Delays with passport applications are continuing to impact British holidaymakers, with one family waiting nearly 15 weeks for their youngest child’s travel document to be renewed, while another is at risk of losing thousands of pounds spent on flights.
Samantha Antonio submitted passport renewal applications online for her two daughters, aged 15 and 12, on 25 March 2022.
The 49-year-old, who works for a local authority, was planning on travelling to Hungary with her children in August along with her partner, Peter, to stay with his family at their home in a small city outside Budapest. Ms Antonio was keen to renew the girls’ passports, which expired in February, well in advance of the holiday.
As requested, Ms Antonio posted her elder daughter’s expired passport to a passport office in Durham, and that of her younger daughter to an office in Liverpool. She received acknowledgement that both passports were safely received, but then on 6 April the Liverpool office emailed to enquire about a name change for her daughter.
Ms Antonio replied that there was no name change required, pointing out that the name on the renewal application was the same as on her daughter’s birth certificate (which she had previously supplied) and expired passport.
“I wrote a letter and sent it by recorded delivery saying, ‘Why do you think I’ve changed her name?’,” she tells The Independent.
Having received her elder daughter’s new passport on 22 April, Ms Antonio felt it was safe to book leave from work, though was hesitant to pay for flights for herself or her daughters until receiving all the documents.
More than two months later, she is still waiting for her younger daughter’s document, putting the holiday in jeopardy, even if the passport does come through in time.
“If I’d got it earlier I would have got cheaper flights; I’m now going to pay double the price,” she says.
To add to the stress of the situation, Ms Antonio’s partner’s father suffered a major heart attack in May and is still in hospital in Hungary. Her partner would like her to be able to join him when he visits his parents, but Ms Antonio feels unable to travel without her youngest daughter, who is autistic.
Ms Antonio is experiencing further anxiety because the uncertainty of the situation means that she is not in a position to prepare her daughter for the holiday.
“I have to plan things well in advance with the support of her special needs school. We’ve got picture stories…
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