I’m about to have to go through this now. I’m a dual citizen but I’ve never lived over there, and have a trip planned to visit family later this year. I let my British passport expire over 10 years ago because I never use it.
As you just pointed out, a lot of people aren’t renewing. I specifically said “apply”.
Looking at that list, the requirements do seem to have been updated. But as you again pointed out, they’re also very unclear. It’s not exactly well defined what half of that stuff even is.
I went through this process nine months ago - because these rules technically went into effect over a year back, but then the government hemmed and hawed on whether or not to actually enforce them because they were so confused about what they had actually done - and I went as far as to speak with the consulate in Toronto and with a friend of a friend who works in the actual passport office in the UK just to get clarification on this stuff and it was still a mess of contradictions. I ended up having to track down someone I knew from my childhood who is a notary now and get them to write a document saying that I am who I say I am.
That doesn’t seem to be true? Their site says you can use another passport as verification if renewing - https://www.gov.uk/renew-adult-passport/renew or if applying you need a little more https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-adult-passport/what-documents-you-need-to-apply
I’m about to have to go through this now. I’m a dual citizen but I’ve never lived over there, and have a trip planned to visit family later this year. I let my British passport expire over 10 years ago because I never use it.
More details here too https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-passport-supporting-documents-group-3/applying-for-a-passport-from-outside-the-uk-supporting-documents-group-3-accessible The supporting docs in table A are definitely doable without living in the UK, if you even need to use that table. Their site is unclear and contradictory unfortunately between that last link and the earlier ones
As you just pointed out, a lot of people aren’t renewing. I specifically said “apply”.
Looking at that list, the requirements do seem to have been updated. But as you again pointed out, they’re also very unclear. It’s not exactly well defined what half of that stuff even is.
I went through this process nine months ago - because these rules technically went into effect over a year back, but then the government hemmed and hawed on whether or not to actually enforce them because they were so confused about what they had actually done - and I went as far as to speak with the consulate in Toronto and with a friend of a friend who works in the actual passport office in the UK just to get clarification on this stuff and it was still a mess of contradictions. I ended up having to track down someone I knew from my childhood who is a notary now and get them to write a document saying that I am who I say I am.
They do seem to be good at making a mess of things.