Passport Validity
Although your passport is valid until the date of its expiry, it is important to note that certain countries require that you have at least 6 months left on your passport, when entering and leaving their borders. If your passport has less than 6 months of validity left, it is wise to renew your passport as soon as possible. If you are delayed when flying from a country, but do not have the required validity left on your passport, you may have issues when you travel.
What Renewal Options Are There?
If you are in the UK and have plenty of time to renew your passport before traveling again, then you may be able to renew by using the Standard Application Process. This typically takes up to 8 weeks. If, however, you are leaving the UK soon and the country you are travelling to requires 3 or 6 months validity on your passport then you will need a much faster service.
You should consider applying for the Fast Track 1-week Passport Service which will allow you to receive your passport within 7 days or the 4hr Premium Service which will allow you to receive a new passport the same day that you lodge your application. An adult passport lasts 10yrs from the date that you renew where as a child passport (those 0 to 15yrs) lasts 5yrs.
Should You Renew Your Passport Now?
If you have travel plans for any time within the next 4 weeks or less, it is advisable that you use the Fast Track or Premium service in order to expedite your renewal. You can secure your own appointment with HM Passport Office directly via gov.uk or we can secure you one as part of our optional third party services. Please choose the most suitable option…
How to Renew Your Passport within 24 Hours
If you need to renew your passport quickly then the Premium Service is the best service for you. However you MUST have had a British passport before and have the current/old one on hand. It cannot be lost or stolen. Whilst it is possible to secure a same or next day Premium appointment these are rare and it is always down to the availability of the Passport Office.
We can assist you secure an urgent Premium appointment that the applicant can attend in person at one of the seven Passport Offices or for an additional fee we can send an agent to attend the appointment for you and wait the 4hrs for your new passport to be printed. It can then be sent to you via secure courier or potentially our agent could hand deliver it to you.
Select the “Passport Office Appointment Exemption Service” above to take advantage of this time and hassle saving service.
Passport Lost, Stolen or Expired Abroad?
If you urgently need to travel back to the United Kingdom and your current UK passport has been lost, stolen or is now expired then you will need to secure an Emergency Travel Document. This temporary passport will allow you to return to the UK (coming through a maximum of 5 countries) however will need to be forfeited upon arrival at customs at any UK airport.
An Emergency Travel Document (also known as an ETD) can be secured from the British Embassy in the country that you are currently in and can usually be issued the same day. A fee payable to the British embassy of around £95 will apply and will need paying in the local currency of the country that you are in.