Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will allocate more resources to speed up the processing of applications for UK passports for British children born (a) overseas and (b) in areas of conflict.

Her Majesty’s Passport Office has increased the number of staff processing passport applications made overseas by 36% since last summer. Staff deal with both adult and child applications from all countries so increased resources benefit all customers. In May 2015 99.9% of straightforward applications to renew a child’s passport were processed in 4 weeks from receipt of the application and 99.9% of straightforward applications for a child’s first passport were processed in 6 weeks from receipt of the application.

It is recognised that the time taken can be substantially longer in non-straightforward cases (e.g. in unstable countries affected by conflict or where a particularly complex assessment to verify British nationality must be made). Processing times will vary due to reliance on authorities overseas to authenticate supporting evidence or the logistical difficulties encountered in arranging interview locations and obtaining missing supporting documents from customers. We work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to address the needs of customers in emergency situations but must also ensure that the integrity of the British passport is protected as we do so.