The Passport Office is seeing "unprecedented demand" because of a post-Covid backlog.
More than 5 million people delayed applying for passports during the pandemic. The eyewatering figure was revealed as the Passport Office responded to "considerable press coverage of people facing holiday cancellations or travel disruption due to waiting times for passports".
Since last year, the Passport Office has been advising people to submit their paperwork 10 weeks in advance. But some people say they have been waiting longer than the advised period, leaving them at risk of cancelling their holiday and losing hundreds of pounds.
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The huge demand for passports following the Covid pandemic has been worsened by complicated rules following Brexit which mean some Britons cannot use their passport if it is near its expiry date.
Mum-of-two Jenny Craig, 43, told our sister paper the Mirror that she sent off the renewal of her son Isaac's passport 12 weeks ago. This was so he could travel with the rest of the family to Italy in around four weeks' time.
However, they are now facing a race against time as three months after sending off the paperwork, the family still have not had Isaac's new passport arrive. If the trip does not happen, the family stand to lose just under £1,000.
She said: “Each time I call, there is an average time of an hour and a half on hold. I don’t know how many calls I’ve made now.”
And many others have said they are facing similar issues to Jenny.
Are you in the same boat? Are you waiting for a crucial passport, with no idea when - or if - it's going to arrive?
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