Model Railway Forum

Agreed. If I get that far. R-

Should have said if I need to renew it.

Steve M wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2023 11:28 am MG - the best advice is to pay the fee at the Post Office for them to check the forms before submission. Takes all the hassle out of it.
Our main PO is next to the shop I work in - the Head Postmaster tells a good story of a guy who bought in the family passports for checking and submission. He paid the fee and the PO duly found an error that required some extra info that wasn’t readily to hand. The owner of the passports then demanded a refund as he could not work out the difference between a checking fee (the service provided) and a submission fee (submission is free).
And they walk amongst us.

Yes. Post office is very good though only one or two do it.
I doubt I will go abroad though I have been to Caldey Island in the past.

I renewed my passport online last year, it was a doddle. I later renewed my driving licence and I was able to use the same digital photo from the passport submission. As long as you give them enough information in the online application form, they can trace you and it’s a breeze. Much easier than the post office method ten years ago, I had to get a fresh set of passport photos in a hurry because my countersignatory pressed the pen too hard on the back of the photos!

My driving licence took 3 months to renew as my passport had run out and couldn’t be used as secondary ID to pinch the photo from. It seems like my bus pass photo (which is the same one) isn’t good enough.
My wife’s licence was renewed in the same month on-line and took less than a week to come back.
I have no intention of travelling abroad or even flying within country again, so do not need a passport, but as my licence is due for renewal again next year I wondered if it’s worth paying the passport fee to allow the driving licence to be done on line within the week without the aggro of a postal renewal.

Our passports run out next month and I had considered not renewing - mainly as I no longer need it to prove my age in a pub.
Then our son announced that he is getting married next year in Galway, Eire............!

We went to Ireland last year and they didn’t check our passports. Didn’t check anything.

Ireland, along with the UK, is a member of the Common Travel Area. British nationals travelling from the UK don’t need a passport to visit Ireland. However, Irish immigration officers will check the ID of all passengers arriving by air from the UK and may ask for proof of nationality, particularly if you were born outside the UK. You are therefore advised to take your British passport with you.