Passport Office Rejects 2019 Copy in British Passport Renewal

A dual national living in France said the UK Passport Office rejected his british passport renewal paperwork because the birth certificate copy he sent was issued in 2019. He has lived in France for over half a century and says the case now leaves him trying to assemble older proof of identity after his last UK passport expired in 1990.

1990 and 2019 documents

The reader said the Passport Office emailed him that the birth certificate copy was no good. He said he was asked to produce school reports, proof of going to university, health reports, letters from the tax authority, or any letter from the British government written before 1990.

That request reaches far beyond a routine renewal check. The reader said his last UK passport expired in 1990, which leaves him searching for paperwork from before 1990 to satisfy the application.

France and UK travel rules

He said new rules supporting the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme mean he has to apply for a UK passport. The issue matters to dual nationals in France who rely on a valid British passport to travel to the UK under the new rules.

The reader said dual nationals without a UK passport cannot return to the UK, and he described the process as excessive bureaucracy for people in his position. The article also says new price increases will apply to all passport applications, including those from overseas, adding another cost for applicants outside the UK.

What applicants face next

For this applicant, the next step is not another trip or a border crossing but a paper hunt through decades-old records. He needs older documents from before 1990, while the current application remains blocked by the Passport Office’s view that a 2019 birth certificate copy is not sufficient.