Immigration Corner | How reliable is the Check and Send service?

Dear Mr Bassie,

I was told that it was possible for a post office in the United Kingdom to check my passport application for me before I submit it. Please advise if this service exists.

– R.Y.

Dear R.Y.,

Some post offices in the United Kingdom can check passport applications, and this is referred to as the ‘Check and Send’ service. It is less likely that an application will be rejected if the Check and Send service is used. If this service is to be utilised, then persons should look up online, ‘Post office that offers the Check and Send service’. From this drop-down list, persons should choose:

• ‘Passport Check and Send – digital’, if they want post office staff to take their photograph and help fill out the application online;

• ‘Passport Check and Send – paper’, if they are applying with a paper form.

THE COST

Digital Check and Send includes the cost of the photograph, and it costs £16 on top of the passport application fee. Paper Check and Send does not include the cost of the photograph. It costs £16 on top of the passport application fee and the cost of the photographs. Please note that the Check and Send service is free if persons qualify for a free passport.

Persons can pay using cash, credit or debit card, or a postal order that is made payable to Post Office Limited. Please be aware that persons can only get a refund if HM Passport Office sends the applicant a letter to say that the post office made a mistake with the application. The letter will also advise how to retrieve a refund from the post office. Please note that persons cannot get a refund if the application is rejected.

MAKING A DIGITAL APPLICATION

The post office will take the applicant’s photograph and help him/her to fill in the application online. What the applicants will need to bring will depend on what type of applications they are making.

If renewing or replacing a passport:

Persons must bring their old passport to the post office if they still have it. If they have changed their name, they will also need to bring proof of their new name; for example, a marriage certificate.

If their passport is lost, they will also need the name and email address of someone who can confirm their identity.

If applying for their first adult passport:

Persons will need to give the email address of someone who can confirm their identity.

They will also need their parents’ details, including their

• Name, date and place of birth;

• Nationality;

• United Kingdom passport details, if they have them;

• Details of their marriage or civil partnership, if they had one.

If applying for someone under 16 years old:

Persons will need to give both of their parents’ details, including their

• Name, date and place of birth;

• Nationality;

• United Kingdom passport details, if they have them;

• Details of their marriage or civil partnership, if they had one.

Persons who cannot provide both parents’ details will need to say why (for example, they are the only parent named on the birth certificate, or if they adopted the child on their own).

Persons will also need the email address of someone who can confirm the child’s identity, unless they are renewing a passport for a child who is 12 years old or over, and if they have the child’s old passport with them.

AFTER MAKING THE APPLICATION

Applicants will get email and text updates from HM Passport Office at each stage of the application process, and they will be able to track it online. Please note that using the Check and Send service does not guarantee a passport application will be successful.

MAKING A PAPER APPLICATION

Persons should take their completed paper application form, photographs and any supporting documents to the post office.

The post office Check and Send service will check that they have

• Filled in the right sections of the paper form;

• Got the right supporting documents (including photographs);

• Paid the right fee.

They will then send the application to HM Passport Office by special delivery.

Please be aware that using Check and Send is usually faster than posting the application, and that HM Passport Office may still need to contact either the applicant or the countersignatory to check details.

Good luck.

John S. Bassie is a barrister/attorney-at-law who practises law in Jamaica. He is a justice of the peace, a Supreme Court-appointed mediator, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a chartered arbitrator, global vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (UK). Email: lawbassie@yahoo.com