Got the renewal reminder this morning, and got part way through the process online before discovering I hadn't renewed my passport on time (doh! - so got that in hand.). System says no passport, can't access photo, so need to use the paper form. Fair enough.

But when I started on the paper form, I noted the instructions say: "You do not need to provide a new photograph with your application"!

So why can't you do it online without a current passport, I ask myself?

 

29 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Got the renewal reminder this morning, and got part way through the process online before discovering I hadn't renewed my passport on time (doh! - so got that in hand.). System says no passport, can't access photo, so need to use the paper form. Fair enough.

But when I started on the paper form, I noted the instructions say: "You do not need to provide a new photograph with your application"!

So why can't you do it online without a current passport, I ask myself?

 

wait...you got to 70 before you realised British bureaucracy is petty, illogical, time wasting, infuriating, broken  and illogical?

1 minute ago, weesam said:

wait...you got to 70 before you realised British bureaucracy is petty, illogical, time wasting, infuriating, broken  and illogical?

No, I had that figured out well over 50 years ago!😀

Just now, Eric Bloodaxe said:

No, I had that figured out well over 50 years ago!😀

just forgotten?

 

that's age 😉

Cheeky!😀

You can't forget, the Government remind you on a daily basis!😀

On 6/10/2025 at 2:02 PM, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Got the renewal reminder this morning, and got part way through the process online before discovering I hadn't renewed my passport on time (doh! - so got that in hand.). System says no passport, can't access photo, so need to use the paper form. Fair enough.

But when I started on the paper form, I noted the instructions say: "You do not need to provide a new photograph with your application"!

So why can't you do it online without a current passport, I ask myself?

 

I renewed my driving licence a few weeks ago, I went to the post office and paid about £4, much less hassle and did the photo also.

I renewed mine last month online using a 'passport' photo I had taken last year. On arrival I felt smug thinking well that'll last me another 10 years. Though on checking expiry date, saw it only lasts up to age 70. This getting old lark is cr*p...

5 minutes ago, Nimrodmk8 said:

I renewed my driving licence a few weeks ago, I went to the post office and paid about £4, much less hassle and did the photo also.

Not an option on my over 70 renewal paperwork  - online or form to return to DVLA only.

We no longer have a large PO that does that sort of thing, passports*, etc, within reasonable distance anyway. 

*Just done my passport renewal application this morning - at Tesco, of all places!

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

This getting old lark is cr*p...

Agreed. But it's better than the alternative!😀

5 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

I renewed mine last month online using a 'passport' photo I had taken last year. On arrival I felt smug thinking well that'll last me another 10 years. Though on checking expiry date, saw it only lasts up to age 70. This getting old lark is cr*p...

I renewed my passport last year. Went to the station, got a passport photo taken; then decided to do it online, so scanned the photo to the correct size.

Government computer said no. Photo the wrong size. It was the exact size of a passport photo. Fannied about for ages making it different sizes, 100% bigger, 200% bigger. Nope.

after a few hours I had an idea. Put the passport sized photo in the middle of blank A4 sized page and upload that.

Computer said yes.

British bureaucracy. Best in the world

Does ANYTHING work here?

4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Though on checking expiry date, saw it only lasts up to age 70. This getting old lark is cr*p...

....and did you notice any reduction in your driving classes ?

In mainland UK we loose the ability to drive a 7.5t HGV and get reduced to 3.5t on a car licence. Is that the same as in NI ?

10 hours ago, unofix said:

..and did you notice any reduction in your driving classes ?

Shouldn't happen until Stephen needs to renew at 70 anyway. It did pee me off a bit, tbh, no more hiring vans/trucks if you have a big job needs doing. And so I guess, no Yorkie bars!

On a serious note, one or two people told me that they lost their motorcycle category, and had quite a job getting it put back. Mine was ok (last time, at least.)

9 hours ago, unofix said:

....and did you notice any reduction in your driving classes ?

In mainland UK we loose the ability to drive a 7.5t HGV and get reduced to 3.5t on a car licence. Is that the same as in NI ?

I believe it is the same here in NI, though to be fair I never noticed as I only ever drive a 'car'...

13 hours ago, weesam said:

Does ANYTHING work here?

No.

I've been trying to refrain from posting in this thread as it's still a sore point...  I had major issues with another gov't service last year due to lack of ID.  Driving licence not good enough on it's own.  Decided to apply for passport this year purely for future ID purposes.  First struggled to find someone who could verify me, family members and online acquaintances not suitable.  Then struggled to take a photo without any shadow at home.  (The laws of physics make that kind of difficult!)  Then told I had to send a parent's full birth certificate, which they don't have and didn't even need for their own passport application.  Once I'd sent in all the info and sent the best of a bad bunch of pictures, and asked an old friend to verify me, baring in mind I've lived in the UK from birth, they have mine and my parent's birth certificate, I've had a driving licence for over 15 years, and am known to HMRC, DVSA, etc...they wouldn't produce a passport without having to go through an interview, which was not accessible to me for medical reasons!  I was initially told I could write them a letter explain the medical issues, so I typed one out and struggled to the postbox with it...a week later I was told that was a complete waste of time and it needed to be an official letter on headed paper from a hospital consultant.  I haven't been able to even get to a hospital for half a decade.  So had no option but to cancel the application, lose the money & time, but at least they'd return the birth certificates right...nope, then they wouldn't cancel the damn thing without speaking to me, which is the reason I couldn't access the interview in the first place!  Eventually typed out a massive email rant giving them my life story...and they finally cancelled the application.

Obviously I've lost the money (not that money is any use to me nowadays, what I need is access & ability!), and no chance of ever getting a passport, which means future ID for gov't services will still be as lacking as it was last year, which potentially means I'll lose all of my income at some point...so that's fun to think about.

So no, in my experience nothing does work over here, I'd be out of here in a flash if I had the ability to do so.

9 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

... and no chance of ever getting a passport, which means future ID for gov't services will still be as lacking as it was last year, which potentially means I'll lose all of my income at some point...so that's fun to think about.

Tom, are you able to apply for a 'free' electoral card? In NI you cannot vote without official ID. For those without the traditional passport/drivers license etc, you can apply for a FREE electoral card which in itself is then considered an 'official' government ID. I know you don't need one to vote, but wondered if the system was in place to get one?

15 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Tom, are you able to apply for a 'free' electoral card? In NI you cannot vote without official ID. For those without the traditional passport/drivers license etc, you can apply for a FREE electoral card which in itself is then considered an 'official' government ID. I know you don't need one to vote, but wondered if the system was in place to get one?

Over here we can get a Citizen ID card which is fairly common for people without a driving licence, though it isn't free.

Apply for a UK ID card Online - CitizenCard

However, the gov't service in question only works with a passport.  The above card is no better than a driving licence for this purpose.

 

I have just found this which looks like we can get a free piece of paper with our name and photo on it for voting.  Surely anyone could make one of those on MS Word!  

Apply for photo ID to vote (called a ‘Voter Authority Certificate’) - GOV.UK

Our ever helpful Government may have a solution in mind:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/downing-street-id-card-proposal-uk-britain-b2764803.html

12 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

I have just found this which looks like we can get a free piece of paper with our name and photo on it for voting.  Surely anyone could make one of those on MS Word!  

Apply for photo ID to vote (called a ‘Voter Authority Certificate’) - GOV.UK

OK, I agree - nothing works 🤣

Reading this thread just reminds me to check my driving licence for photo  validity. And the classes of licence still on there( motorcycle esp) 

Lad at work going on hols soon and was about to book a car rental in Majorca. Couldn't finish filling out the car hire form online as his licence had expired. 

I didn't think to check mine before we went abroad. hiring a car in Sardinia was very expensive compared to other country's so we haven't bothered this time. 

Someone on here said about losing licence categories when renewing their driving licence. I always take a photocopy of anything I send to DVLA, so that I have proof of what was on my old licence, and what I've sent in case of problems.

As others have said, at renewal at 70, you lose authorisation for any vocational licences (lorry/bus), unless you specifically apply to keep them (which means you have to pay for a medical). This includes the C1 (up to 7.5 tonne lorry) and D1 (minibus), unless you specifically apply to keep them (again, needs a medical).

One thing to think about, If you have a motorhome exceeding 3.5 tonnes GVW, you need the C1 category to drive it.

I'm getting towards the second renewal after age 70 (early November), I gave up my Cat D+E in 2012, at renewal time (hadn't actually driven a coach for about 30 years then), and gave up Cat C1+E at age 70 (again, hadn't driven one since 2005, and too tight to pay for the medical)!

23 minutes ago, Alan G H said:

I always take a photocopy of anything I send to DVLA, so that I have proof of what was on my old licence, and what I've sent in case of problems.

A wise precaution, Alan!

One "law of unintended consequences" effect of this is that in many rural areas a fair bit of community transport* by minibus is driven by volunteers, in many cases older drivers. So this measure can impact quite a lot of people, directly or indirectly, and imposes an additional admin/financial burden.

3.5t is, I understand, a pretty average weight for a motorhome these days, so you can imagine a few people being caught out unless they carefully check the categories on their new licence!

*Such as this one I'm very familiar with: https://www.littlewhitebus.co.uk/

 

6 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

No.

I've been trying to refrain from posting in this thread as it's still a sore point...  I had major issues with another gov't service last year due to lack of ID.  Driving licence not good enough on it's own.  Decided to apply for passport this year purely for future ID purposes.  First struggled to find someone who could verify me, family members and online acquaintances not suitable.  Then struggled to take a photo without any shadow at home.  (The laws of physics make that kind of difficult!)  Then told I had to send a parent's full birth certificate, which they don't have and didn't even need for their own passport application.  Once I'd sent in all the info and sent the best of a bad bunch of pictures, and asked an old friend to verify me, baring in mind I've lived in the UK from birth, they have mine and my parent's birth certificate, I've had a driving licence for over 15 years, and am known to HMRC, DVSA, etc...they wouldn't produce a passport without having to go through an interview, which was not accessible to me for medical reasons!  I was initially told I could write them a letter explain the medical issues, so I typed one out and struggled to the postbox with it...a week later I was told that was a complete waste of time and it needed to be an official letter on headed paper from a hospital consultant.  I haven't been able to even get to a hospital for half a decade.  So had no option but to cancel the application, lose the money & time, but at least they'd return the birth certificates right...nope, then they wouldn't cancel the damn thing without speaking to me, which is the reason I couldn't access the interview in the first place!  Eventually typed out a massive email rant giving them my life story...and they finally cancelled the application.

Obviously I've lost the money (not that money is any use to me nowadays, what I need is access & ability!), and no chance of ever getting a passport, which means future ID for gov't services will still be as lacking as it was last year, which potentially means I'll lose all of my income at some point...so that's fun to think about.

So no, in my experience nothing does work over here, I'd be out of here in a flash if I had the ability to do so.

I know it's a bit late now....and we all rag on MPs. But ....

in my experience, whenever British bureaucracy is trying to screw you over MPs are excellent. They know people, they can write the right letters to the right people in the right tone, and the letters have the right letter heading.

 

Without going off topic, once the tax man wanted LOADS of money off me (they had no record of me paying NI for years). Luckily I had kept all my pay slips, which I thought would be evidence. Nope. Frantic toing and froing trying to get these robotic morons to see sense. Nope.

Eventually, I wrote to my MP, explained everything in detail. About a month later, I get a letter of apology from the Secretary Of State......Everything was sorted, and the Secretary Of State was sorry for my inconvenience and the right people had been talked to.

 

So, give your MP a holler. They are much maligned for the crap job they do in Parliament, but they are nearly always much better at constituency work.

Just now, weesam said:

I know it's a bit late now....and we all rag on MPs. But ....

Having worked for a bit in local government, and no stranger to contacting an MP, I have to agree. The worst that can happen, is nothing...

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Having worked for a bit in local government, and no stranger to contacting an MP, I have to agree. The worst that can happen, is nothing...

exactly, and I bet they will get it sorted. This is an easy win for an MP. A British Citizen - their constituent - unable to travel on a British passport because of......some system ***** up.

21 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

The worst that can happen, is nothing...

That is exactly what's happened every time I contacted my local MP.

20 minutes ago, weesam said:

exactly, and I bet they will get it sorted. This is an easy win for an MP. A British Citizen - their constituent - unable to travel on a British passport because of......some system ***** up.

I'm not traveling anywhere.  I'm effectively housebound since losing the ability to drive.  The passport was simply to use as ID for the governments own systems!

The world isn't designed for people like me though.  No point complaining about it.  It isn't going to change.  Just got to muddle through until the end now.