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Getting a British passport (yes, I am British)

ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
edited May 2008 in Help / Advice Forum
So, I need to get a British Passport. Quickly.

Trouble is, I've never been on one before, and never held one either.

"But my dear Ben, that's not a problem!" I hear you cry. Well fuck you, smart arse, because actually it is. Shut up and listen.

I submitted my application via check&send like, two months ago. They sent me a letter two weeks ago, saying that I needed proof of where I've lived for three years. I sent lovely letter to my bank saying "hey guys I've had an account with you for a really long time can you write me this letter and send it to my parents house". They never replied.

I have no other proof of where I've lived for the past well, ever, to the best of my knowledge. No doctors, or dentists. Never joined the forces. Never claimed benefits. And I don't think I have any paperwork for tax for this period, either.

So, help? I really really need this passport, and I'm a British citizen born and raised, with a family so British we're practically in the Domesday Book. But now I'm a prisoner in my own country. What the merry fuck?

ben0207 on

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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Do you have any bills in your name, ever? Cell phone bill, maybe?

    Thanatos on
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    ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Utility bills don't count, for reasons I don't fully understand.

    ben0207 on
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    ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Walk to your bank. Ask for a letter on bank letterhead verifying your address.

    Thanatos on
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    ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I tried that. Has to be done by head office. So I sent a letter to both them and also the customer service department.

    I'm really very frustrated. But thanks anyways Than.

    ben0207 on
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    LewieP's MummyLewieP's Mummy Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Phone them both? Go back to your bank and ask them to phone for you?
    School admission records for your secondary school - they have your address, proof you have attended the school.
    Family GP?

    LewieP's Mummy on
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    LewishamLewisham Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    ben0207 wrote: »
    I tried that. Has to be done by head office. So I sent a letter to both them and also the customer service department.

    I'm really very frustrated. But thanks anyways Than.

    Which bank is this? Just so I know to avoid them.

    Also: can you not just submit statements from the bank?

    Lewisham on
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    ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Lewisham wrote: »
    ben0207 wrote: »
    I tried that. Has to be done by head office. So I sent a letter to both them and also the customer service department.

    I'm really very frustrated. But thanks anyways Than.

    Which bank is this? Just so I know to avoid them.

    Also: can you not just submit statements from the bank?

    Cooperative. I'd avoid them anyway, they're useless.

    And the IPS don't accept statements either. I'm not really sure what they're expecting. It's not as if I've made an effort to live "off the grid", I just don't keep old paperwork. Certaily not for three plus years nayway.

    ben0207 on
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    Rogueknight-Rogueknight- Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Do you have a Landlord where you live? Or a letting agency?

    Would it be possible for them to just call them and ask for a quick letter saying you have been living in their property and paying rent to them for x years? I suggest this option because you have mentioned a utility bill.

    Rogueknight- on
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    ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Lived at home for the past 3 or 4 years.

    And I don't hold a driving license either.

    ben0207 on
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    oddmentoddment Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    How old are you? If you've been living at home for the past three years, should you not be on the council tax statements? Or registered with the local council for elections and such like?

    oddment on
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    Red OktoberRed Oktober Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Mortgage or rent statements with your address on them?

    Red Oktober on
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    JansonJanson Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Can you access bank statements online? I can order old statements (for a small fee).

    Janson on
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    WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Any medical records?

    Willeth on
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    BobCescaBobCesca Is a girl Birmingham, UKRegistered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Your parents should ahve enrolled you on the voting register and census forms...there's probably a way of getting something from the council confirming this.

    BobCesca on
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    Conroy BumpasConroy Bumpas Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    regestered to vote? look yourself up on 192.com

    you should show up on the poll.

    im sure the passport people come across this alot, id phone them,

    you shud be regesterd to some doctor somwhere

    Conroy Bumpas on
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    SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2008
    ben0207 wrote: »
    Lewisham wrote: »
    ben0207 wrote: »
    I tried that. Has to be done by head office. So I sent a letter to both them and also the customer service department.

    I'm really very frustrated. But thanks anyways Than.

    Which bank is this? Just so I know to avoid them.

    Also: can you not just submit statements from the bank?

    Cooperative. I'd avoid them anyway, they're useless.

    And the IPS don't accept statements either. I'm not really sure what they're expecting. It's not as if I've made an effort to live "off the grid", I just don't keep old paperwork. Certaily not for three plus years nayway.

    They don't accept bank statements or bills of any sort? Utility, credit card etc? You have sent them your birth certificate, right? And called 0870 521 0410 to ask them what in the good fuck else they expect you to provide? Invited Jacqui Smith round for tea and cunnilingus?

    Szechuanosaurus on
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    ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    No bank statements or bills. And they already have my Birtch Cert. I called them, and tey were like "you don't have this stuff? So, you want to revoke your application?" To which I was "Fuck no, just hang on while I find something"

    ben0207 on
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    oddmentoddment Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Seriously... ask what they WILL accept. Ask them to give you a full list of what is acceptable to them.

    oddment on
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    SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2008
    Yeah, what? I don't get it. They want you to guess what proof they want you to supply? Just ask them exactly what they want.

    Szechuanosaurus on
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    CauldCauld Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I don't really know much about the british system, but do you have tax returns? What address did you put in? Pay stubs mailed to you? vehicle registration/driver's license?

    As for the bank, I'd walk in and ask your local branch again, they'll tell you its a central office thing again. Ask them to call central office for you, and wait there while they do it. You might have to press it a little, but if you speak to a manager/supervisor it should work out. Also saying something like "This is what I expect from a bank. I've been a customer here for a long time. If this isn't a service you can provide to a longtime customer, then I will find another bank to do business with."

    Also, ask if an affidavit from your parents verifying your address would work. Usually sworn statements work for things like this.

    Cauld on
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    SzechuanosaurusSzechuanosaurus Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited May 2008
    A letter from a professional who knows your family usually helps as well. You usually need someone like a doctor or university lecturer who knows you and is considered responsible to sign your passport photo as a verification that it is a photo of you, so maybe a letter from someone like that would also help?

    Szechuanosaurus on
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    corcorigancorcorigan Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    You're not registered with a doctor?!

    corcorigan on
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    ben0207ben0207 Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    I never get ill. Only been to hospital once, for a fractured arm when I was 8. Somebody drove a Transit over it.

    I dn't get a chance to ring them today. Hopefully they're open tomorrow.

    ben0207 on
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