Getting a passport

[Osem]

Well, Osem Jnr could be on the verge of getting his very first passport in spite of HMG's attempts to make it virtually impossible. Hurrah! After several attempts to get the forms right and then get the correct advice from IPS as what what supplementary documents we actually needed to send with his application, he finally got to the point of being asked to attend the obligatory interview. Whilst is wasn't quite like being on Mastermind, it was quite a daunting process and he was asked a succession of personal questions by a man in a suit designed to see if he is who he claims to be. All very good I must say, until you consider that passports seem to be fairly routinely issued to all sorts of folks who've come here having deliberately hidden their places of origin and real reasons for doing so. How on earth does the IPS know who they really are or doesn't that matter? Anyway, they don't tell you how well you've done so we're keeping fringers crossed that the powers that be deem he's British enough to have a passport.

[Hom3r]

Mine expired in 2010, but I'm not bothering to get a new one unless a job requires it.

Because I'm not paying £77.50

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...ions/DG_174109

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Hom3r

Mine expired in 2010, but I'm not bothering to get a new one unless a job requires it.

To be fair, renewal's easy if not cheap. I've just done mine and all it involved was some new photos since my face apparently hasn't changed materially in the last decade.

No, it's getting a first passport that's far more difficult and I can't help thinking that the procedure is more about presentation that efficacy.

Originally Posted by Osem

Well, Osem Jnr could be on the verge of getting his very first passport in spite of HMG's attempts to make it virtually impossible. Hurrah! After several attempts to get the forms right and then get the correct advice from IPS as what what supplementary documents we actually needed to send with his application, he finally got to the point of being asked to attend the obligatory interview. Whilst is wasn't quite like being on Mastermind, it was quite a daunting process and he was asked a succession of personal questions by a man in a suit designed to see if he is who he claims to be. All very good I must say, until you consider that passports seem to be fairly routinely issued to all sorts of folks who've come here having deliberately hidden their places of origin and real reasons for doing so. How on earth does the IPS know who they really are or doesn't that matter? Anyway, they don't tell you how well you've done so we're keeping fringers crossed that the powers that be deem he's British enough to have a passport.

Osem, i feel your pain ,some may remember that last year i sent my son(13) to France and getting his passport was an absolute nightmare ,the main issue was getting the correct references ,it was also complicated by the fact that me and his mother are not married ,plus i have a different surname to the one on my birth certificate (statutory declaration when young) the only saving grace is that he didn't need the interview

It must be even worse for people not native to this country

[Osem]

Evidently being a father isn't sufficient to prove his eligibilty for a UK passport either. Despite having a passport myself, I still had to dredge up my old marriage certificate to prove I was married to his late mum at the time of his birth. That's equality for you eh?..

Originally Posted by Osem

Evidently being a father isn't sufficient to prove his eligibilty for a UK passport either. Despite having a passport myself, I still had to dredge up my old marriage certificate to prove I was married to his late mum at the time of his birth. That's equality for you eh?..

indeed ,now imagine the trouble i had trying to track down the declaration i took at the local Barristers/commissioner of oaths when i was 16

[Osem]

Originally Posted by martyh

indeed ,now imagine the trouble i had trying to track down the declaration i took at the local Barristers/commissioner of oaths when i was 16

I can only guess! I must admit I was panicking about what we'd do if I couldn't find my old marriage cert.

On that subject, since I don't like risking sensitive documents in the post, I asked the IPS if I'd need to send the marriage cert. again when our youngest applies for his passport. Naively I imagined that since the IPS had seen and verified it for one son, they wouldn't need to see exactly the same document again presented with his full birth cert. What do you think the reply was?...

[Osem]

Well it's official. Osem Jnr. is British after all and is now the proud holder of a UK passport.

Originally Posted by Osem

Well it's official. Osem Jnr. is British after all and is now the proud holder of a UK passport.

have you got any hair left ?

[Osem]

To be fair I didn't have much to start with. I'm hoping he'll get to have his first overseas trip in a couple of months time with his stepmum to see the land of her birth. Now that'll be when I really start shedding hair..