UK Passport Renewel

[Amber]

[forest]

This is ridiculous, i have to PAY to be a person!!!!!!!! 56 Euros for the Lichtbildausweis while i wait for the British passport to be renewed, then the astronomical amount to prove i am a British citizen, for gods sake, this is madness, in all honesty, what do people do if they seriously cannot afford to get a new passport?

I am not opposed to paying a reasonable sum for the work involved but 175 PER PERSON/PASSPORT, thats just insane, and not justifiable. Its not my fault i was born in England, and it wouldnt be my fault that i was born anywhere else, passports should be for free come to think of it. I didnt sign any agreement when i was born that i would pay an astronomical amount to get my passport renewed to prove that i exist? Or did I?

I am lost for words actually. What exactly does the embassy/permanent mission/consulate do in Vienna then? End of...i am p....d off as i have to do this before January and the funds just aint there at the moment.

[jno]

I'm British and I will sign it for you (for a glasl Blaufraenkisch), or you do the same for me when I need to renew mine, ok ?

Done Jesse, Done J.D.

[Amber]

Luckily I know someone British who can sign my passport photo....oooops my passport ran out on Sunday....

So I won't be travelling anywhere for at least another two months....need my passport to take driving test...not enough time to send off for another passport before the test.

Have been told by everyone concerned that my passport is still ok to use even though it has run out. Just can't leave the country *shrug*

[Luvwines]

[jno]

Oh, let me adjust my clerical collar. Maybe we should start a passport signing fraternity. You sing for me, I sign for you, I am sure it can work out if we are struggling to find Brits of noble stature and moral calibre.

[Amber]

So I finally sent off my Passport for renewal last Tuesday. Got my photo signed by a British friend (you need their passport number too).

Oh and I got the new passport Thursday...so it took 9 days...

[captaincris]

The process is been done in Dusseldorf for Overseas UK people!!!
Along with 6 or 8 other EU Countries, its cheaper than Wien ( or overseas Consulates) Consulate as it is done by out sourced company.

Got mine after 6 weeks and calls after a while a guy from DHL came, if you need it quickly you can get the same day service at Dusseldorf.

At Dusseldorf you can pay by cash or creit card, or by post ONLY credit card

Good luck!!!!!

[forest]

Parsifal
Thank you for that post! I agree 110% with everything you said. I doubt anyone will come on and justify the cost of a UK passport, because there ISNT any justification for such an astronomical amount of money. I have no idea what it cost in Vienna, so I cant comment on it being cheaper now….i doubt it though, but that’s not my issue. My issue is that I fail to see why they are not able to give out passports at the British Embassy in Vienna anymore. They are supposedly a service provider, but the services are not being provided, and its us little people that suffer the consequences. I wonder what they do when they need to renew their passports, no doubt they have an internal luxury as most international orgs have.

I suppose it makes as much sense as the fact that only P grade staff from the UN are invited to British Embassy functions, G staff are not worthy, and if one doesn’t work in the UN then there is no chance of any invites. Not that I would want any, but I often used to wonder why my colleagues got invites and I didn’t, and then I figured out you have to be a “Professional Grade” to be invited. Das ich nicht lache! I did my time at the beaurocratical offices by the way, so I know how it all works….i was “younger and naiiver” back then. Now I am a little older and wiser….towards the end the money just wasn’t worth it, I wanted to keep my sanity!

I will be sitting ducks until I can afford to renew my passport, and don’t have any British friends here so that’s me done for even if I could afford it! As far as I understand one has to have the photo signed by a British citizen…is that correct?

[Amber]

[forest]

Hi

I have just filled out the form for the renewal of my British passport. I have a few questions:
I dont know any British nationals here, strange but true! So I will have to use an Austrian national to countersign one of my photos....it is written on the form/instructions: If you do not know a British national locally with these qualifications (lawyer, engineer bla bla), a citizen of the country you reside in may complete and sign the form, provided he/she has a similar standing in that country and has known you for two years and the Consul considers his/her signature to be acceptable. Hmmmm what is their criteria there? If i go to a friend who is a lawyer, how will i know whether the Consul considers his signature acceptable???? Or is that sentence just pure beaurocracy?

Also, how have people been sending over their passports to Düsseldorf, also with DHL? Seems a bit risky to be sending it through the post, even registered, as it still could get lost.

has anyone recently renewed, as I am getting a bit nervous because I will be going to Croatia at the beginning of August and hope that leaves enough time? If anyone has renewed recently, how long did it take?

Any recommendations for a place to take the photos that knows all the requirements for these photos, the list of requirements is long! Would appreciate any recommendations from anyone that has recently renewed.

Many thanks!
Forest

[siu]

Hi Forest,
With the recommendation from Viennamom, I went to the Foto Corner at the Hotel Marriott to get my photos done for the renewal of my Canadian passport. The people who work there are very familiar with the rules for each country regarding sizing. Lots of Americans go there because the consulate office is also there.

The Canadian Embassy also gave me another recommendation to get my photos taken in addition to the one at the Marriott Hotel.

The addresses are:

Foto Corner-- Hotel Marriott
Weihburggasse 12a
Tel: 513 8400
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 5:00pm
Saturday 9am to 2pm

--paid 11.90 Euros for 4 official passport photos.

Foto Franz Helmreich
Postgasse 13
Tel: 512 1835
Hours: Monday/Wednesday/Thursday 10 am to 7pm
Tuesday 8am to 5 pm
Friday 8am to 3pm

[forest]

Hi Siu
Many thanks for the info, its good to know that the one you went to is familiar with the different countries criteria. I will go to that one.
Forest

[Amber]

[jno]

I just also sent off a passport application yesterday. Let's see how long it takes and how much rubbish I have to put up with in the meantime. I certainly do not expect it to go smoothly solely as I have no faith in the idiots that work in British offices overseas that treat all their nationals like terrorists anytime they have a question.

I am totally in agreement with Parsfal and all the general comments here. It seems to me if you are British overseas you are totally irrelevant and have to pay over the odds just to get yourself a bit of documentation. The Düsseldorf website does not give clear pricing and for information call a 69p a minute hotline. Even the Embassy told me to tcall that premium rate number when I called them with a simple question. Is EVERYONE on the bloody take these days?! I heard Austrian children get a free passport and in Hungary you pay nowhere near the same amount for a passport.

A relative of mine in the Middle East also has to send his renewal form off to Düsseldorf from a country where post is 100% unreliable. He has already written to his local MP to complain and I know this complaint is currently in the possession of William Hague. His MP is backing his call for change.

The next time you need to renew I would recommend flying to the Uk to do it. The added expense/risks of doing it all over Düsseldorf are simply NOT worth the overinflated expense and/or risk of ID theft.

I have absolutely no respect for any British Embassy of FCO staff, they do so little for their citizens if you are British compared to other countries who invite the nationals around for drinks and make them feel welcome. FCO and British Embassy officials should really have some sort of ombudsman. Humbug!

[forest]

I really seriously would like to know what they do here in the Consulate now. There cant be that many people that are in need of emergency help here in Vienna, I mean seriously! I am not sure I see the logic in having a central place in Europe or North America for the renewal of passports. Washington D.C. is now the port of call for the North American renewals. The way I see it is this: if all these passports are being sent to one place, from many European countries, then that means that one place is being overloaded and there is a heck of a lot of passports to be done. That equals more employees, more costs. Now if they were to keep it as it was, nicely spread out the work, then there would be less work, less employees, less costs. Or am I being totally naiive here in my logic?

I am going to have to take the risk now to send it off, in the hope that it will be done in less than 3 weeks, as my holidays are booked so this had better work. I am going to get my photos signed by an Austrian dentist who is also a friend of mine, lets hope that dentists fit into the “professional” category mentioned on the form!

A professional is someone who performs for monetary rewards…..as opposed to an amateur, hmmm that would leave the list of professionals to be quite long. Are the “professionals” (listed in Note 7 of the notes for application/renewal of the passport) doctors, lawyers, ministers of religion (wont go there!), School teachers (also wont go there), Police officers (blimey….wont go there either), more trustworthy or less likely to have committed a crime than a good qualified butcher or a window cleaner, or a postman/woman. The mind boggles.

As to the garden parties….the invites……etc etc. UN employees here only get invites if they are “professionals”, general service don’t get them, unless they make a fuss and ask why they don’t ever get invited. What is it with this “professional” criteria that they have? A rhetorical question of course


edit: I also think its a cheek to assume that everyone has a credit card, thats the only method of payment if you dont live in Düsseldorf. I dont have one, and for them to assume that I can just go knock on a friends door and ask if i can have their credit card details AND a copy of their passport/ID is just out of order. Plenty of people dont have a credit card, whether it be out of choice, like myself, or because they simply cant get one.

[jno]

[anagram]

I agree the passport "service" is a joke now. As for what they actually do at the Embassy, it's a very good question. Something else that hasn't been mentioned on this thread up to now is that the system for getting a visa to enter the UK is also a complete farce. There used to be a counter at the embassy where you could just turn up, hand over your documents and get your visa but of course that was too simple and straightforward. Now all visa applications are handled by a commercial company working in tandem with the British Embassy in Warsaw of all places. Got a question about how to apply for a visa? Sure, you can call the company but it'll cost you 2 euros a minute. Payable in advance by, you guessed it, credit card.

Suggested new mission statement for the Foreign Office: "The UK. Pay up or stay away."

[anagram]

The other main purpose of the British Embassy in Vienna is to act as delegations to the various international organizations here, one of which I work for. I would say this is probably the most useful work they do.

And in reply to forest, I am a professional staff member and I've never had an invitation to a garden party either!

[forest]

Amber: I forgot to say thanks for your input in my last post, much appreciated. Everyones feedback is appreciated and its quite bizarre that we have a whole thread on renewing a passport, sickening actually. When its so damned easy to sneak into the pits of a plane and make ones way as a "blind" passenger to another country without anyone noticing it! Blimey, all i want is my right and property to be renewed!

It just gets worse! I am sick of it all.
anagram: that was how it was when i worked there, I was there for 10 years and left for a life with more freedom and less bureaucracy! But the bureaucracy seems to follow us either way, but still, its nice not to have to sit in that horrible building day in day out, with recycled air and a lack of the culture of the country it is based in. Saying that, it does mean that a life of self-employment is a little more risky but its worth it i suppose. Enough said. I guess they have changed it since then; because i remember the P grade British citizens would have invitations to whatever at the consulate, and i wouldnt, not that i cared, but the principle seemed a little odd to me, although there was no principle really now that i think of it....just the stuck up stuff that happens with Brits of that sort only when abroad, most of them arent like that in the UK, they give the Brits a bad name when abroad.

From a proud ex- General Service who had no invitations to garden parties and a Professional even though it doesn't fit under the criteria of the British Consulate!

Forest