A grassroots petition launched on the UK Parliament website today is urging ministers to restore full passport-issuing powers to British embassies and consulates overseas. The campaign—started by expatriate Mark Dehn—argues that centralising all applications at HM Passport Office (HMPO) in the UK has left citizens abroad facing waits of up to 16 weeks and costly courier fees. (petition.parliament.uk)
Since overseas processing was scrapped in 2011, applicants must ship original documents to the UK, often risking loss or delay. Petitioners say the situation undermines the government’s own ambition to boost ‘Global Britain’ by hindering business travel and emergency relocations. They want embassies authorised to issue standard and emergency passports on the spot, mirroring services offered by Australia and Canada.
British citizens wrestling with these logistics can turn to specialist facilitators like VisaHQ, which helps clients prepare forms, arrange secure couriers and track applications for UK passports and visas worldwide. By leveraging VisaHQ’s digital dashboard and in-house expertise—details at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/—applicants can minimise costly errors and reduce turnaround time while officials debate longer-term reforms.
![New petition calls for reinstating passport services at UK embassies abroad]()
Although the petition has only 25 signatures so far, it has six months to reach the 10,000 threshold that forces a government response—and 100,000 signatures would trigger a parliamentary debate. Expat forums in the Gulf, EU and Asia are already circulating the link, suggesting momentum could build quickly.
For corporate mobility teams the issue is more than a bureaucratic quibble. Delays in renewing dependent passports can invalidate UK residence permits linked to Biometric Residence Cards, while staff awaiting travel documents may miss project start dates. Employers with large expatriate populations might consider backing the campaign or providing aggregated evidence of commercial impact.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has previously cited security and cost as reasons for centralisation but has agreed to “keep service delivery under review.” HMPO says 90 % of overseas renewals are processed within ten weeks, a figure applicants contest. Whether or not the petition reaches debate stage, it shines a light on a perennial pain-point for globally mobile Britons.
Since overseas processing was scrapped in 2011, applicants must ship original documents to the UK, often risking loss or delay. Petitioners say the situation undermines the government’s own ambition to boost ‘Global Britain’ by hindering business travel and emergency relocations. They want embassies authorised to issue standard and emergency passports on the spot, mirroring services offered by Australia and Canada.
British citizens wrestling with these logistics can turn to specialist facilitators like VisaHQ, which helps clients prepare forms, arrange secure couriers and track applications for UK passports and visas worldwide. By leveraging VisaHQ’s digital dashboard and in-house expertise—details at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/—applicants can minimise costly errors and reduce turnaround time while officials debate longer-term reforms.
Although the petition has only 25 signatures so far, it has six months to reach the 10,000 threshold that forces a government response—and 100,000 signatures would trigger a parliamentary debate. Expat forums in the Gulf, EU and Asia are already circulating the link, suggesting momentum could build quickly.
For corporate mobility teams the issue is more than a bureaucratic quibble. Delays in renewing dependent passports can invalidate UK residence permits linked to Biometric Residence Cards, while staff awaiting travel documents may miss project start dates. Employers with large expatriate populations might consider backing the campaign or providing aggregated evidence of commercial impact.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has previously cited security and cost as reasons for centralisation but has agreed to “keep service delivery under review.” HMPO says 90 % of overseas renewals are processed within ten weeks, a figure applicants contest. Whether or not the petition reaches debate stage, it shines a light on a perennial pain-point for globally mobile Britons.
