Express Passport Suspension Extended

The Passport, Immigration and Nationality Office counter is to be open for an extra hour a day from next week.

However, the suspension of the five-day Express passport service, which came into force on August 18 last year, has been extended.

The gov said the continued suspension is ‘necessary due to the significant increase in the number of passport applications being received, but recruitment and training is being undertaken to support this in the future’.

It added: ‘The Passport Service continues to offer the Standard Passport Service which can be up to 20 working days and the temporary passport service taking up to 1 working day. Please note that the temporary passport is not a biometric passport and may not be accepted in some countries.’

The counter will be open 10am to 2pm – Monday to Friday from February 26.

Quick tip: If you’re heading abroad this summer, take time to check the expiry dates and get a new one sorted sooner rather than later.