I submitted my UK passport application yesterday and thought a few suggestions might save others some time and effort. It was more difficult than I'd anticipated, especially as I thought I was now an expert after completing HSMP, spousal, and ILR applications! I ended up having to fill out the form four times and having my poor countersignatory fill it out twice, plus visit three separate post offices yesterday (they kept closing on me, as it was Saturday). I used the post office check and send, and I'm glad I did as I had problems all day that would have gone unnoticed by me.
The form I used was SE/04/01 (on the top right corner).
HIGHLY ADVISED: Get the form well before you need it, so you can look it over. They're free. I should have asked for one at the post office weeks ago, but I am used to doing everything online, and searched a couple of times for the form but couldn't find it (I did find an older version of the form but I'll refrain from posting the link as it might be confusing). There is an online form you can fill out and have mailed to you to complete and take to the post office, but I have read of people having problems with it, so wanted to avoid it, plus I was anxious to submit it ASAP so I have a good chance of getting it before our Christmas flight to the US.
Important: GET THREE OR FOUR COPIES OF THE FORM! It will come in an envelope addressed to the Passport Office, with a guidance booklet. You can always hand back the unused forms when you submit yours.
FYI, current costs:
https://www.gov.uk/passport-feesGeneral remarks:
- DO NOT CROSS ANYTHING OUT. If you make a mistake, start over on a new form. Apparently there is a way you can black out a box, but my first application was rejected because I had written our town on the wrong line, put a line through it, and rewritten it on the line below. I don't know if they scan the forms or what, but they are VERY, VERY picky about the way you fill it out. DO NOT USE TIPPEX or your form will be rejected.
- Similarly, all of your information MUST be within the boxes on the forms, not just your signature but every single letter, X mark, and punctuation character. On my visit to the third post office with the fourth form, the person said oh no, your commas extend outside the box (I was seriously ready to weep at this point), but finally took the form after showing it to a colleague.
- Be careful when looking at the field names above each line as it's easy to get confused as you're going along if you don't have information for each line.
Section 1:
- There is a box to check if you want your US passport and naturalisation certificate returned by Secure Delivery, which seems a no-brainer to me. It's £3 extra.
- There is also a box to check if you want a 48-page passport. The first post office told me I couldn't have a 48-page passport as a first passport, the second one didn't know, and the third one wasn't sure, but thought it would be OK. I'll update when I get it to say whether they did it or not. It's an extra £13.
Section 5:
- I couldn't figure out what "Place of issue" meant: UK? Wandsworth? The second post office told me it would be shown on the certificate, but I didn't see any location there either. I showed it to her and she said it should be "HOME OFFICE LONDON", which is shown on the certificate under "Issued on the direction of the Secretary of State". (Yours will probably say something else there if you're outside London.)
Section 10 (countersignatory section):
- There is line that says "I confirm that I have known the person named in section 2, or in the case of a chid, the adult filing in section 9 (insert their name)". Your name should go there (unless you are doing it for a child). It's pretty obvious but I missed it the first time my countersignatory filled it out, thinking it applied only to the applications for children.
Hope that helps someone! I was seriously a nervous wreck by the time I finally got it submitted at 5:15 at a post office that closed at 5:30, and had a hard time finding information in a hurry when I was filling it out again and again. Good luck!