British passport renewal turn-around time

SHIT! Is 3 weeks enough time to get a new passport from Düsseldorf AND a Chinese visa?
Is there anyway of speeding up getting a new passport?

Cheers for any tips.

i went in person...took 3 hours waiting time
had to have a day off work though

yeah, I was gonna suggest going up there and queueing up, nicely
I got mine back from them this time last year within a week, but maybe I just got lucky. You wouldn't want to risk it and miss out on your trip (unless it's a work thing and you don't want to go, obv )

when i last needed mine renewed i was travelling a lot, so couldn't be without it for more than a week. i phoned them up and was VERY nice to the woman and she then processed it overnight and i had it couriered to munich. cost a bit, but saved me a lot of hassle. normal turnaround is two working weeks or so but have no idea about the chinese visa, sorry.

I do want to go on the trip!

But a China visa needs a "virgin" page in your passport and I get round a bit as they say and all the pages are marked. If you go up and are nice can you get it in a day?

Blinking eck, 112 Yoyos innit.

give 'em a call...they're there to help

It's a 0900 premium rate number and its a call centre...

MT stop whinging...

For the Vias you can go to the Chinese EConsulate in Munich:

Munich Consulate
Roman Str. 107, 80639 München
Tel: 089-1730 1611 Fax: 089-1730 1623

- but they will keep your passport for a few days

I got mine in 2 weeks from D'dorf. Fax them: +49 (0)211 488 190
Or email: consular.section@duesseldorf.mail.fco.gov.uk
I'd still be trying to phone them as well though.

Last August I had my UK Passport renewed in Duesseldorf with a turn around of 7 working days from posting it to getting the shiny new passport back in me mitts. The China visa was a 30 day Tourist Visa which took the standard 4 working days ... my tips:

1. Send a covering letter with your Passport application to Duesseldorf explaining the urgency and how much you appreciate getting it by a specified date.

2. At the Chinese Embassy/Consulate in Nyphemburg ...don't automatically wait outside the door/gate ...sometimes it is open slightly earlier so try getting into the joint. It is also possible to speed up your Visa application to 1 working day but that depends on the visa type, their workload and of course you pay extra for this service ... you can print put the forms and prepare it all before you go in ...i nicked the one off this site which is hopefully up-to-date...

Mine took 2 weeks too by post to/from Düsseldorf. Try calling them for advice.

Would be a good time to go to Düsseldorf... KARNEVAL!
Could go out in Kölle too, LOTS of fun places to go up there.

<wanders over to Deutsche Bahn site>

I just had mine done - the processing took TWO days from receipt, as they rang me on the third day after posting the envelope.

Only problem was they had to wait for the bank to do their job and forward the cash,. I transferred the money online on a Snday, but they did not expect to see it on their statements till the next Friday.

All in all it arrived a week and a half after sending.

I posted my passport application on 23rd April, as it needed renewing before I fly on Saturday morning (27th may). I have rung them twice since then, the last time being on Tuesday when the girl made a note that I needed the passport by Friday. The date of travel was also written on the application when I sent it off of course. Still I'm getting a bit nervous now... Anyone had any experience with travel documents not arriving on time? Do the Consulate send them out by courier same day delivery if you ask? Is there any kind of document you can get from them saying that your passport wasn't finished in time but still allowing you to travel that they can send by fax or something?

My renewal application was received in Düsseldorf on April 21st and I got my new passport on May 19th. Exactly 4 weeks, which incidentally is their quoted worst case turnaround time. So assuming 4 weeks really is the worst case yours should appear on Friday. Apparantly they are "very busy" at the moment what with it being just before holiday season and all that.

I'm really hoping you're right about that Nomad! I would be so gutted to have to miss out on my first trip back to the UK in the last 6 months. I'm just getting really tense because today is a holiday and so I can't even ring up and find out what's going on...
But surely this must have happened to someone before? I really want to think about the worst case scenario here...

After 4 hours straight of talking on the telephone to about 20 different people, I'm on my way to the airport to be issued with an emergency passport. This is done by the Bundespolizei at the Servicepoint on Level 4 of Terminal 2 and must be approved by the boss guy there... Need to take my drivers licence (British credit card style with photo) and documents proving I am registered in Munich.

anyone knows whether you need to have good reasons to be issued an emergency passport ?

That's a strange question. If there is no good reason for needing a passport urgently, why would you want to go down that road?

Anyway, as the website says:


Applying for a new British Passport in Germany

sorry my head is messed up today!!!

I

hello!

iam living in Berlin, my passport has expired last week and i need to be in greece on thursday!

i went to the British embassy here but they were not very helpful.

i called up the Düsseldorf office they said i would have to come down in person and that i probably wouldnt get it in one day. : (

the cheapest train fare i can find is 194 euro rtn so its gonna be an expensive trip.

what do you think my choices are.

cheers Dee

When I got my last passport I posted it on the Monday and received it back on the Thursday. This was early January though so they were not dealing with holiday rush.

Either get on the train down there on Monday or send it via DHL now. I don't think going in person will make it any quicker though.

Option 2 - cancel your holiday...

A couple of years ago I needed mine renewing quickly so I posted it to them the week before I needed it and told them I needed it quickly. 6 days later it hadn't arrived so I phoned them and they said it wasn't ready yet. So I said in that case I will come and collect my old one and travel to Britain with that. The next day I went to Düsseldorf and lo and behold the new one was ready!. So just go there or post it today and tell them you'll be coming for it next wednesday.

Option 3 - just take the expired passport and act dumb when you get to customs at Greece. Chances are they might let you get a replacement emergency one from embassy in Greece but it'll cost you.

I posted mine by DHL Express on Monday so that I am sure I get it back before my flight in the second week of August. (The current form says you should allow up to 4 weeks although they are supposed to process it within 10 working days)

And your application form/one photo needs to be countersigned by a professionally qualified person who has known you personally for 2 years.
Don't know if this is also true if you apply in person though and if the 2 years has to be strictly adhered to.
But a friend who was a countersignatory said she received a phone call from the Consulate last time.

Last time I got mine (4 years ago)I took the day off and went by train to Düsseldorf ,got the new passport within 3 hours ,I even had time to have a walk around the town while they were making the thing, if I’m not mistaken I paid extra to have it done quickly not sure on that point though, just remember to take all your documents and photos with you

thanks for you advice everyone.

i decided to take the chance of going down there in person using carsharing.

so hopefully it works out.

thanks,

Dee