United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Expats face big delays for UK passports
British expats are being hit by long delays in receiving new passports.
The UK Passport Office has warned that processing times are “significantly longer” in relation to applications from overseas than those filed by UK residents.
But even UK residents are up in arms over long delays. The Daily Mail this week published a leaked picture of piles of orange boxes containing passports waiting to be processed.
The UK Passport Office has drafted in extra staff and is operating from 07:00 to midnight every day to try to deal with a flood of applications that has led to reported delays of several weeks for UK residents waiting for new passports.
All overseas applications for British passports are now processed in the UK in Liverpool.
Previously, overseas applications were handled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s seven regional processing centres, including those in Hong Kong and Wellington.
Some new overseas applications are now taking as much as two months to process, reports the Telegraph UK, and there are fears the backlog could get even worse.
British passport holders in Hong Kong have also complained of huge delays, with reports of waits of up to three months for a new passport.
Ian Jarrett
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Report: Cruise guest died after ship lashed in heavy storm