Urgent help please

**evilsatan** · 3rd June 2011

My sister is due to travel to turkey on Sunday, it has been booked for months but for some reason she only found out today that her passport must be valid for at least 6 months after she is due to return to the UK but hers will only be valid for 4 months after her return. This is the first I have heard of such a thing but she must have missed a warning when booking her tickets.

My question is what can she do to get it extended tonight or tomorrow? She called up the foreign office and they were taking her details down to book her in tomorrow but by the time it came to confirming they said the appointment had just been booked to someone else. That was the fault of the office for not reserving the appointment prior to taking the details.

I thought there was a passport office you can turn up first thing in the morning and wait all day for an "emergency" type slot in between others appointments. Does anyone know if this is the case? Obviously an appointment would not be guaranteed but it gives her a chance.

Apparently on her passport she would probably be granted access to turkey But leaving the country is where the problem may arise.

Any help or advice appreciated, my sister should have sorted this out ages ago! She is only going for a week.

**liveseytowers** · 3rd June 2011

She can try and make an appointment at the passport office in London for tomorrow and get her passport re-newed. I think at such short notice that's the only thing she can do. Happy to be proved wrong though.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...ions/DG_174149

edit to say did she try and do this already? Is this the office she spoke to already?

**rmj2663** · 3rd June 2011

It used to be the case that you could turn up at Peterborough Passport Office and queue for an emergency passport appointment.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...ions/DG_174149

May help

Beat me to it^^

**RSV** · 3rd June 2011

One of our electricians had to do it a couple of weeks ago when we had to send him out to Barcelona to fix a fault on one of the race trailers at the F1 (lucky git). He made an appointment at the passport office in Newport and they sorted one out the same day.

**fanni** · 3rd June 2011

I've done it before for my sons passport made an appointment at the London office turned up waited an hour then had to go back 4 hours later to get the passport once it had been printed

**evilsatan** · 3rd June 2011

The appointments you have all mentioned are what we have already tried, they say they are fully booked. I just spoke to someone who said they have had to just go and wait for hours before but they can't remember where it was. London is the passport office we were trying but we also checked the entire country and apparently all appointments for tomorrow are full everywhere.

So if we can't get a booking do you think that is the only option exhausted? I don't suppose it can be extended whilst she is out there (if UK and Turkish customs allowed her outgoing entry) for the week?

Thanks for all replies, much appreciated!

**JonEp** · 3rd June 2011

Ring the Turkish embassy up. 020 7591 6900

A quick google offers a differing of opinions its could be three months not six months.

In any event I would still turn up at the airport on Sunday even if you fail to get a new passport.

3. Re: Passport with less than 6 months!
Jul 08, 2009, 11:05 AM
You have no need to worry . Last September I travelled to Turkey for a two week holiday with a passport which expired the following February. I was a bit concerned so I contacted the Turkish Embassy and was informed that the requirement was that you must have 3 months left on your passport.. Travel companies for some reason always say you should have six months. The visa you purchase on entry is only valid for three months.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...hs-Turkey.html

It also appears you can only get a 90 day visa

http://www.turkishconsulate.org.uk/e...asp?PageID=2#2

**evilsatan** · 3rd June 2011

Nice one mate, we are on hold calling the Turkish embassy anyway to see what they had to say but you have given her some hope

**evilsatan** · 3rd June 2011

According to he Turkish embassy it is 6 months, someone will have to sit at the passport office all day tomorrow and hope for an appointment to open up. Thanks for all replies.

**liveseytowers** · 3rd June 2011

Good luck tomorrow! I'd still go and try my luck if she can't get a new one mind.

**ZX7R** · 3rd June 2011

I have had first hand experience in this sort of thing (http://www.digital-forums.com/showth...light=passport) but that was with an appointment.
Going by memory I think there were a few people there without appointments but still managing to get their names down to be seen on the day.
Sounds like you have no other choice but to try.

**JonEp** · 13th June 2011

What happened ?

**evilsatan** · 13th June 2011

I thought I had updated the thread. My mum and dad went to the passport office in London on my sisters behalf and they fitted them in and renewed the passport. Was all very close as the photos they took with them were unusable for one reason or another so I had to remote in to my nans PC, find the correct photo whilst researching the closest Snappy Snaps to the passport office to tell my mum. My mum went to the photo shop and asked if they would run an emailed photo off for them in passport pictures so they could get back to the passport office in time.

My sister got back to the UK in the early hours this morning.

**Scal** · 13th June 2011

Excellent News!

**evilsatan** · 13th June 2011

Yeah all worked out in the end. Will teach her a lesson I'm sure.

**Robbo** · 14th June 2011

Lucky girl then, my mate put his passport in the wash a few days before we flew to Amsterdam, It was not long after 9/11 and it was a bit of a mess but thought it would be ok. Got to Birmingham airport, we flew he went home!!