You can replace your passport for the following reasons: When it expires and when it is lost or stolen. When your passport is damaged, you can also replace it.
For a lost or stolen passport to be replaced, your identity must be checked and confirmed by someone who meets specific criteria. Your doctor or caseworker might need to do this for a lost or stolen passport. Otherwise, the process of replacing a damaged passport is not very difficult.
Damaged passports are easier to replace than lost or stolen ones and don’t require much attention from you. Start filling out some paperwork and pay some fees, and you’ll have a new passport in no time. After all, it’s only paperwork.
Here is how to replace a damaged passport in the UK in five easy steps:
1. Fill Out the Replacement Passport Form
The first thing you’ll need to do is complete the online form provided with your damaged passport.
You can access it online from the official government website. This form will ask for your personal information, like your full name and date of birth and why you need to replace your damaged passport.
2. Get Your Supporting Identification
Next, you have to have your identification verified by a police officer, a UK Border Agency representative or notary public, or an authorised passport issuing office within the UK.
Your identification must be confirmed as valid and issued by the United Kingdom, the European Union, the European Economic Area, or the United Nations since your present passport is damaged and not operating.
One easy way to do this is by going to the nearest police station. Bring your damaged passport and the completed replacement passport form to the police station, and they will have you fill out some paperwork.
The officer or representative will confirm your identity, and you will be issued a document that you can use to apply for a new passport.
If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of going to the police station, you can have a doctor or a caseworker take care of this.
3. Take Your Supporting Documents to the Post Office
If the police or someone else has checked and verified your ID, take the proof and your damaged passport to a post office in your area.
You’ll have to pay a few fees to get a new passport from the post office. You’ll probably have to show the damaged passport to the postal clerk, who will hold it and give you a receipt.
After you pay, you’ll be given a form to fill out. They’ll give you a new UK passport after checking your ID.
4. Apply for a New Passport
For the rest of the process, you will have to apply for the new passport in person. You’ll not be able to apply for a new passport by mail.
First, go to your nearest passport office and bring your damaged passport and the completed application form. Fill out the form and make payment. Once you’ve paid, they’ll give you a document that gives you an appointment time at the passport office.
You will have to return to the passport office at your appointment notice. At the office, you will be issued a new passport.
5. Collect Your New Passport
When you return to the passport office, you will be given your new passport. You can collect it immediately or wait for your new passport to arrive in the mail. When you’ve received your new passport, you’ll be given instructions to replace your passport’s damaged pages.
Conclusion
In the end, replacing a damaged passport is not a very difficult process. You shouldn’t have any trouble doing it if you have the time to follow through with the application, and the process takes just a few days. You don’t have to be in a rush either.
Are you in need of help with passport services in the UK? Travcour VLS is the leading specialist in obtaining visas and passports in the UK. Whether your passport was stolen, lost, or damaged, we can help you get a replacement within one week. Contact us today to learn more about our services!