D1 needed to renew her passport in view of her upcoming trip to the USA in December to see her boyfriend. Because her appearance has changed substantially since her first passport was issued aged 13, she needed to have new photographs, and for one of them , along with her application form, to be countersigned by an adult of goodstanding outside the family who has known her for more than two years. That bit was easy; she just asked her best friend`s father, who has known us all for 10 years.
I also needed to have my passport amended from my previous married name to my new married name. Ok, I know it has been quite a few years, but I hadn`t been abroad since my second marriage and didn`t see much point in shelling out £42.00 just for the sake of it :-)
So dear Allan came to the rescue and signed my form and photo too.
Armed with my debit card, I trundled up to the post office to get the forms checked and given priority treatment. That cost another £6.00 each.
The poor cashier seemed a little bemused, and read every single word on the form with great care. And I mean great care. I think that this was possibly the first set of passport applications which she has processed.
I was just so glad the post office was quiet and there was no queue behind me, or I had visions of a lynch mob forming...........
When it came to checking my documents, she looked even more puzzled. I pointed out that I had enclosed my birth certificate, my first marriage certificate and my divorce papers, and my second marriage certificate, which showed the name I want my new passport to be issued in.
The supervisor had to be called. Why had I enclosed both marriage certificates and my divorce papers ? I explained that this was as per the passport office official guide to filling in the forms, in my particular situation.
"You have to show what happened to your first marriage in order for them to issue a passport in a new married name" I explained.
Blank looks.
I tried again : "You have to show that your first husband either died - when you would send their death certificate- or you got divorced, when you send them your decree absolute. Otherwise, you could be committing bigamy and fraud."
Faces lit up. It was agreed that I was right to include all my documents in that case.
I heaved a sigh of relief.
But then they couldn`t find what box to tick on the form to show I had enclosed my decree absolute. The supervisor was called again. Then the enormous Post Office Rule Book was consulted. It was established that the correct box for a decree absolute was ...............divd. Aaagh, Clear as mud.
At last, I was given a receipt for my applications, and the bill..........£99.00 sterling.
Only three more children to provide new passports for............I wonder if the kids would accept passports in lieu of Christmas presents ..... :-))))))))))
7 comments:
Sorry about the delete above. I didn't proofread before I posted.
It could be worse. Be glad you don't have to get them two passports each. For one of them it means booking months in advance to spend all day in London.
What a hassle! How did an English teen end up with a boyfriend in the Colonies, anyway?
David : I am very thankful I only had to get one passport! I remember your post about the epic trip from Hooterville to London for Abby`s american passport :-)
Jim : D1 is a fanatical writer. She publishes a lot of stuff on www.fanfiction.net, and gets lots of reviews. One of the reviews was from someone in Colorado, and they got to emailing each other. They found out they had a lot in common, and then he came over to Uk to visit for 10 days and they discovered that their liking had deepened. A lot .
So now she is off to USA for Christmas to spend with his family.
Sometimes it is tough to watch them grow up. You worry.
However, I was engaged at 18, and was with my first husband for 19 years. Young relationships can work.
I just hope she doesn`t come home from USA married :-)
My daughter is doing the same thing with the passport application so she can travel to England in November to visit her girlfriend who is studying at the University of Gloucestershire (sp?). Many, many hoops to jump through. My daughter would also like to visit some friends of the male persuasion who live in Wales I think. She met them at a summer camp they both worked at this past summer here in the "colonies." :-) Aaahhh, to be young again. I didn't do half the traveling my daughter has at her age!
When I was a teen I had a LD too. She was only an hour away, though, not across the sea! Very intense, as most teen things are. Wow... I don't know if I could let Ana go away for so long with some dude. Scary. still praying she becomes a nun... :)
Hi Philippa
I wish I had had the chance to go across The Pond at 18 !!
I would have liked for us all to have gone with her for a family holiday,as none of us has ever been to the USA, but the airfare costs are appalling for 6 of us, even if the youngest two get a reduced fare.
Not to mention keeping a six year old and a very nearly three year old occupied on a transatlantic flight :-)))
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