Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the estimated timeframe for passport renewals will be reduced to a three week turnaround.

Over 5 million people delayed their passport applications in 2020 and 2021. With demand for international travel having returned, Her Majesty’s Passport Office is currently receiving a higher number of passport applications than ever before. Some 9.5 million applications are expected in 2022, compared with approximately 7 million in a normal year, hence us advising since April 2021 of a longer turnaround time of 10 weeks.

We will continue to monitor when the demand for passports returns closer to normal levels and act accordingly.