Desperate travellers book one-way f lights they won’t take... just to get a passport
HOLIDAYMAKERS are booking cheap one-way flights they have no intention of taking in a desperate effort to get their passport.
People are using HM Passport Office (HMPO) rules that allow travellers to pay an extra £102 to ‘upgrade’ their application and receive much quicker consideration – if they can prove they need to use the passport within a fortnight.
But it is putting more pressure on the agency, with waits of up to 20 days for most in-person appointments for emergency fasttrack and premium services.
Andy Anderson, who runs the independent Passport Waiting Time website, said he was aware of the flight-booking ruse. ‘It’s something I have definitely seen people doing,’ he said.
‘The Passport Office have started to ask for information about when people booked the flight as they’re getting wise to it. But there’s still so much inconsistency – it [the ruse] is working for some people but not for others.’
HMPO usually does not allow standard applications to be upgraded once the process has begun but, amid the post-pandemic spike in demand, exceptions are being made if a person can prove they are travelling within two weeks. The ‘upgrade’ system moves the applicant to the premium one-day service, which requires applicants to book an in-person appointment to receive their documents.
Facebook users have also reported that people who can prove they are travelling in less than 48 hours are being seen by staff without an appointment booked. In a post on a Facebook advice group, one wrote: ‘My tip is if you can’t take the stress and anxiety of waiting 48 hours until your actual holiday then book a cheap flight (I found one for £18 to Dublin) and email upgrade team.’
Another said: ‘On Saturday I purchased a one-way ticket to Ibiza with Ryan Air for £16.99 to fly on 17th July, as we intend to fly around 25th July… this obviously worked as we got an email to say it had been approved.
‘I would say, if you applied over six weeks ago (and definitely more than ten weeks ago) and you fly in over two weeks, book a cheap flight
‘Most of the staff seem to be working from home’
to anywhere within the next two weeks to use as your flight date.’
Mr Anderson said those who have upgraded their applications were now competing for in-person appointment slots with others who have paid from the outset for the fast-track and premium one-day appointment.
He added: ‘There just aren’t enough appointments and people are really struggling to book them.
‘Even if you do qualify for an upgrade, you may be unable to secure an appointment to get your passport. I think we could definitely see worse to come, especially with the approach of the school holidays.’
Data collected by the UKPassportCheck Twitter profile shows users are most likely to get a face-to-face appointment 20 days after booking. Those in the South of England may need to travel to Durham, Glasgow or Belfast to pick up their passports.
Stuart and Marika Carson faced having to cancel a £4,500 cruise after HMPO lost their daughter’s birth certificate three times. Mr Carson, 38, a solicitor, who applied for a new passport for five-year-old Maya on January 21, said: ‘Nobody seems to have a clue what they are doing.
‘Most of the staff appear to be working from home and it’s almost impossible to get through without hanging on the phone for hours. It’s like something out of a Kafka novel: bureaucracy gone berserk and bonkers.’
The couple have now managed to secure the passport.
HMPO said staff were processing about 250,000 applications a week, with 98.5 per cent completed within ten weeks.