Passport Renewal / Application - Time Taken?

[Flashback]

Passport office in London called me today, they have the passport, so they're sending out. Monday/Tuesday I guess.

 

[snabbu]

$427.00 for a 5 years kid visa including express fee...
On the positive side it did arrive in just a couple of days.

 

[Flashback]

Passport received, doesn't seem to have the front page curve issue. Will see how long that's the case.

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

Renewal lodged 21 June and received 2 July.

No curling like some previous posters have experienced, but the cover does not sit neatly shut like my old passports. Maybe some time in the passport holder will fix that up.

 

[Flashback]

Renewal lodged 21 June and received 2 July.

No curling like some previous posters have experienced, but the cover does not sit neatly shut like my old passports. Maybe some time in the passport holder will fix that up.

Same, mine sits open/up. Fixed the curling and introduced another problem?

 

[Legoman]

Applied 27 June (just before the $50 price increase), received passport today 10 July. Gotta say, for the extortionate cost (most expensive passport in the world now I believe, even eclipsing Mexico since the price rise on 1 July), it is a real let down and singularly unimpressive. It's worth about $40, not $400. Remarkable for what you don't get for all that money. Mine appears to have about 16 pages only, it won't close by itself without being jammed between something to hold it closed. Both covers front and back are permanently curled up like I've been swimming with it and just in general design aesthetic terms, it is a dreadfully cheap looking thing. I thought I might be looking back with rose tinted glasses retrospectively, so I pulled out my past four passports to compare and nup… I was completely right. All my previous passports back to Sep 1987 are much more impressive.

That, and it came with no holder sleeve or jacket protector or basically anything. It wasn't even wrapped in plastic of any kind in case the envelope got wet (which was definitely on the cards). Basically a complete rip-off when weighed against the ludicrous cost of the thing!

 

[Legoman]

$427.00 for a 5 years kid visa including express fee...

Ouch! That's insane. I wish I could claim NZ citizenry. If I had any way of claiming NZ citizenship, I would forget the Australian passport altogether and happily use a NZ one instead. NZ passports are circa $80 only and they're a good deal more powerful than Australian ones too requiring visas for fewer places than Australia. $80 for a more accepted passport vs $400 for the cough that DFAT foist upon us is a slightly better deal

 

[StayGoldPonyboy]

Renewal lodged at my local Brisbane PO on 18 July.
E-mail today 5 August that it's ready for collection.

The application status was showing as "under assessment" as recently as yesterday
Noted they were doing some system upgrade over the weekend so maybe the statuses were not reflecting the process.

 

[Human]

Renewal lodged at my Post Office last Friday October 4.
SMS that it's been sent via Registered Mail, Thursday October 10.

Much faster than I was expecting!

 

[Beano]

Passport received, doesn't seem to have the front page curve issue. Will see how long that's the case.

Find my NZ passport does that. I have to keep it in a pocket or between books to keep it flat! Usually keep it in a pocket in my laptop office trolley bag so OK. My GO-bag for travelling!

 

[p--and--t]

Ordinary Passport renewal.

Nov 22 - Lodged post office in QLD
Nov 27 - Received by passport office
Nov 28 - Approved & sent for Printing
Nov 29 - AusPost has parcel and on the way, delivery date not confirmed yet.

 

[RB001]

Ordinary renewal (not really, but...)

25 Sept - Lodged at suburban Sydney PO
14 Oct - Status still showing as 'Lodged' so I call the Passport Office
15 Oct - Receive a phone call in response to case raised by customer service officer. Phone call and email to confirm that original application most likely lost. Advised to complete check list again and relodge.
There's no way I'm relodging at a PO and crossing my fingers, so I arrange to complete at the Passport Office, seeing as it's closer to home than work.
16 Oct - Attend Sydney Passport Office at 8.31am, application processing begins, and I'm advised to wait for the email.
16 Oct - I'm barely at my desk less than an hour after leaving the Passport Office when the email comes through to advise my passport is ready for collection!
17 Oct - 8.31am - straight to the collection counter for my brand new R Series.
31 Oct - Use my new passport for the first time (to NZ, no less)

 

[p--and--t]

Ordinary Passport renewal.

Nov 22 - Lodged post office in QLD
Nov 27 - Received by passport office
Nov 28 - Approved & sent for Printing
Nov 29 - AusPost has parcel and on the way, delivery date not confirmed yet.

Dec 3 - Delivered to my home by Austpost

 

[worldhopper]

Priority application

Lodged in Auspost RAPID prior to 12pm
Received by passport office for processing by 2pm
Processed the same day and sent for printing by 5pm
Ready for collection 9am the following day from Passport Office.

Paid the priority fee for this though.

 

[p--and--t]

Hmmm new passport doesn’t stay shut and cover is slightly warped. The main id page has multiple security items enclosed under the plastic cover which doesn’t sit flat (a bit like the old phone screen covers that got air bubbles under them).

Wondering if it will last 10 years The one that just expired is in perfect nick.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Hmmm new passport doesn’t stay shut and cover is slightly warped. The main id page has multiple security items enclosed under the plastic cover which doesn’t sit flat (a bit like the old phone screen covers that got air bubbles under them).

Wondering if it will last 10 years The one that just expired is in perfect nick.

I had that for the first few months as well, keep it under something heavy and turn it every few days. It'll eventually come good.

 

[Legoman]

Yep, they are absolute cough. Search the internet and you will find acres of discussion about just how cough the new whizz-bang Australian passports are, and even which countries to avoid because you will have a devil's own job trying to convince their customs you didn't make the passport yourself because the quality is so sub-standard. Just another way Australia is the 'clever country'

 

[Legoman]

I had that for the first few months as well, keep it under something heavy and turn it every few days. It'll eventually come good.

Mine has been held inside two extremely tight plastic sleeves for 5 months now and if I take it out and leaf through the pages at all, it goes straight back to being bent again like I've dropped it in a swimming pool. I've given up expecting this thing to ever come good. Totally worth being the world's most expensive passport by some margin. Really top quality merch.

 

[jukebox333]

Ordinary Passport renewal.

Nov 25 - Lodged post office in WA
Nov 28 - Received by passport office
Nov 29 - Approved
Dec 4 - Delivered to me by AusPost

Heir Jukebox, 25, who applied with me at the same time

Nov 25 - Lodged post office in WA
Nov 29 - Received by passport office

No further update...

Even having has three previous child passports, as a child born after 1986 applying for his first adult passport, Heir had more paperwork to provide - my expired passport, my birth certificate, his expired child passport and his birth certifcate.

The extra checks on that are, I suspect, the cause for his taking longer, but worth factoring in for anyone in the same boat.

 

[blacksultan]

Ordinary Passport renewal.

Nov 25 - Lodged post office in WA
Nov 28 - Received by passport office
Nov 29 - Approved
Dec 4 - Delivered to me by AusPost

Heir Jukebox, 25, who applied with me at the same time

Nov 25 - Lodged post office in WA
Nov 29 - Received by passport office

No further update...

Even having has three previous child passports, as a child born after 1986 applying for his first adult passport, Heir had more paperwork to provide - my expired passport, my birth certificate, his expired child passport and his birth certifcate.

The extra checks on that are, I suspect, the cause for his taking longer, but worth factoring in for anyone in the same boat.

Just fyi if required you can call and get the pasport No over phone once it has been processed .