liverpool.

These changes do not affect the waiting time; however the fees charged to overseas applicants are based on the costs of providing the service. BTCO has pointed out that the volume of British Nationals applying abroad is far less than the volume of people applying in the UK, and so it is harder to sustain efficiency. This is why UK government has decided that issuing UK passports will only take place in UK for British nationals.

These announcements do not only affect Taiwan but other countries including Philippines, South Korea and Japan, which submitted UK passport application to the regional processing hub (Hong Kong) beforehand.

Whether you are planning your trip to Spain for business or a family holiday, you need to make sure your passport is in date or it is renewed.

However, His Majesty’s Passport Office can take up to 6-8 weeks to process your application. If you are travelling within 4 weeks, the Fast Track and Premium Services should be used as it speeds up the time of the application where you’ll receive the new passport the same day.

Our third party organisation can help you speed up the wait time for other necessary travel paperwork for your upcoming trip to Spain by doing much of the leg work for you.

Should you lose your passport in Spain or have it stolen then you should report the loss or theft to the nearest Guardia Civil or National Police office.

You can then contact us as we can assist you in securing a new passport which if needed can include our agent attending a Passport Office on your behalf once you are back in the UK so that you can receive a brand new passport within as little as 7 days after that appointment.

Visiting the ancient cities of Greece may the tourist trip of a lifetime for one person, or an important stop on a business trip for another.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond your control you may need to have your passport paperwork completed on short notice before leaving the UK. To apply or renew a passport through the government passport office via the standard service may take up to 8 weeks and so you should consider using the 1 week fast track or 1 day premium service if travelling soon.

A Stolen British Passport in Greece can be a traveler’s nightmare. If this has happened to you, you should immediately, report the theft of your passport to the local authorities to prevent your identification from being used for illegal purposes. You also need to report the passport as lost or stolen before you can apply for an Emergency Travel Document or secure a replacement passport if you need to return to the United Kingdom.

If you require our assistance in securing a new passport simply contact us here >