New passport applicants - save money, quick!

CFC

To avoid the expense of a day off work and a trip to your nearest interview centre (could be 60 miles!) get your passport application in before March 26th! To be on the safe side I'd get it in before March 20th...


Getting a passport is about to become much more complicated, expensive and inconvenient…
On March 26th 2007 the first of a new network of 69 government ID interrogation centres will open for business. If you apply for your first adult passport after this date, then you may be called for a compulsory "interview" at one of them.
Currently it takes around two weeks to get a new passport. The new way – called "Authentication by Interview" – is expected to take between four and six weeks. Not only will you have to fill in a bigger form, but you’ll be made to travel at your own expense to your nearest interrogation centre for official questioning. The government admits the questions will be "intrusive".
Furthermore, the government agency running the scheme predicts that because of the changes, as many as 1 in 4 young people will not receive their new passport in time to make their trip. "Fast Track" passports, which you can now get in an emergency within one day or one week are being abolished for first time applicants. You will have no choice but to wait your turn to be interrogated at a time that suits them.
…and make a government file on you for life
People applying for their first adult passport from April 2007 are being used as guinea-pigs for Tony Blair’s ID scheme. From later this year "authentication" is planned to include fingerprinting. This is what ID cards really mean: government collecting more information about you and linking it up.
The passport application form in future will ask you to give lots of information about yourself: official numbers, addresses for the last few years, maybe about your family or education... And you'll sign to declare that it's the truth.
That information will be used to look up everything recorded about you on all the available government and business databases: school records, social services, police, credit, perhaps family details... all currently separate and private… to build a single file of personal information on you for official use.
The interview will check that you can give answers about private details of your life that match the official ones. If you can, you'll get your passport. If not... it is not clear, but trying to get a passport "under false pretences" – if the computer says "no" – could be serious. If nothing else, it means more waiting. And "suspicious" details on file for life.

CFC

Sorry BG, another BG moved this post from Grabbit Quick - I'm not sure why, as this is a timelimited offer as well as a holiday thingie..didn't mean to duplicate post.

tubbies74

thanks for the info dd needs a passport will make sure she does it sooner rather than later

arnie&caseysma!

Please also see
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=381081
which was posted last week and has details of towns and cities where the interview centres, and also the plans for remote areas.

SMARTY29A_2

my kids passports run out in june, should i just apply for new ones just now for them

rallymad

Are the rules changing for renewing passports?

I am taking my brother away on a trip in August, but his passport expired a few years back (was only a 5 year one).

Andy_L

No, this only applies to new (ie 1st ever issue) of a passport

CFC

At the moment this only applies to new ones, as AndyL says. However, if you need to renew soon, I'd do it the sooner the better, as this will be rolled out to renewals at some point. As the government has paid for 69 purpose built centres for interviewing, you can imagine that they are going to want to keep them pretty busy so may roll that out far sooner than announced. (not that they'd especially care about wasting our money with employees standing round doing nothing, I guess though :rolleyes: )

And if you are at all concerned about the government's intentions re the database which they plan to construct in an Orwellian manner, linking up everything they know about you, from your banking and financial affairs to where you drive in your car (via the road pricing scheme that's been in the new recently), then that's another reason to make sure you renew your passport before they roll the procedure out for all renewals. It's widely thought that they will keep everything from this new procedure and these interviews (described by the government as 'intrusive' :eek: ) as part of that new database, without making that clear at the time. Up to you.

hjd

My daughter is 16 and her child passport expires in March 08 - so when she renews will it be counted as a first adult one? If so she could renew it early.

samuela66

hjd wrote:

My daughter is 16 and her child passport expires in March 08 - so when she renews will it be counted as a first adult one? If so she could renew it early.

Hi

Whatever time is left on your passport they add on to your new one so you may as well, mine actually took 3 days from posting to getting my new one, couldnt believe it.

Sam

arnie&caseysma!

samuela66 wrote:

Hi

Whatever time is left on your passport they add on to your new one so you may as well, mine actually took 3 days from posting to getting my new one, couldnt believe it.

Sam

Up to nine months usually added. Deal with passports and only seen 10years and 9 months before, not anything longer. I got the extra nine months with mine aswell.