what do you do? so many people have asked me this week, why do i have to renew a passport that hasn't expired. and won't expire whilst i'm away. it's a really good question. apparently it's the rules and they must be obeyed.
so then, why do we have expiry dates?
no one has been able to answer.
on top of this, although i have 100% custody of my eldest child (teenager) as her dad lives in england, apparently the passport office doesn't accept or acknowledge this because it isn't in an agreement that is set out with a family court order.
may i point out here that the family court encourage you to make parental agreements WITHOUT their involvement... so we didn't.
i do however have child support agreements and it states i have 100% custody. the passport office didn't acknowledge this. even though i flashed it under their nose "it's here in black and white".
so, we have several government agencies we need to deal with to get a new passport finalised. none of them obviously talk to each other. and none support what the other requires.
interesting.
they all did agree though that i couldn't take eldest daughter out of australia on her current passport. so, i have discussed, processed, chatted, met, signed, phoned, and interacted my arse off.
we might get our holiday in the end, but it will be delayed and it's cost me a heap of money.
so much for encouraging tourism is all i can say. boo hoo. xc
Posts
3 comments:
I'm with you!, I think the whole debarcle has been an absolute joke, I am shocked at the red-tape, I am shocked that they give an expiry date when you can't travel within 3mnths of it finishing...what is the point of the date????
Sorry to hear about all that hassle and expense. Our children have dual citizenship by descent and although we live in England their Australian heritage is important - so we make sure they have Australian passports as well as British.
The problem is you need an Australian who knows you to certify the photos, so the forms have to be posted to Australia and back again, and then you have to travel to London and present in person at the consulate. All of which adds a lot to the price of a passport.
Nothing is ever simple, is it?
Bests.
the thing that probably took us all by surprise is the fact it had run out... (well expired according to rules) but kids passports run out every 5 years or so - she's now on her third i think? she spent 10 years in england with her dad so fortunately the London office has been good. hopefully the Adelaide office will fast track and all will be well. it's been a challenging week. for everyone. xc
Post a Comment