passports.govt.nz

New Zealand passports | Uruwhenua Aotearoa

The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua

 

Arranging urgent travel if you are in the United Kingdom

Need to travel within 10 working days?

You cannot submit an urgent online application to renew your passport.

If you need to travel urgently, for an extra fee we can usually issue a passport within 3 working days. We also offer an after-hours service. If you need to travel due to a family emergency, we may be able to issue your passport within 24 hours without charging you additional fees.

On this page:

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What does ‘urgent travel’ mean?

Urgent travel means you need to leave the United Kingdom within 10 working days. Don’t count any Saturday or Sunday when working out the number of days between now and your departure date.

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What are my options?

Standard passport applications take up to 10 working days to process. You should allow extra time for delivery to and from the Passport office. If your travel plans change you can upgrade your application for an additional fee, and your passport can usually be issued faster. To upgrade an application you have already submitted call us on +44 (20) 7968 2730.

If you haven't submitted your application yet and your travel is urgent you have 3 options, depending on your travel dates.

Travelling in 3 to 9 working days time

Submit an urgent application

Urgent passports take up to 3 working days to issue after you have given us a correctly completed form, all supporting material that’s required and paid the urgent application fee.

Type of applicationTick ‘URGENT’ as the level of service you want at
Adult (new) passport Question 14 - Application fees and payment
Adult (renewal) passport Question 6 - Application fees and payment
Child’s passport Question 13 - Application fees and payment

Travelling in 1 to 3 working days time

Call us on +44 (20) 7968 2730

If you require your passport in less than 3 working days, we may be able help you.

Urgent passports usually take up to 3 working days to issue after you have given us a correctly completed form, all supporting material that’s required and paid the urgent application fee.

There’s no guarantee, but we will do our best to help you.

Emergency Travel (after hours)

Call us on +44 (20) 7968 2730

An emergency after-hours callout service is available in London, to issue extremely urgent passports outside of normal office hours. A callout fee applies to passports issued by this service.

This service is available from 5:00pm - 10:00pm Monday to Friday and 8:00am - 10:00pm weekends and public holidays.

Type of applicationTick ‘CALL OUT’ as the level of service you want at
Adult (new) passport Question 14 - Application fees and payment
Adult (renewal) passport Question 6 - Application fees and payment
Child’s passport Question 13 - Application fees and payment
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Upgrading an existing application

If you have already submitted your application, and you’re waiting for us to process your form and issue your passport, you may be able to upgrade your application and get your passport sooner.

Call us on +44 (20) 7968 2730 and tell us you have already lodged an application.

You will need to pay the difference between a standard application, and either the urgent or callout fee depending on how quickly you need to travel.

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How much does an urgent passport cost?

Type of applicationAdult passportChild passport
Urgent
GB£182.00
GB£138.00
After-hours
GB£347.00
GB£303.00
If you are using the after-hours service and applying for passports for a group of people, the callout fee only applies once. The other members of the group will only need to pay the urgent fee.
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If travel is due to the death of a family member or serious illness

The callout or urgent service fee won’t be payable if we are satisfied that the need to travel involves death or serious illness.

You need to provide written proof explaining the reason for travel when you apply, or pay the full urgent or callout fee upfront, and provide evidence later.

Acceptable evidence must be written in English and includes:

  • a letter on an official letterhead from a hospital, doctor, police or funeral director supporting the need for travel.
  • a death certificate
  • a death notice published in a newspaper, OR
  • a copy of the order of a funeral service.

If you’re not sure, contact the Passport office and we’ll do our best to help you.

If evidence is provided after you’ve been issued a passport, the urgent or callout fee will be refunded. This can take 4 to 6 weeks from the date you give us your evidence.

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Guaranteed processing times

Avoid delays

We will only start processing your application after we have received a correctly completed application form. You also need to have paid the applicable fee and given us all supporting information that’s required, including acceptable photos.

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What to do if you are not in the United Kingdom

You can:

If you are not currently in New Zealand, Australia or the United Kingdom you can apply for an Emergency travel document instead of a full passport.