How to renew a UK passport from Norway
Living abroad means taking care of essential paperwork differently than at home. Here’s how to renew one of your most important documents, your UK passport, while in Norway.
Typically, when you travel, you will either need more than three months left on your passport, or it will be required to be valid for the entire duration of your stay in a country.
The rules can differ, so travellers are advised to have at least six months left on their travel documents before heading out of the country.
Depending on how frequently you travel, you may either run out of blank passport pages due to your travel document being stamped or lose track of your expiration date due to not needing your passport often.
Regardless, there comes a time when it is time to have your passport renewed or replaced in the event it becomes lost or damaged.
One option for those living in Norway is to apply for a British passport while visiting the UK. This requires you to be in the UK while you send off for a new passport and have your document sent to an address in the UK.
To do so, you can apply online or from a post office like a UK resident would. Standard renewals take up to 10 weeks. A premium or one-week fast-track service is also available. This requires you to book an appointment at your nearest passport office. From there, the passport should be delivered to a UK address within seven days of your appointment.
This won’t be a realistic option for everyone as it would require them to be in the UK for anywhere between one to ten weeks. Essentially, this means a trip back would primarily be centred around your passport application.
You can also apply from abroad, which will be the most convenient option for the majority. To apply online, you will need to head to the UK government website for passport renewals. First of all, you will need a digital photo. The photo can be taken at home (or somewhere with a white backdrop). The passport application portal will let you know if the picture is suitable.
From there, you will be asked various questions about the state of your current passport, such as whether you currently possess one or if it has been damaged or lost. If it has been lost or stolen, you will need to cancel it if you haven’t already.
A standard adult passport costs £94 plus a £19.86 courier fee to be shipped to you. Sending your old passport to the UK will also cost money. When applying for a children’s passport you will need to fill out their details on behalf of them.
To complete the application, you must fill in the details for you or your child and send in your old passport. The details include info such as the passport number and expiry date. New passports take up to 11 weeks to arrive. There is currently no fast-track option for those living abroad, but anecdotally many report their passports taking less than 11 weeks to arrive to Norway.
Emergency passports
You can apply for an emergency passport if your current one isn’t available to you or expired and you need to travel urgently. For example, this can be in the event of a death or sickness in the family.
When applying for an emergency passport, you must provide proof of your travel plans or detailed written travel plans if you don’t yet have a booking.
Emergency passports cost £100. After applying, you may be required to attend an appointment at your nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate. It takes around two working days for your emergency travel document to be ready for pickup.
But it will take longer for kids. You need to submit more documents to support your application or if your original passport has expired. This passport will be valid for a short amount of time and permit transit through up to five countries.
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Typically, when you travel, you will either need more than three months left on your passport, or it will be required to be valid for the entire duration of your stay in a country.
The rules can differ, so travellers are advised to have at least six months left on their travel documents before heading out of the country.
Depending on how frequently you travel, you may either run out of blank passport pages due to your travel document being stamped or lose track of your expiration date due to not needing your passport often.
Regardless, there comes a time when it is time to have your passport renewed or replaced in the event it becomes lost or damaged.
One option for those living in Norway is to apply for a British passport while visiting the UK. This requires you to be in the UK while you send off for a new passport and have your document sent to an address in the UK.
To do so, you can apply online or from a post office like a UK resident would. Standard renewals take up to 10 weeks. A premium or one-week fast-track service is also available. This requires you to book an appointment at your nearest passport office. From there, the passport should be delivered to a UK address within seven days of your appointment.
This won’t be a realistic option for everyone as it would require them to be in the UK for anywhere between one to ten weeks. Essentially, this means a trip back would primarily be centred around your passport application.
You can also apply from abroad, which will be the most convenient option for the majority. To apply online, you will need to head to the UK government website for passport renewals. First of all, you will need a digital photo. The photo can be taken at home (or somewhere with a white backdrop). The passport application portal will let you know if the picture is suitable.
From there, you will be asked various questions about the state of your current passport, such as whether you currently possess one or if it has been damaged or lost. If it has been lost or stolen, you will need to cancel it if you haven’t already.
A standard adult passport costs £94 plus a £19.86 courier fee to be shipped to you. Sending your old passport to the UK will also cost money. When applying for a children’s passport you will need to fill out their details on behalf of them.
To complete the application, you must fill in the details for you or your child and send in your old passport. The details include info such as the passport number and expiry date. New passports take up to 11 weeks to arrive. There is currently no fast-track option for those living abroad, but anecdotally many report their passports taking less than 11 weeks to arrive to Norway.
Emergency passports
You can apply for an emergency passport if your current one isn’t available to you or expired and you need to travel urgently. For example, this can be in the event of a death or sickness in the family.
When applying for an emergency passport, you must provide proof of your travel plans or detailed written travel plans if you don’t yet have a booking.
Emergency passports cost £100. After applying, you may be required to attend an appointment at your nearest British embassy, high commission or consulate. It takes around two working days for your emergency travel document to be ready for pickup.
But it will take longer for kids. You need to submit more documents to support your application or if your original passport has expired. This passport will be valid for a short amount of time and permit transit through up to five countries.
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