A 29-year-old mum on maternity leave missed out on buying a house because her passport did not arrive on time.
Yasmine Sakly needed proof of identification to get a mortgage approval that would allow her to buy her new home. Her passport had expired during lockdown so she applied for a new one.
Five weeks later her mortgage offer was no longer valid and she was still waiting for a new passport. And even when it did arrive, more than a month later, she claims it had the wrong date of birth on it.
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Yasmine, from Blackpool, told the ECHO: “I spent four hours on hold to the passport office and during those calls two managers promised to phone me back – they didn’t. I’ve kept all the receipts including petrol and I will be complaining and getting my money back.”
Those urgently in need of a new passport can make an appointment to visit their local office to have one issued. There are just seven Passport Customer Service Centres dotted around the UK, one of which is based in Old Hall Street, Liverpool.
Liverpool's passport office was the closest Yasmine could find as every other centre was booked up, and her journey took an hour-an-a-half in rush-hour traffic. She had brought her younger daughter and baby son in a pram with her, and the three of them were still in the queue after their scheduled appointment at noon.
The mum said she still hoped the family would be able to go on holiday on May, 12.
Millions like Yasmine have faced huge delays in renewing their passports. Under post-Brexit rules Britons need to have at least three months left on their documents when travelling. This could put more pressure on the industry after an immigration minister warned of “unprecedented demand”.
According to The Times, five million people who needed to renew their passport didn’t in the first year of the pandemic. More than 1.5million jobs are supported by the air transport sector, according to the IATA.
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