Passport renewal: how long after expiry does expired passport not need to be returned?

NFH

It's well-known that, when renewing a British passport, one must return one's previous passport (expired or unexpired) so that HM Passport Office can cut off the corner. When applying for a British passport, how long after the previous passport's expiry date does HM Passport Office not require the previous passport to be returned? For example, a passport that expired 10 years ago would probably not need to be returned, but a passport that expired one month ago would almost certainly need to be returned. There must be a cut-off point. What is it?

I don't really need a British passport after its usefulness was so significantly downgraded at the end of 2020, but it's nevertheless a good idea to have one as a backup. So I can easily leave a large gap between expiry and renewal.

quoia

I don't know of a specific point but what I can say is that I applied for a renewal of my passport  online very recently (8th April 2022) and it requested me to return my old passport which expired on 17th November 2020 - just a few days short of a full 17 months with out one

I don't know if returning the old one facilitated a speedy process in getting the new one but it arrived this morning - after just 19 days

Presume you already have an Italian one?

sheramber

How long after Expiry can a UK passport be renewed? 

To qualify for a standard UK passport renewal, your passport should still valid within 10 years from its expiry date or expired for a period of less than 10 years. In this case, the standard passport renewal application procedure applies to renew your UK passport. 

If your passport was issued a very long time ago (before 2004) or expired a very long time ago (ten years ago or longer) then all qualifying criteria must be submitted as if it were for a first-time application. 

smudge56

NFH said:

It's well-known that, when renewing a British passport, one must return one's previous passport (expired or unexpired) so that HM Passport Office can cut off the corner. When applying for a British passport, how long after the previous passport's expiry date does HM Passport Office not require the previous passport to be returned? For example, a passport that expired 10 years ago would probably not need to be returned, but a passport that expired one month ago would almost certainly need to be returned. There must be a cut-off point. What is it?

I don't really need a British passport after its usefulness was so significantly downgraded at the end of 2020, but it's nevertheless a good idea to have one as a backup. So I can easily leave a large gap between expiry and renewal.

You always need to return it It doesn’t matter  how old it is 

NFH

quoia said:

Presume you already have an Italian one?

Italian? No, I'm Irish! 🇮🇪 ☘️

NFH

sheramber said:

How long after Expiry can a UK passport be renewed? 

To qualify for a standard UK passport renewal, your passport should still valid within 10 years from its expiry date or expired for a period of less than 10 years. In this case, the standard passport renewal application procedure applies to renew your UK passport. 

If your passport was issued a very long time ago (before 2004) or expired a very long time ago (ten years ago or longer) then all qualifying criteria must be submitted as if it were for a first-time application. 

Thanks. This is very plausible. If a passport expired a long time ago, it's very possible that one cannot find it. Therefore what does HM Passport Office do in this scenario? Treat it as a lost passport, even though it has expired and is no longer valid anyway?

onashoestring

An expired passport ( even from several years ago ) helps to establish your identity and speeds up the renewal process . If you don’t return an expired passport, it will be treated like a new application with the additional steps required as part of the application process to prove your identity . 

smudge56

sheramber said:

How long after Expiry can a UK passport be renewed? 

To qualify for a standard UK passport renewal, your passport should still valid within 10 years from its expiry date or expired for a period of less than 10 years. In this case, the standard passport renewal application procedure applies to renew your UK passport. 

If your passport was issued a very long time ago (before 2004) or expired a very long time ago (ten years ago or longer) then all qualifying criteria must be submitted as if it were for a first-time application. 

The only passports that are not treated as renewals are the old blue hard backed passports that were issued before the burgundy ones. All others can be treated as a renewal 

eDicky

sheramber said:

How long after Expiry can a UK passport be renewed? 

To qualify for a standard UK passport renewal, your passport should still valid within 10 years from its expiry date or expired for a period of less than 10 years. In this case, the standard passport renewal application procedure applies to renew your UK passport. 

If your passport was issued a very long time ago (before 2004) or expired a very long time ago (ten years ago or longer) then all qualifying criteria must be submitted as if it were for a first-time application. 

Please provide the source of this.