Huge delay in child first passport processing - help

[GGtrek]

Important data:
- Office the application was sent to: Peterborough
- Date I sent application (dd/mm/yyyy): 24/06/2013
- Child is foreign born
- I used the check&send service of the Post Office
- First passport
- British consular birth certificate clearly stating British nationality was provided together with countersigned photo, foreign travel document with which she entered the UK, my foreign marriage certificate duly registered and certified by GRO
- on the same date I sent the application for the renewal of my passport and my new passport was issued on 3rd of July (incredibly fast!)
- End of July I managed to contact directly the Peterborough office (they called me back after I called the helpline) and told me that for foreign born children the processing usually takes from 6 to 8 weeks
- 8 weeks have expired and last week I raised a complaint with
Customer service manager
Customer contact centre
PO Box 175
Newport
Gwent
NP20 1XA
- they answered simply "I can confirm that we have escalated your complaint to our complaints team for an investigation and they will be in contact you"

Questions:
- has anyone been in a situation like mine (foreign born child, application in the UK)? How long did it take to issue the first passport for the child?
- how long should I give to the complaints team to answer my complaint? Honestly I do not understand why it is taking so long and I am thinking of contacting my MP next week to force the passport office to focus on my child application.
- can I ask them to return immediately all the accompanying documents so that she is free to travel with her family while they keep processing? I believe they had enough time (2 months) to analyze the documents.

Thank you

[Lucapooka]

Ideally, a child who is born British by descent in an overseas territory should have entered the UK on a British passport rather than on their other nationality. Perhaps you have a valid reason for not applying in advance of the move to the UK. I think it's reasonable to assume that the delay is due to referral checks made to the British mission in that country.

[GGtrek]

Ideally, a child who is born British by descent in an overseas territory should have entered the UK on a British passport rather than on their other nationality. Perhaps you have a valid reason for not applying in advance of the move to the UK. I think it's reasonable to assume that the delay is due to referral checks made to the British mission in that country.

Ideally the British Embassy in Washington should not take 4 months to renew or issue a British passport (which has happened to my other child), ideally a British citizen who is residing outside Britain should not be treated like a second class citizen, ideally a check with a British consulate should not take 2 months (certified email is widely available), ideally my family and I are free to enter and exit the UK whenever we wish and AFAIK there is no law that requires a British citizen to carry a British passport to enter or leave the UK.
I know that they are trying to verify her birth certificate with the British consulate, what is difficult to understand is the time they are taking to perform the task which is way beyond their published timelines. I asked specific questions please let´s not go out of topic.

[Lucapooka]

The delay is not huge, is' s normal and entirely due to the standard referrals on the paperwork that was emitted overseas, both local and from the consulate. However, It seems you are here to rant rather than listen. Are there no pubs in your area?

[john1978]

hello.
British passport for my child who was born in iraq.

passport application form submitted in Germany to Düsldorf on 22.10.2012 on 18.01.2013 uk liverpool IPS has received.

on 19.07.2013 we have received the passport
total about 9 month i was waited

yes you can ask them for return any document you need. i did many complaint but nothings happened ,yes is best if you can contact your mp

good lock

john 1978

[GGtrek]

hello.
British passport for my child who was born in iraq.

passport application form submitted in Germany to Düsldorf on 22.10.2012 on 18.01.2013 uk liverpool IPS has received.

on 19.07.2013 we have received the passport
total about 9 month i was waited

yes you can ask them for return any document you need. i did many complaint but nothings happened ,yes is best if you can contact your mp

good lock

john 1978

Thank you, very useful and based on experience answer. I shall try to contact the passport office again by phone and if the answer is still the same then I shall follow up with my MP.

[GGtrek]

Final update, I finally received the passport last Monday 9th of September, total time taken 11 weeks.
To get the passport I followed the complaint escalation:
https://www.gov.uk/passport-advice-line
1) Complaint to the Customer service manager in Newport was pretty much useless, I received a ready-made standard written answer of this type: we have serious security checks to perform, delivery time is not guaranteed (biggest excuse of civil servants all over the world) it is gonna take whatever time it takes
2) Given the absolute nonsense of this answer after a 10 weeks wait for a child passport (in 10 weeks they could have sailed back and forth to the foreign consular mission!) I escalated the nonsense to the Passport Office - Chief Executive’s office in London, where probably they worried a bit about targets and bad publicity (I warned them I was going to follow the complaint process and escalate to my MP right after). Fact is one week after the complaint to HQ London the passport was at the doorstep and the following day a lady from Passport Office Newport even called me to confirm that I received the passport!

Lesson learned is: do not be complacent with the system when you see that normal timelines are starting to pass by or listen to nonsense spouted by senior members of this forum (see first answer to my questions) trying to provide excuses to a poor job done from civil servant at the Passport office. Nowadays it is extremely simple for IPS to contact foreign consular missions to verify documents.

[arnoldkitching12]

hello, we applied 7 months ago for our daughter's passport, born in the philippines for her uk passport, me being a british citizen for many generation back and back,she is inheritatly a british citizen.
but all we ever get when telephoning liverpool or emailing them --is that checks are being carried out in the philippines, never what checks, or why it is taking so long, when we have internet and telephone these days.
i was think it may just be another tatic by the home office to make it more difficult for families to come to the husbands home country,
but it can be said that it is very frustrating, waiting waiting and only ever being told upon contact,that checks are being carried out.
perhaps if i contact my m.p. then maybe she can push thing along or request anyway,
dreadfull situation, arnold kitching.