Posted by
Observer
15 yrs ago
Good afternoon!
Has anyone here recently renewed their UK passport in HK? I need to renew mine quite urgently as there is no space left for visas and I am hesitating between renewing back in the UK (where there is a "fast track" system) or taking my chances here (which would be the best option for a number of reasons).
Any up to date information as to the speed of renewal right now and the helpfulness of the staff in dealing with "rush jobs" would be most welcome!
Thanks you in advance.
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Yes my husband renewed his about 3 wks ago, just get some passport photo's done, white background, if you wear spectacles take them off for photo, You can either download a form on British consulate HK website, or call into their place which is opposite the Conrad Hotel in Central, and fill in a form there, They say it normally takes 4 weeks, but my husband got his after four working days. Better to call in around 8.30am apperently there is already a queue
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Susie1 - that's extremely helpful, thanks for taking the time to reply !
Can I just trouble you with one related question - do you know if the passport officer will already give you the OK for the quality of the photos when you hand over the application, to save wasted time if your head is 2 mm to the wrong side etc.....
Thanks once again !
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The passport officer will give you th OK if your photos seem OK to them, just make sure the background to the phot is white, and you wear no spectacles
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teme
15 yrs ago
There is a photo machine in the passport application area.
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Susie1 and teme - thanks, you've been very helpful!
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Last time I got mine renewed here it only took five days. I think the 4 weeks is a "UK standard" that definitely doesn't seem to apply to the efficient team that they have here.
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Thanks spurtio, it's reassuring to have another confirmation of the timescale. I appreciate your help!
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The British Consulate are very organised. I recently had to renew my daughter's baby passport. Very quick and checked the quality of the photos. As someone suggested, it does get busy so arrive when they open. Very quick service too.
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fifi27 - thanks for your helpful message.
I'm planning to go there on my way to work so I'll be there well before 730, with a coffee and a newspaper to while away the time!
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Since I had very helpful replies on this subject, I am giving my own experience here, in case it helps someone else.
I went to the Consulate on Friday 27 August, the new passport was ready on Wednesday 1 September, given to local Courier Post on the Thursday, processed by them on the Friday and delivered to me on Saturday 4 September.
A couple of tips:
- go for courier delivery rather than picking up the new passport yourself. The reason is that if you pick up, you will be given a later "back stop" date, to be safe, whereas the delivery will be done as soon as the passport is ready (it was the counter staff who advised me to do this)
- when you make the application, they will tell you that 10 working days are needed, I guess that this is to avoid giving you false hopes, even if they are pretty sure that, as in my case, the passport will be ready much sooner.
I arrived at around 8.10 a.m, later than planned, and was first in the queue for the 8.30 opening (be careful, there are two queues, side by side - one is for passport renewals, the other, which was much longer, is for visas to visit the UK). The service is very well organised and efficient.
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Glad it all worked and our advice was sound!
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