Passport chaos

So, an illegal immigrant who used a fake passport claims it violates his human rights if he is deported. I do empathise.

After misplacing my passport it cost £72.50 to renew it.

Not having received it within its “guideline” three weeks’ processing time I called HM Passport Office to learn that if I called back on a certain day I would be told my passport would be located in its system, checked to see if it could be “fast tracked” then charged an additional £55 to “guarantee” delivery within 48 hours.

This is yet another public 
office under-performing, kept afloat by charging additional “stealth” fees for the same basic service.

The route to a bona fide passport probably takes too long and is over-complicated with no guarantee of getting a passport in a timely manner.

It seems easier and more hassle-free to get fake ID and passports, and a number of websites providers have emerged. Maybe that’s one reason why nobody knows how many people live in Britain illegally, a recent estimate putting the number at 618,000. Let’s put Joe Public’s human rights first. HM Passport Office and the Home Office should stop burying existing UK passports in red tape and burgeoning fees and get their house in order.

We shouldn’t be held to ransom due to the ineptitude of government or public office.

Ron Connelly

Morlich Road

Dalgety Bay