Applied one passport, received two.

lifemagic

I work abroad as an English teacher. Three months ago I was in Saigon and my passport was full, so I applied for a renewal and received it in Vietnam.

Now I'm in Thailand. My niece deals with my UK post. This week a new passport was sent to my uk address. It has a different number and expires in ten years.

So iow, some cok up means two passports were issued.

Is that ok, or shall I do something?

mandragora_2

Why don't you ask them instead of here?

https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line

agrinnall

I would definitely do something, you don't want to find that the passport you have in your possession has been cancelled when you try to use it.

shaun_from_Africa

Contact the passport office and explain what happened and ask which one they want returning.
They might not notice their error but if they do, who is to say that they won't cancel both passports until it gets sorted out and this is something that may have expensive repercussions if you were about to travel abroad just before they did so.

eDicky

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

They might not notice their error but if they do, who is to say that they won't cancel both passports until it gets sorted out

I for one will say that they would not do that. The mistake and the responsibility for it is that of the Passport Office, not the OP, who is already using the first passport. There would be hell to pay if they cause the OP any inconvenience other than to request the return of the extra passport if and when they realise their error.

lifemagic

Thanks for the replies. Just phoned them. They checked and their system shows a uk application was made on 3 march, though the passport I have was issued 31 Jan and I've been abroad the whole time. The photo on both passports is identical and I only applied once. Luckily, both are valid. She told me to ask my niece to send the 2nd one for cancellation or it would cause problems when I try to renew. I asked if I could keep it and she said no.

Ballard

I know of people with two valid UK passports as they travel to the Middle East on business and can't have Israeli stamps or work visas when they need to visit other countries in the region so it is possible but a good reason is needed rather than a passport office error.

shaun_from_Africa

Ballard wrote: »

I know of people with two valid UK passports as they travel to the Middle East on business and can't have Israeli stamps or work visas....

I have two UK passports myself (and an Irish one because of dual citizenship) due to me working overseas. One of these UK ones is for work use and the other is for private travel.
I have two because of the amount of time my work passport is out of my possession following visa or work permit submissions.


All I needed to apply for the 2nd one was a letter from the company I work for stating the reason I needed it.

smudge56

lifemagic wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Just phoned them. They checked and their system shows a uk application was made on 3 march, though the passport I have was issued 31 Jan and I've been abroad the whole time. The photo on both passports is identical and I only applied once. Luckily, both are valid. She told me to ask my niece to send the 2nd one for cancellation or it would cause problems when I try to renew. I asked if I could keep it and she said no.

Who made the application in March and how did they get your nieces address? If it wasn't you was there a fraudulent application made? If you are outside the uk the application should be made from the country you are in as the declaration you sign states that you are in the uk

lifemagic

OK, I've had a good, good think and I've worked out what happened. The only problem is that no one might believe me.

I looked at the picture on the passport that just arrived, and it's me, but it's not recent, and not the one in the passport I am traveling with.

So, about three years ago I returned to the UK with a full passport. They last about two or three years because I'm an English teacher abroad so get a lot of extenstion stamps. I landed in London and wasn't staying long, so I sent an application straight away, as soon as I landed. I sent it from London, where I was staying, to Peterborough, the closest office to my niece (whos address I use).

Two weeks later I phoned and the passport office said they didn't receive it. I had sent it registered so the post office checked, it's lost. I complained, filled in a form and got a hundred pounds in comensation and written apology. I declated the full passport as lost and had to go through hoops then becuase both my parents are foreigners (I am UK born), my father was a refugee with no papers, ugh. Anyway, I got it sorted out, received a passport and left.

Three years later that passport is full so I just replaced it in Vietnam.

The next thing is, somehow (this is the part you won't believe), the post office must have found and then delivered the lost application three years late. The passport office opened it and didn't notice it was dated three years earlier and handed it on for for processing. The person who received it didn't notice they hadn't been paid for the passport or that I already have one to the same name and address and issued it. They didn't cancel the passport I have now because the old application had a valid but full passport enclosed for cancellation (though declared lost, which they also didn't notice).

So... hand up who believes this? It's true though.

Perhaps this thread should now move to the 'rants' part of the rants and praise thread?

agrinnall

I can believe most of it but it being processed without payment being taken is difficult to understand. Did you send a cheque with the application, and have you checked to see whether that cheque has now been debited from your account?